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Old October 3rd 05, 01:29 AM
Chris Brown
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In article ,
Jeremy Nixon wrote:

Can you think of any change to the language perpetrated by marketing
that was good?


To pick a random example, we have the verb "to hoover", which avoids
overloading the noun, "vacuum" by turning it into a verb.

Or for something more modern, and with more international currency, try "to
google" - much more managable than "to search the Internet".

There's also an endless list of names of foodstuff, introduced into the
language through marketing exercises, which are useful and inoffensive.
Sundae, Stilton (never been made there, AFAIK), Creme-brulee, etc..

Some words: awesome, amazing, astounding, incredible, unbelievable. All
of these words now mean "very good". That's stupid. There is nothing
good about that; it has removed meaning and variety from the language


That variety still exists - if a concept is useful, there will be words to
express it. In the cases above, for words or phrases which convey the
"original" meaning, I'd offer the following:

For awesome, try awe-inspiring.
For amazing, try astonishing
I don't agree that "astounding" has "lost" its meaning - perhaps this is a
British English/American English difference?
Incredible - not-credible
Unbelievable - not-believable