Saturday, October 18, 2008

Speaking English

I just sat through an interesting course on Project Management, taught by man who was a very eloquent gentleman and an excellent instructor.

Part of the enjoyment that came from hearing him lecture was his use of language. He was tossing out common English colloquialisms like 'bumf' and 'Wellies' (after which he would stop and explain the meaning of the word) . I was a bit surprised when he paused after using the expression 'Red Herring' and after drawing mostly blank looks, then he did a perception check and asked, "Does anyone know what 'red herring' means?"

Some very blank looks were exchanged around the room, and I was the sole hand that went up. Rather than refer to me, he explained its meaning. I thought that was pretty common.

Am I starting to be from a different generation?

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