Read all about ’em: names, slogans, and acronyms in the news (and the funny papers):
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“[Donald] Trump confuses copyright with trademark registration, and seems to forget that he actually did register the phrase as a service mark.” Mark Liberman, in Language Log, on “Make America Great Again.” (Read the comments, too.)
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“So why then are some start-ups called tech companies and others just … companies?” In search of the slippery definition of the modern tech company (New York Times).
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New acronym (or backronym) in the news: CECIL, the Conserving Ecosystems by Ceasing the Importation of Large (inhale) Animal Trophies Act, introduced by U.S. Senator Bob Menendez, D-NJ, “to curb the sport killing of species that are proposed to be listed as threatened or endangered under the Endangered Species Act of 1973.” Named for Cecil, the lion that was “allegedly lured outside of a National Park in Zimbabwe earlier this week, shot with an arrow, and tracked for 40 hours while injured before being shot.” (Hat tip: Ben Zimmer and Anthony Shore.)
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Dilbert’s boss has some typically pointy-headed ideas about taglines.
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“‘We’re creating brand new options for the next generation of Internet users,’ Negari said. ‘Dot-com is too crowded.’” Interview with Daniel Negari, creator of the .xyz domain extension.
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No more “CityTarget” and “TargetExpress”: beginning in October, all Target stores, regardless of size or location, will be called “Target.” “It’s about a simplified experience for our guests,” said a company spokeswoman. (Hello, Target? If I’m your “guest,” I want a mint on my pillow.)
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My latest post for Strong Language is about a sweary idiom, its acronym, and its commercial implications. Did I mention that it’s sweary?
Hey Nancy -- You're confusing Dilbert's pointy-HAIRED boss with George Wallace's pointy-HEADED intellectuals!
I saw that comic on Sunday and thought of you.
Posted by: kathy in KY | August 05, 2015 at 03:41 PM
Kathy: Nope, not confused! The boss has pointy hair, but his ideas are pointy-headed.
Posted by: Nancy Friedman | August 06, 2015 at 07:47 AM