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Folks Of Interest Verbicide: Automotive Terms

Discussion in 'The Hokey Ass Message Board' started by Ned Ludd, Sep 9, 2024.

  1. Ned Ludd
    Joined: May 15, 2009
    Posts: 5,171

    Ned Ludd
    Member

    Words mean what people mean by them, and language grows by people using words in new ways. What starts as a joke or a clever metaphor becomes a trope or cliché and then an accepted figure of speech, and finally just another sense of the word. Sometimes, however, that process goes as far as to have a word mean almost the opposite of what it did before; and that leaves us at best a bit confused, and at worst desperately in need of a new word.

    "I shall not accept charity from you!" is a far cry from St. Paul's "And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity." Most people today think sympathy and empathy are radically different or even opposite things, not realising that the word used to describe what we today call empathy had for hundreds of years been sympathy, until the beginning of the 20th century, by which time it had become too common for people to use sympathy for "fake sympathy". And today entitled is going the same way, shifting from "having a valid claim to something" to exactly "not having a valid claim to something." But be that as it may.

    There is often a different dynamic behind loss of meaning, or verbicide, in automotive terms. Drift used to mean what is happening when there is a small angle — a slip angle — between the direction a car's wheels are pointed and that of the tyres' contact patches, sometimes resulting in the car as a whole pointing in a direction different to the direction the contact patches are pointed. This was enabled by the tyre carcases twisting. One of the best things about watching '50s circuit racing is seeing a driver maintaining a drift without breaking traction. The car has a slight tail-out attitude, say, but there is no skid going on. Today, drift means a skid, albeit a controlled one; a burnout around corners.

    That makes it almost impossible to describe what skilled drivers were doing in the '50s. Once it only took a single word.

    One I keep seeing, which is beginning to irritate the living shit out of me, is fully forged. Presumably it once meant "having the necessary complement of forged parts" e.g. forged crank, forged pistons, etc. But from context it's looking like it's beginning to mean little more than "modified for performance". And I wouldn't be surprised if it's already got people talking past one another:
    Snot-nose: "It's got a forged crank!"
    Old fart: "That looks like a cast crank?"
    Snot-nose: "Yeah, but it's fully forged!"​

    There is probably a lot more. What have you met in the wild?
     
  2. 2OLD2FAST
    Joined: Feb 3, 2010
    Posts: 5,509

    2OLD2FAST
    Member
    from illinois

    Add to that the fact that where you are determines what you're trying to say , it gets even more confusing / unintelligible ...
     
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  3. leon bee
    Joined: Mar 15, 2017
    Posts: 914

    leon bee
    Member

    Not quite the same, but the most common is engine won't turn over. Engine won't crank, etc. Motor won't fire. Have to ask them just wtf they mean.
     
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  4. Ned Ludd
    Joined: May 15, 2009
    Posts: 5,171

    Ned Ludd
    Member

    Add to that the old British term tickover for idle. But that's been around for as long as I can remember.
     
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  5. leon bee
    Joined: Mar 15, 2017
    Posts: 914

    leon bee
    Member

    This car is literally a piece of sh*t.
     
  6. manyolcars
    Joined: Mar 30, 2001
    Posts: 9,343

    manyolcars

    words have meaning. If you call it a table but I call it a chair, there will problems
     
  7. Fordors
    Joined: Sep 22, 2016
    Posts: 5,663

    Fordors
    Member

    I was 15 in 1964 and one of the guys in my crowd had an older brother that bought a ‘64 Galaxy 500. I remember my friend telling us his brother had a Vertex without the mag. Oh really???
     
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  8. stuart in mn
    Joined: Nov 22, 2007
    Posts: 2,472

    stuart in mn
    Member

    People who describe a particular car or part as "Junk!" without any explanation why they think so.
     
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  9. gimpyshotrods
    Joined: May 20, 2009
    Posts: 23,786

    gimpyshotrods
    ALLIANCE MEMBER

    I am less concerned with the automotive vernacular lexicon as I am with entire parts-of-speech being implied.

    A classic example is the verb-less sentence.
     
  10. williebill
    Joined: Mar 1, 2004
    Posts: 3,341

    williebill
    Member

    Not the same, but my latest pisser is "rehome" or "regift". Gimme a minute, I'll think of 1,000 more.
     
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  11. HEATHEN
    Joined: Nov 22, 2005
    Posts: 8,713

    HEATHEN
    Member
    from SIDNEY, NY

    Yes, apparently, you're not cool if you still communicate in complete sentences.
     
  12. rpu28
    Joined: Jan 17, 2006
    Posts: 197

    rpu28
    Member
    from Austin

    I am literally annoyed by the rampant, incorrect use of the word "literally".
     
  13. BJR
    Joined: Mar 11, 2005
    Posts: 10,378

    BJR
    Member

    I hate it when you have to axe someone what they mean.:D
     
  14. 3quarter32
    Joined: Dec 10, 2010
    Posts: 539

    3quarter32
    Member

    I can't wait instead of "I can hardly wait." If you can't wait, what you going to do?
     
  15. brigrat
    Joined: Nov 9, 2007
    Posts: 5,785

    brigrat
    Member
    from Wa.St.

    Must be a East Coast thing!
     
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  16. Sharpone
    Joined: Jul 25, 2022
    Posts: 1,277

    Sharpone
    Member

    I’m going to pee right here right now! If I could wait I would use the can.
    3/4 cam - I guess it only works on 6 of the 8 cylinders or 3 of 4 cylinders not sure how it works on a six banger. Lol
    Dan
     
    The Shift Wizard likes this.
  17. Been guilty of that.
    OOPS

    I have been guilty of that. Trying to not use too many words and go the other way.

    Ben
     
  18. RodStRace
    Joined: Dec 7, 2007
    Posts: 5,060

    RodStRace
    Member

    I see that you have incorporated Automotive in the title of this thread. However, this could apply to any skilled profession or hobby. Plumbing, electrical, model trains to stamp collecting, the descriptive term and the common phrase will evolve over time and usage like most things in language/communication.This can include most interactions.

    Every one of you bemoaning a new meaning for an old phrase probably used a new term for a thing or person that was to be admired in your own youth. Such are the difficulties of being an immortal. :D
     
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  19. Baumi
    Joined: Jan 28, 2003
    Posts: 3,126

    Baumi
    ALLIANCE MEMBER

    As English is my taught language and not my native one ( Bavarian is almost as far from German as English, so my first aquired language was German, hahaha) I´ve always tried to speak and write as well as I could, because if I´m going to a foreign country or communicate with someone whose native language is English I´d rather not offend the person by messing up their language too much. I guess that´s a thing of respect for each other. But it´s the same here, the less respect people have for each other , the less they care if anyone understands what they are trying to say. What I´m noticing over here with the young crowd is, since we had lots of people come in from Syria , Afghanistan and such who can´t speak German nor English, some of the younger German folks try to imitate the slang of the immigrants. I´m 48 but sometimes I have no clue what teenagers are talking about. Maybe I´m just getting old and grumpy, which is totally possible. I was listening to NWA when I was 16. I guess the reason no one was offended by my music was that nobody understood the texts:D
     
  20. Petejoe
    Joined: Nov 27, 2002
    Posts: 12,414

    Petejoe
    Member
    from Zoar, Ohio

    Smart phones are the cause of many of the changes we see.
    It all comes down to providing as much information as we can with the least amount of letters but still conveying our thoughts.
    We see it on the hamb as well.
     
  21. 2OLD2FAST
    Joined: Feb 3, 2010
    Posts: 5,509

    2OLD2FAST
    Member
    from illinois

    My grandmother & mother were teachers , it was not acceptable to use incorrect language , sentence construction , Grammer , spelling , etc for many years. The example they set was ingrained in me . Using less was considered lazy .New language is expedient but certainly not as pleasing to use . Meanings are distorted , writing is becoming a lost art .
     
  22. jimmy six
    Joined: Mar 21, 2006
    Posts: 15,695

    jimmy six
    ALLIANCE MEMBER

    Go shoot yourself….what else “you can’t wait” so there’s no use to you being here.
     
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  23. jimmy six
    Joined: Mar 21, 2006
    Posts: 15,695

    jimmy six
    ALLIANCE MEMBER

    “Like” has been replaced with “but ah” .. there is one top fuel driver that can’t start a sentence without it….
     
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  24. twenty8
    Joined: Apr 8, 2021
    Posts: 2,710

    twenty8
    Member

    Is this a test....???:confused:
     
  25. 2OLD2FAST
    Joined: Feb 3, 2010
    Posts: 5,509

    2OLD2FAST
    Member
    from illinois

    If you wish . Life is a test .
     
    Last edited: Sep 9, 2024
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  26. 32coopsbc350T35012voltdifgoodboarsnewbreaks34Knolowballers
    This is how you advertise on Fakebook or anywhere on the internet.
    Please do not use correct spelling or punctuation, otherwise you will not be able to communicate with the "hip" kids.
     
  27. twenty8
    Joined: Apr 8, 2021
    Posts: 2,710

    twenty8
    Member

    You are right about one thing. The correct use of language, both spoken and written, is becoming a thing of the past.
     
  28. My old boss's son had one of those in his car.
    I won't do the math but some fraction of the lobes were gone because of lube issues. It seems a perfect circle won't open a valve.
     
    Last edited: Sep 9, 2024
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  29. twenty8
    Joined: Apr 8, 2021
    Posts: 2,710

    twenty8
    Member

    Keeping in mind that English is your third language, I have to give you credit for the way you use it.
     
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