A “Revisited” blog post indicates that I reread the original and used AI-assisted tools (e.g., Grammarly) to improve grammar and word choice.
George Orwell fascinates me on several accounts—his mastery of language, his prescience, and his outlook on politics. While I was faculty president, I gave copies of his book to people as a reminder of totalitarianism’s chilling threats and effects and the dangers of doublespeak. Though more playful, Lewis Carroll is also masterful with language and alerts us to the dangers of when illogic becomes the norm and when speech is misused and abused. I found my institution’s decision a few years ago to redefine the word “department” in our Carroll argot and the changing of our name from “college” to “university” Humpty-Dumpty-like. And the “buzzwords“ and evolving (sometimes assaulting) lexicons creeping into our everyday discourse are painfully annoying, hinder communication, and add shades of gray to my beard. I am abuzz with buzzwords.
Buzz:
- hum
- murmur
- high
- bombination
- drone
- purr
- whirring
- sibilation
- hiss
- whiz
- sigh
- rustle
- sough
- rumor
- report
- gossip
- hearsay
- scuttlebutt
- scandal
- small talk
- chitchat
- fizzle
- sizzle
Interestingly, the “buzzwords” (e.g., transparency, branding, moving forward, engagement, buzz) have positive connotations for some professionals and create a need for a swear jar or playing buzzword bingo for others.
I have to buzz the dog outside before buzzing a friend to see if he wants to play buzzword bingo tomorrow. Or maybe I’ll buzz over to Melibee to read some of their beautiful posts about global issues and making the world a better place.
