Thread: Epic overuse/misuse of words

Originally Posted by vthomlinson

since we are mentioning mispronouncing.. i have a charge that constantly has to use the "baffroom"

and maybe i'm odd.. but there is no bath in public restrooms... that gets under my skin as well.

Never known anyone go to the toilet to "rest" either! Why are they called restrooms in the States? Bit of a euphemism.

At least we admit that they are toilets!

Gareth

well.. i tend to take breaks in the loo all the time.. i do everything from splash water on my face to mix drinks.. i also have a tendency to call it a donniker.. a habit from my days as a carny.

Originally Posted by Galopede

Never known anyone go to the toilet to "rest" either! Why are they called restrooms in the States? Bit of a euphemism.

At least we admit that they are toilets!

Gareth

I have the same issues with 'restrooms'. If you go in there to pee or poo, it's a toilet.

Maybe some posh hotels have rooms in which you can rest, but when you call the room at your local dive a 'restroom', when even the ****roaches wouldn't be seen dead in it, you're stretching the euphemism.

EDIT: Ha, ha! ****roaches!! Brilliant!

WOW! this is a long thread but i had to read through it. there are so many that i agree with that i won't even try to list them.

here is the one word that erks me the most: sick. as in "that trick was sick man!" or "that car is sick!" or "that tattoo looks sick bro!"

it drives me crazy! it's as bad as "rad" or "righteous" or any other stupid use of a perfectly good word that was thought up by some punk with his hat on sideways. (maybe that is being stereotypical but it always seems like their hats are on sideways).

"Negative pressure" bothers me.

Originally Posted by holli4pirating

"Negative pressure" bothers me.

Probably a different context... Thanks to negative pressure you're able to breathe.

Originally Posted by HNSB

Probably a different context... Thanks to negative pressure you're able to breathe.

I would say that's not negative pressure, but rather a difference in pressures.

Pressure, as I understand it, is the amount of force per unit area. Area cannot be negative, and technically speaking, neither can a force. Negative for a force is really shorthand, when it is in a direction that has been stipulated as "the negative" direction within the scope of a given problem. Unless you are discussing something for which the general population (or at least the general population that deals with whatever you are talking about) has agreed on a negative direction, the use of the term "negative pressure" is, at best, contextual and slightly ambiguous. For example, does gravity act in the positive or negative direction? I would say there is no generally accepted convention - depending on what problem you are trying to solve, one or the other may be easier to work with.

You are right though, I was referring to the use of "negative pressure" with regards to honing. When I think of pressure, I think of the amount of pressure between the parts of the razor that touch the hone and the hone. Here, that pressure cannot be negative. I think of pressure this way because this is the "pressure" one would seek to control. I also think this is the conventional use of "pressure." For example, we often talk about "the least amount of pressure possible" when finishing on any given hone.

A possible alternate "pressure" would be related to the force applied to the razor by your hand. But that's not really "pressure" at all, because it has no clearly defined surface. If one was to imagine the "surface area" was "the sum of all surface areas between your hand an the razor," then there would be some problems. A person holding a razor in just their fingertips and applying a downward force of... let's make something up... 1 Newton downwards might be applying MORE pressure than a person holding the tang and scales in their fist and applying... on I don't know... 50 Newtons downwards. But I think we would all agree that the person applying 1 Newton downwards is the one applying less "pressure" - so this definition seems to fail.

Even if this definition did work, it's still an upward force, not a negative pressure. You're not repelling your hand from the razor (that's the only possible think I can think of for negative pressure, but even that is inaccurate), but rather applying a net upwards force to the razor which is less than the downward force due to gravity.

I don't really have a problem with the phrase "negative pressure" being used, as I believe I understand what is being discussed (which is what matters) and I'm fine with "negative pressure" being adopted and adapted, but my inner physicist still notices it every time and lets me know.

The forces don't know or care where you have chosen to place the reference frame's zero point

Originally Posted by holli4pirating

I would say... (the rest Dylan's long winded post here) ...

In terms of physics you are probably right. Where the term comes from in the context of breathing mechanics is that relative to air pressure, the pressure in the chest is negative during inspiration. I suppose you can't truly have a negative pressure, but as Lee pointed out, it depends on the established zero point, which in this case is atmospheric pressure.
To be technically correct, I suppose it should be called "lower than atmospheric pressure breathing" but that doesn't sound as nice.