Phrases that annoy you the most
Discussion
Pit Pony said:
JuniorD said:
donkmeister said:
Timmy47 said:
"Engineer" when applied to virtually every job except bloody engineering. For example "the s
tty machine vending coffee has broken, an engineer has been called."
No, an engineer has not been called, someone with basic skills at repairing stty coffee machines has been called, not an engineer.
That one irks me more than it should. Technician, repairman (it's actually a genderless term), installer, mechanic, these are all perfectly good terms for someone who does the manual installation and fixing of stuff. tty machine vending coffee has broken, an engineer has been called." No, an engineer has not been called, someone with basic skills at repairing s
tty coffee machines has been called, not an engineer. I've seen plumbers and electricians justifying the use of "engineer" in that they have to be able to design a system that works as it should. I can accept that, and if I see some proper design consideration and calculations of a heating system or electrical installation I would consider that an engineered system hence the person who did the engineering is an engineer. However, wanging a combi on the wall and testing gas pressure, or running a few cables and buzzing them with a Fluke is not itself engineering.
The equivalents would be calling someone a civil engineer for chucking a bit of concrete in for a footing because it looks about the right amount, or a structural engineer because they knocked out a wall and the ceiling didn't fall down.
ky white collar engineering 
10 years later with an accredidted Honours Degree from Cov Poly, 2 years Accedited training at Lucas and 5 years of project managing research projects jointly with various academic institutions, I was able to attain CEng with the IEE (now the IET)
If I get pissy about the use of the word Engineer out of context, its because I've had a s
t week and everything is pissing me off. I ranted similarly about this a fair while ago in here, that the persons who designed the washing machine are the engineers, and not the persons that come to repair it (unless coincidentally they're also engineers too). I was roundly turned upon, very much the opposite of the above posts.
A few years back I needed the handle adjusting on a newly installed pvcu window, I was told that they'd send an engineer around. I said that was really unnecessary, just send one of the fitters back or a general repair bod, I didn't need an engineer.
Edited by 21st Century Man on Tuesday 25th February 15:49
JuniorD said:
donkmeister said:
Timmy47 said:
"Engineer" when applied to virtually every job except bloody engineering. For example "the stty machine vending coffee has broken, an engineer has been called."
No, an engineer has not been called, someone with basic skills at repairing stty coffee machines has been called, not an engineer.
That one irks me more than it should. Technician, repairman (it's actually a genderless term), installer, mechanic, these are all perfectly good terms for someone who does the manual installation and fixing of stuff. tty machine vending coffee has broken, an engineer has been called." No, an engineer has not been called, someone with basic skills at repairing s
tty coffee machines has been called, not an engineer. I've seen plumbers and electricians justifying the use of "engineer" in that they have to be able to design a system that works as it should. I can accept that, and if I see some proper design consideration and calculations of a heating system or electrical installation I would consider that an engineered system hence the person who did the engineering is an engineer. However, wanging a combi on the wall and testing gas pressure, or running a few cables and buzzing them with a Fluke is not itself engineering.
The equivalents would be calling someone a civil engineer for chucking a bit of concrete in for a footing because it looks about the right amount, or a structural engineer because they knocked out a wall and the ceiling didn't fall down.
ky white collar engineering We're one of the few developed countries who didn't protect the term "engineer". If you want to see a country who really takes the term seriously, look at Canada.
So I do understand why actual engineers with an apprenticeship, degree, years of experience, chartership etc get sniffy when the term is applied to those who haven't gone through that pain. Years ago I actually worked as an engineer. I was just a physicist giving his brain a rest so didn't have the same trajectory in mind, but it was bemusing how many people I met who would assume I repaired household appliances when they learned I was an "engineer".
donkmeister said:
JuniorD said:
donkmeister said:
Timmy47 said:
"Engineer" when applied to virtually every job except bloody engineering. For example "the stty machine vending coffee has broken, an engineer has been called."
No, an engineer has not been called, someone with basic skills at repairing stty coffee machines has been called, not an engineer.
That one irks me more than it should. Technician, repairman (it's actually a genderless term), installer, mechanic, these are all perfectly good terms for someone who does the manual installation and fixing of stuff. tty machine vending coffee has broken, an engineer has been called." No, an engineer has not been called, someone with basic skills at repairing s
tty coffee machines has been called, not an engineer. I've seen plumbers and electricians justifying the use of "engineer" in that they have to be able to design a system that works as it should. I can accept that, and if I see some proper design consideration and calculations of a heating system or electrical installation I would consider that an engineered system hence the person who did the engineering is an engineer. However, wanging a combi on the wall and testing gas pressure, or running a few cables and buzzing them with a Fluke is not itself engineering.
The equivalents would be calling someone a civil engineer for chucking a bit of concrete in for a footing because it looks about the right amount, or a structural engineer because they knocked out a wall and the ceiling didn't fall down.
ky white collar engineering We're one of the few developed countries who didn't protect the term "engineer". If you want to see a country who really takes the term seriously, look at Canada.
So I do understand why actual engineers with an apprenticeship, degree, years of experience, chartership etc get sniffy when the term is applied to those who haven't gone through that pain. Years ago I actually worked as an engineer. I was just a physicist giving his brain a rest so didn't have the same trajectory in mind, but it was bemusing how many people I met who would assume I repaired household appliances when they learned I was an "engineer".
As for plumbers, that's such an anachronism, and from what I've seen it's high time they should be called siliconers.
The problem with "engineer" is that there are no qualifications required. You can't be a doctor unless you are qualified as one, but as an engineer, no qualifications at all.
For example, in my first job, I worked on safety critical software that would command, for example, an oil rig to shutdown. Basically, a system that was protecting something that could blow up and kill hundreds of people; no qualifications required.
But the person who dealt with company's money, they had to be a qualified accountant.
i.e. society places more emphasis on the money than protecting people's lives.
For example, in my first job, I worked on safety critical software that would command, for example, an oil rig to shutdown. Basically, a system that was protecting something that could blow up and kill hundreds of people; no qualifications required.
But the person who dealt with company's money, they had to be a qualified accountant.
i.e. society places more emphasis on the money than protecting people's lives.
Pit Pony said:
Sheets Tabuer said:
You should visit a message engineer, the one near me is great, really relieves the tension.
My brother in law used to be a senior test engineer on System X telephone exchanges for Marconicomms. If I have a problem with my IT he usually fixes it for me. jonysan said:
'Boils my Piss' where did that, course, unfunny, phrase come from?
I'm guessing it's used by someone, who isn't but wants to be 'one of the lads'. and fails.
It boils my piss when people confuse homophones like "course" and "coarse". I'm guessing it's used by someone, who isn't but wants to be 'one of the lads'. and fails.
It's classic idiomatic Anglo-Saxon to make reference to bodily excreta and effluvia. The boiling of piss is ancient, passed down from the days of the Venerable Bede. Indeed, Bede himself said "it boils my piss that I'm not doing enough praying what with my wife wanting me to get on the nest every which way till the Sabbath. Phwoar."
If you don't like it, I'm afraid that makes you a big girl's blouse who probably drinks their tea from a ladies' cup with their little finger poking out.
Now, would someone desperate be "one of the lads" use words like effluvia and quote an Anglo-Saxon monk? Doubt it.
snuffy said:
World's fastest growing sport.
"Yesterday there was only 1 player of Spanish Hamster Cricket, but today there are now 2. This sport is growing at the amazing rate of 100% per day, making it the world's fastest growing sport."
For years I used to hear a stat trotted out fishing was UKs biggest participation sport. It sounded very iffy at the time but there was no easy way of verifying like there is today. And so it survived for years."Yesterday there was only 1 player of Spanish Hamster Cricket, but today there are now 2. This sport is growing at the amazing rate of 100% per day, making it the world's fastest growing sport."
snuffy said:
The problem with "engineer" is that there are no qualifications required. You can't be a doctor unless you are qualified as one, but as an engineer, no qualifications at all.
For example, in my first job, I worked on safety critical software that would command, for example, an oil rig to shutdown. Basically, a system that was protecting something that could blow up and kill hundreds of people; no qualifications required.
But the person who dealt with company's money, they had to be a qualified accountant.
i.e. society places more emphasis on the money than protecting people's lives.
I bet your work was subject to peer review by multiple engineers of much greater seniority and experience, and would hazard that many of these were chartered. If not, your chief engineer wasn't doing his job and was opening himself up to legal action.For example, in my first job, I worked on safety critical software that would command, for example, an oil rig to shutdown. Basically, a system that was protecting something that could blow up and kill hundreds of people; no qualifications required.
But the person who dealt with company's money, they had to be a qualified accountant.
i.e. society places more emphasis on the money than protecting people's lives.
You also realise that a "qualified accountant" doesn't necessarily have a related degree, accountancy qualifications are more about sticking to a universally-recognised methodology to avoid their employer being on the hook for tax evasion and fraud. I know a few accountants; one has no degree, one has a Physics degree, one has a Mechanical Engineering degree, one has a Business Studies degree, one has a Mathematics degree. The one who has done really well and retired in his 40s has a Modern European Languages degree. So no numbers at all in that one!
swisstoni said:
snuffy said:
World's fastest growing sport.
"Yesterday there was only 1 player of Spanish Hamster Cricket, but today there are now 2. This sport is growing at the amazing rate of 100% per day, making it the world's fastest growing sport."
For years I used to hear a stat trotted out fishing was UKs biggest participation sport. It sounded very iffy at the time but there was no easy way of verifying like there is today. And so it survived for years."Yesterday there was only 1 player of Spanish Hamster Cricket, but today there are now 2. This sport is growing at the amazing rate of 100% per day, making it the world's fastest growing sport."
donkmeister said:
I bet your work was subject to peer review by multiple engineers of much greater seniority and experience, and would hazard that many of these were chartered. If not, your chief engineer wasn't doing his job and was opening himself up to legal action.
You also realise that a "qualified accountant" doesn't necessarily have a related degree, accountancy qualifications are more about sticking to a universally-recognised methodology to avoid their employer being on the hook for tax evasion and fraud. I know a few accountants; one has no degree, one has a Physics degree, one has a Mechanical Engineering degree, one has a Business Studies degree, one has a Mathematics degree. The one who has done really well and retired in his 40s has a Modern European Languages degree. So no numbers at all in that one!
Point 1: That is true, but you still don't need any qualifications.You also realise that a "qualified accountant" doesn't necessarily have a related degree, accountancy qualifications are more about sticking to a universally-recognised methodology to avoid their employer being on the hook for tax evasion and fraud. I know a few accountants; one has no degree, one has a Physics degree, one has a Mechanical Engineering degree, one has a Business Studies degree, one has a Mathematics degree. The one who has done really well and retired in his 40s has a Modern European Languages degree. So no numbers at all in that one!
Point 2: Yes, but as you say, they have a qualification in accountancy.
Fair enough; what I had meant to say (in an admittedly very pedantic manner) was that the "placing more importance on money than lives" statement should be regarded as a quip rather than being taken seriously.
Many without engineering experience would look at that and think that an undergrad software engineer whizzkid had just written the safety critical software for an oil rig or refinery one morning, uploaded it and gone down the pub!!! I think that one of my key takeaways from working in engineering was an understanding of why big projects cost these unfathomable amounts that none of us will earn in a lifetime. It's not profligate spending, it's paying for methodical design and testing, with a st load of acquired experiences, building on all the previous fk-ups to give an assurance that wings don't fall off planes, bridges don't collapse, tunnels don't flood, traffic lights don't start showing all directions a green light at once and so on.
Many without engineering experience would look at that and think that an undergrad software engineer whizzkid had just written the safety critical software for an oil rig or refinery one morning, uploaded it and gone down the pub!!! I think that one of my key takeaways from working in engineering was an understanding of why big projects cost these unfathomable amounts that none of us will earn in a lifetime. It's not profligate spending, it's paying for methodical design and testing, with a s
t load of acquired experiences, building on all the previous fk-ups to give an assurance that wings don't fall off planes, bridges don't collapse, tunnels don't flood, traffic lights don't start showing all directions a green light at once and so on.donkmeister said:
jonysan said:
'Boils my Piss' where did that, course, unfunny, phrase come from?
I'm guessing it's used by someone, who isn't but wants to be 'one of the lads'. and fails.
It boils my piss when people confuse homophones like "course" and "coarse". I'm guessing it's used by someone, who isn't but wants to be 'one of the lads'. and fails.
It's classic idiomatic Anglo-Saxon to make reference to bodily excreta and effluvia. The boiling of piss is ancient, passed down from the days of the Venerable Bede. Indeed, Bede himself said "it boils my piss that I'm not doing enough praying what with my wife wanting me to get on the nest every which way till the Sabbath. Phwoar."
If you don't like it, I'm afraid that makes you a big girl's blouse who probably drinks their tea from a ladies' cup with their little finger poking out.
Now, would someone desperate be "one of the lads" use words like effluvia and quote an Anglo-Saxon monk? Doubt it.
jonysan said:
donkmeister said:
jonysan said:
'Boils my Piss' where did that, course, unfunny, phrase come from?
I'm guessing it's used by someone, who isn't but wants to be 'one of the lads'. and fails.
It boils my piss when people confuse homophones like "course" and "coarse". I'm guessing it's used by someone, who isn't but wants to be 'one of the lads'. and fails.
It's classic idiomatic Anglo-Saxon to make reference to bodily excreta and effluvia. The boiling of piss is ancient, passed down from the days of the Venerable Bede. Indeed, Bede himself said "it boils my piss that I'm not doing enough praying what with my wife wanting me to get on the nest every which way till the Sabbath. Phwoar."
If you don't like it, I'm afraid that makes you a big girl's blouse who probably drinks their tea from a ladies' cup with their little finger poking out.
Now, would someone desperate be "one of the lads" use words like effluvia and quote an Anglo-Saxon monk? Doubt it.
"nestled" and "boasts".
These two words are always written when referring to tourism:
The small town of Mingeworthy is nestled in the the magnificent Buttocks rolling hills, and boasts a sculpture of a 12 century dangleberry.
So you mean it's located in the hills and has a sculpture then?
These two words are always written when referring to tourism:
The small town of Mingeworthy is nestled in the the magnificent Buttocks rolling hills, and boasts a sculpture of a 12 century dangleberry.
So you mean it's located in the hills and has a sculpture then?
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