For years I've been railing about the mangled word "orientated." The word is "oriented" or "orientation." But have no fear, because all three have been replaced with the verb "onboard." As in, "How do I onboard a new employee?" I wanted to ask if their flight was overbooked?
And then there's the word "around" as in "a discussion around..." or "vision and thoughts around...insert topic of your choice." I have visions and thoughts about stuff. This word is also used in the quilting world. Judy Martin refers repeatedly to "dancing around a color." I read an entire book before I figured out she was trying to tell me two shades were not a perfect match. I pictured empassioned quilters in colorful garb, beating drums and chanting to summon the Mighty Quilting Gods...for a new fabric line, perhaps?
Other words: "navigability", "actionable," and the phrase I heard at least 25 times today: "real estate" meaning page space. "Page space" is two syllables; we all know what it means. "Real estate" is four syllables, and only the "insiders" know what it means. Occasionally it was called "PRIME real estate. Need I say it? FIVE syllables - just to say "header."
This flies in the face of everything I ever learned about journalism. I hope these words fall from favor before they too, find their way into the dictionary. I don't know about you, but I just can't get orientated!
