ligonierbill
New member
Jargon in particular is interesting, it's use signifying the user as an insider (or wannabe). It is at least irreverent and can be downright mean. When Christian Slater referred to the weapons they were carrying in Broken Arrow as "crowd pleasers", I realized I had heard that term before at work. Except that fellow said "thermonuclear crowd pleasers". Sort of flippant, but that's jargon.
We use a lot of these, and some of them set some folk's teeth on edge. (There, I used some slang without even thinking about it.) We also get somewhat hung up on definitions. In my youth, I was a "clip" offender. Until I actually used some stripper clips. Now, I shorten "magazine" to "mag". But I don't get angry if someone uses the common misuse. Now, some I just don't understand. "Shottie" referring to a shotgun. You type the same number of letters or utter two syllables. The old slang is "scatter gun". Much longer and terribly inaccurate.
I admit to sometimes referring to my autoloading handguns as "bottom feeders". There's a derogatory term, though I don't mean it as such. I've been called lots of things, but never a bottom feeder. (Maybe I will be if I call a 257 Roberts "Bob" again.) But I do not insist on calling guns with a rotating cylinder revolvers and not pistols. They're all pistols. Long Colt - there's one to start an argument. No, there never was an official "Short" Colt, but there was the 45 Schofield that the Army adapted and used in arms chambered for 45 Colt. Practically, I have more than once been handed 45 ACP when I asked for 45 Colt, back when they had ammo for sale. Ask for Long Colt, and they get it right.
Mostly, I think it's interesting, and I try to save my ire for more important things, like people garmouthing my favorite round. What's your "favorite" slang, jargon, or misused word?
We use a lot of these, and some of them set some folk's teeth on edge. (There, I used some slang without even thinking about it.) We also get somewhat hung up on definitions. In my youth, I was a "clip" offender. Until I actually used some stripper clips. Now, I shorten "magazine" to "mag". But I don't get angry if someone uses the common misuse. Now, some I just don't understand. "Shottie" referring to a shotgun. You type the same number of letters or utter two syllables. The old slang is "scatter gun". Much longer and terribly inaccurate.
I admit to sometimes referring to my autoloading handguns as "bottom feeders". There's a derogatory term, though I don't mean it as such. I've been called lots of things, but never a bottom feeder. (Maybe I will be if I call a 257 Roberts "Bob" again.) But I do not insist on calling guns with a rotating cylinder revolvers and not pistols. They're all pistols. Long Colt - there's one to start an argument. No, there never was an official "Short" Colt, but there was the 45 Schofield that the Army adapted and used in arms chambered for 45 Colt. Practically, I have more than once been handed 45 ACP when I asked for 45 Colt, back when they had ammo for sale. Ask for Long Colt, and they get it right.
Mostly, I think it's interesting, and I try to save my ire for more important things, like people garmouthing my favorite round. What's your "favorite" slang, jargon, or misused word?