Passion

[Adasta]

When did this word become so ubiquitous? It's everywhere. It's not enough to like something, to enjoy something, or even to be good at something: one has to have a passion for it. A passion for stationary; a passion for "good customer service". Why?

Frankly, I don't know if I'd like to meet someone with a "passion" for serving people...

Argh. Apologies for the rant.

 

[fossyant]

Hang on, who is 'servicing you'.....whoop. And has a passion for it - Lucky person !

Marketing it is........

 

[661-Pete]

Sounds like it may be a French import - their revenge for all the Franglais we've imposed on them.

In French it's common to use the word passioné(e) - as in "Je suis passioné de cyclisme" - where, in English, you'd probably say "I'm keen on cycling".

 

[Beardie]

There's lot of this sort of thing going on. Developments always have to be 'prestigious'. Everything from posh homes to warehouses on industrial estates has to be 'prestigious'. Although the word has come to indicate glamour and respectability, it derives from a French word meaning illusion or deception.

Similarly, 'entrepreneur' is often used to describe people like Sir Richard Branson and Sir Alan Sugar. But the word only means 'one who engages in a commercial enterprise', not necessarily famous business tycoons.

 

[Fnaar]

Similarly, 'entrepreneur' is often used to describe people like Sir Richard Branson and Sir Alan Sugar. But the word only means 'one who engages in a commercial enterprise', not necessarily famous business tycoons.

I bet the French don't have a word for 'entrepreneur' ;-)

 

[rich p]

What really p*sses me off is how common the usage of 'ubiquitous' has become

 

[vernon]

In education - the phrase 'moral imperative' is used to browbeat teachers into doing things that benefit the management team and the school's position in the league tables and not improve the life chances of the justification for the school's existence - its pupils.

 

[Adasta]

What really p*sses me off is how common the usage of 'ubiquitous' has become

Woah, woah, woah. Hands off the Latin, yeh?

 

[Moodyman]

I work in an environent where superlatives rule.

Nothing is nice or good. It's 'very, very' nice and 'really' good.

Everything's quantified to increase its impact.

Except, its loses its meaning after while. That 'really, really' important task becomes as routine as the fifteen others that I'm working on.