The Iconoclast
Wednesday, 10 March 2010
Adjective Plus Noun

Here's a baker's half-dozen of the most unpleasant adjective-plus-noun pairings in English: 

 

 

Human resources

International community

Organizational management

In-depth study

Focus group

Overarching goal

Holistic approach [or, for that matter, holistic anything]

 

 

You are invited to add to the list.

 

 


 

 

 

 

 

 

Posted on 03/10/2010 6:32 AM by Hugh Fitzgerald
Comments
10 Mar 2010
stephena55

political correctness

Vibrant community

received opinion

conventional wisdom

deep-fried marsbars

soggy chips

footballers' wives

post modernism

leadership role (ref. Hugh)

theme pub

New Labour

Death metal



10 Mar 2010
George McCallum

United Nations



10 Mar 2010
Send an emailHugh Fitzgerald

In the veddy English list provided by Stephen I especially like (because I especially dislike -- a very pretty, or possibly very unpretty, I can't decide, epanorhtosis) "post-modernism," though strictly speaking its one word, though a word I have never understood and refuse to use. It does make me think of another word -- "post-colonialism" (also not quite "adjective-plus-noun," as required, , a word  which I understand all too well, as an attempt to continue flogging the horse of "colonialism" forever, by giving it a dateless lease on life.

And I should have remembered from my own previous posts "leadership role." Some of the others don't quite fit the bill as I intended (i.e., "footballers' wives" or the "deep-fried marsbars"), and several strike me as not offensive at all, such as "received opinion" and others offensive but their offense has little to do with the words used. Nonetheless, as Jack Longland used to says on "My Word" to Dilys Powell or Frank Muir or Denis Norden or Anne Scott-James, when one of them provided a definition that was close enough, I'm giving  "full marks."  If you don't mind, I'm going to appropriate some of them for the Master List.

George offered just one, but what a one: "United Nations." Of course, what makes one's heart sink with this once uon a time  (circa 1947) naively- inspiring name -- when all the world and peace was young --  is not the crime against English, but the crimes against humanity that the institution called the "United Nations" in recent years has been committing, day in day out, ever since the West lost its head and the Islamintern took firm control of the proceedings.