Every human pastime — music, cooking, sports, art, theoretical physics — develops an argot to spare its enthusiasts from having to say or type a long-winded description every time they refer to a familiar concept in each other’s company. The problem is that as we become proficient at our job or hobby we come to use these catchwords so often that they flow out of our fingers automatically, and we forget that our readers may not be members of the clubhouse in which we learned them. | |
— Steven Pinker | |
[Apologies to all you linguists out there. I believe I just turned a noun into a verb. — KMAB] | |
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On This Day In: | |
2018 | Good-Bye AG Jeff Sessions |
2017 | On Our Wall (Part 2) |
2016 | I Beg The Question |
2015 | By Their Fruit |
2014 | Proven Worth |
2013 | From Missouri |
2012 | Recipe To Write: Start With One Aching Urge |
2011 | Ip And Rib |
Real Things | |
2010 | Final Competition |
Posts Tagged ‘Catchwords’
I Think I’ve Just Been Argoted
Posted in Education, Humor, Quotes, Science and Learning, Writing, tagged Argot, Catchwords, Clubs, Education, Humor, Linguists, Quotes, Steven Pinker, Writing on November 13, 2019| Leave a Comment »