Play Fair

 

Last weekend while I was at a writers’ conference I heard a lot of jargon. For some reason, normal language prefers to mutate into jargon. Some fields of interest come up with better terms than others.

Computer jargon is my favorite. Although some of it is stupid like ‘blog’ and ‘cookie’ most of it is clever or ingenious. The best created word ever is software, although virus is a close second. Hundreds of newly invented tech words deserve recognition, but I’m sure everyone has their own favorites.

The reason I brought the subject up is that I am disappointed in writers’ jargon. It seems that people who live by word play should be able to come up with better jargon than ‘thriller’ for a one-damn-thing-after-another book, or ‘cozy’ for a detective story that doesn’t have gore or porn, or ‘platform’ for ‘plan on selling every copy of the book for yourself, sucker.’

But we aren’t as bad as doctors and lawyers. They are more snitty than clever, but their main goal is to confound and deceive. Sports jargon isn’t much better, but I will admit that it is hard to come up with meaningful code words for ball-throwing, sweating, and adding numbers up to ten when all blood is in your muscles instead of your brain.

Writers have no excuse at all.

Nancy Sherer

 

 


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