Vac

I wonder what subliminal influence this will have on the ‘vacuum-cleaner’ matket:

Vax has been chosen as the word of the year by lexicographers at the Oxford English Dictionary (OED).

MichaelG.

I bet it's having a subliminal influence on conversation over the UK's fourth-richest breakfast table...

But its a misspelling of a contraction???

So non-stereotypical.

Rather little in my view as the plural of vac for vacuum cleaner is vacs (if I have correctly understood the entry in the Oxford Spelling Dictionary). Does one spell at the subliminal level, though?

Incidentally, I am an appreciative user of the OED website, gratis via my local library membership.

Edited By ega on 01/11/2021 11:09:42

Oh dear …

My point was that Vax is the trade name of a particular breed of vacuum cleaner.

MichaelG.

No doubt the makers of Vax vaccuum cleaners will be pleased or displeased depending on how the coinage affects their sales.

Posted by ega on 01/11/2021 11:08:42:

"Rather little in my view as the plural of vac for vacuum cleaner is vacs (if I have correctly understood the entry in the Oxford Spelling Dictionary)."

The plural of "pock" is "pocks", but it didn't stop the parallel existence of the homophone "pox".

To be distinguished from the still current "Mancs".

I don't think I knew that but am glad to see that going off at a tangent has elicited some other interesting posts.

Entirely by the way, I believe that the term vacuum cleaner is a misnomer.

.

So you will probably be pleased to learn that I refer to the the lady as a Diabetes Nurse, not a Diabetic Nurse … on the basis that [to the best of my knowledge] she is not Diabetic.

MichaelG.

On a related note, it doesn't alleviate my Weltschmerz when I see the doubly insensitive use of "thief" in the frequently encountered journalistic term "moped thief":

Often the people referred to have earlier stolen the mopeds (and therefore are thieves) but the crimes that make them the particular focus of the news report are more often robberies (not thefts) committed using a moped.

Edited By Bill Phinn on 01/11/2021 12:40:32

It will take a lot to displace the "hoover" common used name.

Yes indeed - more power to your linguistic elbow!

I assume that the "word of the year" is based on usage but such expressions as the well-established "disabled toilet" do rather grate.

'Organic vegetables'. I’ve never seen an inorganic version unless it's an ornament.

pgk

And none of these so called mopeds seem to feature pedals for muscle assistance

The first thing I said to my wife when we saw this on the news this morning was "I bet Vax will be pleased, free advertising"

Vacuum cleaner a misnomer? it creates a vacuum (or partial vacuum or negative pressure) to 'suck dirt out* as an industrial fan engineer I would be interested to know why it is a misnomer.

Bill D.

Maybe "suction duster" is more accurate?

Rob

Hi, well I've been Vaxing my carpets for over 20 years (not continually though!)

Regards Nick.

So, do 'anti-vax' people live in filthy houses?

... and to swerve off topic a little, here in semi-literate New Zealand, the New Zealand Long-tailed Bat has just been nominated 'Bird of the Year'. I mean, like, English words mean wot you want, innit?

Doesn't matter ... they're going to catch Covid-19