Obvious euphemisms
One thing that angers me about the current situation in the Gulf of Mexico is BP’s constant use of euphemisms to downplay the severity of the disaster.
The main – and most anger-inducing – one of these is continually referring to it as an “oil spill”. It is most certainly not a spill. According to dictionary.com, a “spill” is:
spill verb
(of a liquid, loose particles, etc.) to run or escape from a container, esp. by accident or in careless handling.
This is not oil escaping from a container – this is oil escaping from a well. Pedants may argue that a well is a container or sorts, but the main difference here is that “spill” implies that it is a finished event – if you spill a glass of milk, the spill is limited to how much milk was in the glass.
However, when the ocean awash with millions upon millions of gallons of oil that is still spilling, it is a leak.
At least we can all agree on one word that describes the situation: a disaster.
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Miss Communications said,
June 24, 2010 @ 12:24 am
Love your write-up and appreciate your point — but one small “oops” from one word nerd to another: A “spill” is a noun; “to spill” is a verb.
Still … a “disaster” it is.
Thanks for the insights,
– Margaret “Miss Communications” McDonald
Dave said,
June 24, 2010 @ 8:02 am
Fair point Margaret, though both the verb and noun carry the same connotations
BP have been spending much more of their time and efforts downplaying the situation rather than addressing it, which is more than a little ridiculous. It’s a little too late to save face!