Dennis Bergendorf
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Shorthand, code, and buzz words
I just saw the movie "The Paper, " which has to be one of my all-time faves. (To refresh: it's about a New York tabloid newspaper's dealing with the
arrest to two innocent men accused of murder. It stars Michael Keaton, Glenn Close, Randy Quaid and Robert Duvall).
In it, Close (the editor) uses the word "splat" to refer to an exclamation point.
Way too cool!
What other shorthand, buzz words, or slang do we writers use?
In the biz, magazines are called "books." "Paragraphs are "graphs" (but we all knew that didn't we?).
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Melanie
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I suppose it would depend on the type of writer, and the type of writing they do. I have nothing whatsoever to do with magazines, and had no clue they
were called 'books.'
Calling paragraphs 'graphs' is equally, to my tastes, ridiculous. They aren't graphs, and paragraph is hardly a difficult word to say.
Ah well. I'm rather a traditionalist when it comes to language. I don't quite understand the need to find shortened versions or slang for perfectly
good words.
Melanie 
"Go forth boldly in the direction of your dreams." Thoreau
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Going Forth Boldly -- The Chronicle of Becoming a Professional Fiction Writer
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LIVIN
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Quote: Originally posted by Melanie  | Calling paragraphs 'graphs' is equally, to my tastes, ridiculous. They aren't graphs, and paragraph is hardly a difficult word to say.
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I'm with the above poster, but now that I've heard this for the first time, it explains what someone said/I read the other day.
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caribbeanmuse
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One of our writers here came to visit me this summer with her 12 year old daughter, who of course, was taught not to swear. So instead of saying
"Sh*t" she said SNAP! I kind of liked the new word.
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Dennis Bergendorf
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Interesting outlook. I've always been fascinated by slang or nicknames, especially when used in a particular profession. I suppose the couple of
examples I offered are used primarily in journalism.
As for "graph," I thought it kind of funny in the old Lou Grant TV show that they used "para" instead, and called the police station the "cop house"
(it's actually "Cop Shop").
And speaking of actual, in broadcast news the words "sound bite" are almost never used. It's "actuality." Or it might just be called "sound."
Police use the word "perp" for bad guy (short for perpetrator) and serious poker players "muck" their cards when they fold.
To me, it just adds to the richness of life! (Hey, a splat!)
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TheBarefoot
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Coders usually call the exclamation mark a "bang". The pound symbol (aka the octothorpe) also resembles the sharp notation for music. When used
together, #!, is called a "shabang."
Oh, cheese! I geeked out again. Didn't I?
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caribbeanmuse
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So Randy, why are you going easy on the Pagans this month?
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