Off topic: A new English verb: to empty chair Thread poster: Tom in London
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Tom in London
United Kingdom
Local time: 02:58
Member (2008)
Italian to English
In the run-up to the British general election in May, there is much discussion about the proposed television debates. The leader of the Conservative party, David Cameron, has said that he would not want to take part in these debates unless particular conditions are met.
In response, some of the others have said that they might go ahead anyway, leaving him out or, or as they put it "empty chairing" him., i.e. leaving an empty chair in the position he should have occupied.
... See more In the run-up to the British general election in May, there is much discussion about the proposed television debates. The leader of the Conservative party, David Cameron, has said that he would not want to take part in these debates unless particular conditions are met.
In response, some of the others have said that they might go ahead anyway, leaving him out or, or as they put it "empty chairing" him., i.e. leaving an empty chair in the position he should have occupied.
Journalists and others have taken up this expression with alacrity, and are now happily throwing around this new verb: if such and such a thing happens, will David Cameron be empty chaired?
I wonder if this new verb will survive long enough to be included in the next edition of the Oxford Dictionary.
[Edited at 2015-01-23 12:30 GMT] ▲ Collapse
| | | | Thomas Pfann 
United Kingdom
Local time: 02:58
Member (2006)
English to German
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| to tongue-in-cheek | Jan 23, 2015 |
I actually quite like the verbing of nouns or even whole expressions. This one, I think, will be dictionaried (or OED'd) in no time.
| | | | | | Balasubramaniam L.
India
Local time: 08:28
Member (2006)
English to Hindi
+ ...
SITE LOCALIZER | Aren't you taking a contradictory position? | Jan 23, 2015 |
If a non-native English-speaker had made such a usage, you would have promptly come down upon him with rants about the English language being murdered!
I don't see anything elegant or worthy of emulation in this quaint usage. Can David Cameroon be called an educated user of English? I really don't know, hence I am asking.
While languages are constantly evolving and coming with new usages every day, as professional users of language, we cannot afford to give in to such n... See more If a non-native English-speaker had made such a usage, you would have promptly come down upon him with rants about the English language being murdered!
I don't see anything elegant or worthy of emulation in this quaint usage. Can David Cameroon be called an educated user of English? I really don't know, hence I am asking.
While languages are constantly evolving and coming with new usages every day, as professional users of language, we cannot afford to give in to such neologisms. We are bound by the standard rules of accepted usage of our languages. ▲ Collapse
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Tom in London
United Kingdom
Local time: 02:58
Member (2008)
Italian to English
TOPIC STARTER
Balasubramaniam L. wrote:
If a non-native English-speaker had made such a usage, you would have promptly come down upon him with rants about the English language being murdered!
Indeed I would. But your scenario is speculative - and unlikely.
| | | | Balasubramaniam L.
India
Local time: 08:28
Member (2006)
English to Hindi
+ ...
SITE LOCALIZER
Tom in London wrote:
Balasubramaniam L. wrote:
If a non-native English-speaker had made such a usage, you would have promptly come down upon him with rants about the English language being murdered!
Indeed I would. But your scenario is speculative - and unlikely.
I don't know whether you consider Salman Rushdie as a non-native English user or not, but he is famed for creatively using the English language.
Another neology - of noun being verbed - comes from the software-industry - bangaloored. It means losing one's job in the US because some one in Bangalore, India, has taken over that job, at a much cheaper salary.
People in proz.com would presumably love the word, as they are perennially complaining about being undercut, by cheaper translators in India and China.
Curiously, in India, the word Bangalore, itself has disappeared - it has been renamed officially as Bangaluru, to capture the way Indians pronounce the word. I wonder if the English word bangaloored should now be respelled as bangalurued!
| | | | | De Gaulle did not know it was coming back in 1970s | Jan 23, 2015 |
Back then it was the aforementioned General who "self empty chaired" from the EU (EC at that time).
Now Brits "empty chair" their PM.
I am planning to keep "keyboarding" for an hour or two and then to "armchair-documentary" National Geographic, while pop-corning.
[Edited at 2015-01-23 14:35 GMT]
| | | | Jack Doughty
United Kingdom
Local time: 02:58
Russian to English
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In memoriam
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Barbara Carrara
Italy
Local time: 03:58
Member (2008)
English to Italian
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| Has David Cameron been camerooned? | Jan 23, 2015 |
Balasubramaniam L. wrote:
Can David Cameroon be called an educated user of English?
Or has he been camerooned?
Sorry, couldn't resist.
| | | | Max Deryagin
Russian Federation
Local time: 07:58
English to Russian
| Hah, interesting | Jan 23, 2015 |
This reminds me of the expression "to go Greece" which came with Greece's economic crisis and was used jokingly in news articles and blog posts. It basically means "to go bankrupt".
| | | | LEXpert
United States
Local time: 20:58
Member (2008)
Croatian to English
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| At the least the Americans aren't to blame for this one... | Jan 23, 2015 |
Balasubramaniam L. wrote:
If a non-native English-speaker had made such a usage, you would have promptly come down upon him with rants about the English language being murdered!
Or, heaven forfend, one of those horrible Americans!
[Edited at 2015-01-23 17:27 GMT]
| | | | Rachel Fell
United Kingdom
Local time: 02:58
French to English
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| closely followed by... | Jan 23, 2015 |
to empty podium...
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Jack Doughty
United Kingdom
Local time: 02:58
Russian to English
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In memoriam | George Osborne has been decamerooned | Jan 24, 2015 |
He used to speak in the traditional upper-class manner of an old Etonian, but he has dumbed himself down to Mockney (another new word for you) complete with glottal stops.
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