You say tomato, I say tar sands
I apologize for blogging being so light lately. But if you head over to this odd little article in today's Globe and Mail, you might just catch a glimpse of someone you all know and love tolerate, hangin' out in her work clothes.
Nice distinction, IP. Interesting article, too. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteLove the work clothes, and I'm betting she uses the "tar" sands terminology . . . .
ReplyDeletewest end bound,
ReplyDeleteActually, I've been thinking about this, and I think I tend to take the lead from whomever I'm talking to--I let them use the term first and then adopt that one for the duration of the conversation. But then again, I've always been a bit of a linguistic chameleon.
I was interested in the comparison with Northern Ireland. Incidentally republicans often refer to the 'six counties' referring to the 6 counties of the old Irish province of Ulster that form Northern Ireland. If you want to avoid upsetting people 'the North' is generally considered to be a fairly neutral expression.... Perhaps 'the Sands' could be adopted in Alberta?
ReplyDeletebridgegeek,
ReplyDeleteActually, that's precisely the phrase I've been using all week! Maybe it'll catch on...