Pirated word:
RECEPTION Room
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This phrase euphemistically replaces WAITING Room. I know. I'm a chiropractor and am guilty of using it in my practice. submitted by
Pirated word:
RSVP
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RSVP is an abbreviation for the French "repondez s'il vous plait" which means "please respond." So, please, folks, stop asking people to "please RSVP!" submitted by Gracie-A
What the phrase means is - RALPH, PAY YOUR BILLS. submitted by
Pirated word:
Rankle
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Was an intransive verb meaning "to rot", used figuratively to indicate a grievance that would develop into a grudge -- e.g., "It rankled with me that, being a woman, I could expect to work just as hard as a man for half the wages." Now used transitively (generally by journalists) to mean "enrage" -- e.g., "Women are rankled by continuing wage disparity." I suspect an expensive college education not backed up by enough reading. submitted by Charmion
Pirated word:
Ready to rock 'n roll
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Used to mean:
We are about to embark on a session of loud music and vigorous dancing (often accompanied by sex and drugs)
Has come to mean:
We have developed a new consumer product we claim is more advanced than competing products submitted by Barreiro Bill
Pirated word:
Reality TV
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Originally coined as an alternative to "Doumentary", to apply to shows done in a more cinema verite' style (first used for PBS's "An American Family" in the 1970's - not to be confused with current PBS fictional drama "American Family"), later for documentary series that followed the same subjects week after week (Fox TV's looking-over-the-policeman's-shoulder series "Cops").
First perverted by the dishonestly titled MTV series "The Real World" which placed several different types of MTV target audience members who otherwise would never have met each other (or likely, anyone like each other) into a totally artificial high-rent common residence and filmed their interreaction.
Totally perverted with the debut of CBS' "Survivor", which by dropping its participants into an artificial primitive environment, then selecting the winner of a million-dollar prize on essentially a slow-motion popularity contest, was and is essentially an Extreme Game Show, as are other similarly formatted shows ("Big Brother", "Fear Factor"). Now the category has been further extended (and diluted beyond all reognition) by other programs with artificially contrived formats, like dating/mating competitions ("The Bachelor/Bachelorette" "Joe Millionaire"), talent contests("American Idol") and even home decorating and personal makeover shows ("Trading Spaces", "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy"). Can these formats be entertaining television? Sometimes, yes. Are they anything resembling reality? No way! submitted by Wendell
Pirated word:
Rearend
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submitted by
Pirated word:
Redundant
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Well if your using this word i hope your not meaning it as "retarted" cause if you are, dude don't use the word anymore and give it back to us. submitted by Diamond Jim
Pirated word:
Republican
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With a capital R, denoting something rather far from little-r republicanism--more like "the best republic money can buy". See also "Democrat". submitted by Ross Knights
Pirated word:
Resource
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What's a resource? Why not use a word that lets us know that it is a person or colleague that is the subject? A human being. Not a replaceable widget or a ton of iron ore. submitted by
Pirated word:
responsible
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OK, maybe I'm picking nits or letting my personal impressions get in the way, but the word "responsible" implies to me something positive. Or at worst, being accountable for a mistake.
Bombings are neither positive acts nor mistakes.
The people who commit these acts are not "responsible", they are "to blame". I want to hear the news announcers say that this-or-that group "... has accepted the blame for yesterday's bombing...". It's small, but it's a start. submitted by Carl West
There is no such thing. You either discriminate against someone or you don't. submitted by
Pirated word:
Rhea
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submitted by
Pirated word:
Roadster
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I had been taught a car with the tops of the window frames was a "drop head coupe", with windows that rolled up was a "convertable" and without side windows was "roadster" - e.g. the Stutz Bearcat, Triumph TR-3 or MG-A. Now any small car with a removable top is billed as a "roadster" because it sounds more fun, I guess. submitted by
submitted by
Pirated word:
Ruggedized
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Seen in advertising copy selling equipment the manufacturer hopes the government will buy for military use. Means "strong enough for the stated purpose -- if you don't expect it to last more than one year". submitted by Charmion
Pirated word:
racism
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We refer to the human race as, well, the human RACE so really racism should mean discriminating between humans and other races, like maybe aliens. submitted by
Pirated word:
rackham
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submitted by
Pirated word:
radio
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submitted by
Pirated word:
rape
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it really means sexual intercourse with a woman by a man without her consent and chiefly by force or deception. It's been used by any person who feels that they've been wronged in some way, no matter how severe the slight.
submitted by Rebecca
Pirated word:
re-misunderstood
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coined by George W. Bush jr.
The issue is I apparently have been "re-misunderstood" again submitted by
The correct expression is "really hot" or "really pretty" - Real is an adjective meaning the opposite of "fake." "Really" means "truly" and is the correct way of expressing this. submitted by BY
Pirated word:
realator
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There is only one 'a' in the word. It's realtor and it's only two syllables, not three. I believe people use the wrong form because they are merely contracting real estate where there are three syllables. Also, Realtor with a capital means the bearer is an actual member of the (local) Board of Realtors and is a real estate broker rather than a real estate agent. submitted by Cameron
Pirated word:
reality TV
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submitted by
Pirated word:
realtor
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Not that long ago people who sold you a house were real estate agents, or land agents or realtors. Pretty simple, right?
Why, oh why do we now have to deal with Realtor®? Why can't those people just be regular realtors? What's next? Doctor®?, Lawyer®? And will their competition snag Land Agent®? Can we please stop the r-ball madness before entire conversations become subject to copyright? submitted by Maureen M. McCarty
Pirated word:
recession
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Learned this one in a graduate economics course: This term was first used to refer to an economic downturn by one of the US presidents in the years after WWII (I forget which one). As the post-war economy began to slump, there became talk that the US might be entering into another depression -- the Great Depression was still in recent memory for many people. The president, attempting to alleviate this growing panic, addressed the nation and said, "There is no need to worry. This is NOT another depression. This is merely a recession." In short, he simply pulled a friendlier-sounding term out of thin air in order to calm the people down. Today, we now have a "recession" that means something different from a "depression"; although getting economists to agree on exact definitions still remains a challenge. submitted by Will
Pirated word:
reconfirm
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Airlines often ask you to reconfirm your flight just before
flying -- especially if you purchased the ticket well in advance. If you don't reconfirm you might loose you place on the flight. Apparently paying all that money didn't indicate your intention to fly. submitted by
Pirated word:
redundant
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what does submitted by
Pirated word:
reference
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submitted by
Pirated word:
reform
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Originally: to fix a corrupt situation.
Now: any kind of change. submitted by David Salahi
Pirated word:
refuge seekers
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It has become a substitute for the phrase illegal immigrant submitted by
Pirated word:
regular
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Regular in English means 'often'. Somehow in Amercian translation it has become 'medium'. To try and claim the word back, nowadays when I buy coffee over the counter, when offerred whether I want a 'regular' one I say "no, I just want this one off purchase thank you". submitted by Toby Bradubry
Pirated word:
religious right
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submitted by
Pirated word:
relocation centre
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life disruption operation submitted by
Pirated word:
repurpose
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first of all, I've never read/heard/used the word "purpose" to mean use. "I purposed the brush". No.
So how do you add "re" and all the sudden we have a new verb, which just means "to reuse."
"I purpose to write the history of England from the accession of King James the Second down to a time which is within the memory of men still living. --Macaulay."
Great. I'm going to repurpose your book. submitted by John Lyon
Pirated word:
restorative
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submitted by
Pirated word:
reticent
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submitted by
Pirated word:
revolutionary
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In the old days, revolutionary was a noun or adjective describing someone or something that was changing fundamental beliefs on a large scale, i.e. Fidel Castro. Now it's applied to new toothbrushes and other "revolutionary" new products. submitted by Dan
Pirated word:
right mind?
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submitted by
Pirated word:
right-sizing
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Consulting companies appear to be aware that downsizing has a negative conotation, especially when it includes firing people. Therefore, they came up with right-sized, to mean that they are right, always right, never wrong, and whatever decision they come up with is in the exact measure. submitted by
Pirated word:
"right to life"
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It seems to be about right to birth -- once you're born, you're free to die without education, healthcare, or unpoisoned food... submitted by
Pirated word:
right wing
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Ultracommunist Russians are being called "right wing" though there's nothing "right" about them. They're actually as far to the left as they can get. The implicit idea here is that "right wing" includes everything bad, "left wing" includes everything and everyone that is good. submitted by Edisono Kata
Pirated word:
right winger
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submitted by
Pirated word:
rightsize
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submitted by
Pirated word:
rinka
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because i said it once and know every one says it submitted by
Pirated word:
robustify
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Used to describe work on a software product to make it tolerant of errors, boundary conditions, and other real world events. If you were impertinent you might think it was a synonym for "finishing" or "completing" the software. submitted by dbjag
Pirated word:
rogue
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submitted by
Pirated word:
roland
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submitted by
Pirated word:
roof
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Americans seem to always pronounce this word 'ruff'. It's pronounced roof...just like its spelled. Don't no why you guys had to change it. submitted by
Pirated word:
rules
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submitted by
Pirated word:
rum
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submitted by
Pirated word:
rum runner
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submitted by
Pirated word:
running game
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submitted by
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