Toni Anderson’s blog about language differences between the English and Americans not only made me laugh, her blog made me think about how words have different meanings depending on your profession.
For example:
Theatre:
Break a Leg: Means good luck. If someone wishes a performer Good Luck—that performer is in trouble.
Standby: The performer who gets his or her big chance when the star is out sick. Often mutters Good Luck.
Apron: Not something you wear to keep spills off your clothes when cooking but the section of the stage floor that projects into the audience.
Motivation: For actors—many directors say, “It’s your paycheck, honey.” For writers—the goal that enables the character to overcome conflicts and drives the character through the story.
Straight Play: A drama without music—has nothing to do with sex.
And whatever you do * Do not mention the name of Shakespeare’s Scottish play to an actor or actress.
Law:
Subject matter jurisdiction: Is not a disagreement between a writer and her editor.
Slander: A rotten review. Well…maybe.
Simple assault: In my view--cutting a writer’s favorite line.
Pleadings: Between the writer and God after she mails her manuscript.
Toxic Tort: Another rotten review? No—personal injury or property damage due to a toxic substance. Hmmm.
Medicine:
False Labor: An article that’s rejected more than once? No false labor is a false pregnancy.
Normal Body Temperature: Of great use to Paranormal romance Writers or 98.6?
Authors:
Hook - Not Captain Hook of Peter Pan, not the hook that drags mediocre performers off-stage. Hook is the paragraph that captures the reader’s attention.
Tight - We aren’t drunk, squiffy, high, inebriated or intoxicated--our writing just needs to be concise and accurate.
I know many of you have worked or are working in other professions in additional to writing. Let us know about the words you used that others would use in a different fashion.
Bests,
Elise
www.elisewarner.blogspot.com
www.twitter.com/elisewarner
www.Facebook.com/elisewarnerb
8 comments:
Love a post that leaves me laughing in the morning! My favorite: the Toxic Tort!! Great job, Elise!
Thanks, Julie. Love words.
LOL--and tight can mean something else entirely in the UK :) wiggles eyebrows.
Funny post, Elise.
Thanks for the laugh, Elise! Nice way to start a -43 C (with the wind chill) day...
Ha. Toxic tort - love it. :)
Thanks for the laugh!
Love it!
I once sat in on a Hollywood meeting where the main dude kept saying he was looking for "a real tent pole idea."
Yeah. I laughed. "Tent pole? Really?"
Turns out, he meant a "big movie" that would guarantee the studio money for the year.
Talk about speaking two languages!
VACATUR: Toxic blue screen of death when you fail to hit "save" after flinging thousands of freshly-minted pixels into the ether.
It was fun writing about words-thanks everyone for "hopping in." Below are a few more from friends via email--they weren't sure how to post them.
Dental Tech:
Articulator:nothing to do with speech but a device to stimulate the jaw so dentures can be made.
Set-up:An arrangement of false teeth so the denture can be finished.
Impression: Duplication of the patient's mouth
Publishing:
Galley: (Proof)- long, single column strips from type in a galley. Not a ship's kitchen or vessel.
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