I was taking a group of building service engineers through the 18th. We were discussing the use of Appendix 5. One chap was very exercised about the BA3 category which is described as utilization-capability-handicapped. He claims the latter word was exorcised from common parlance years ago and would be offensive to many. I am not that politically correct but maybe he has a valid argument,.
I call a spade a spade and never even dreamt of that saying in any other context.
Some folk just look to find something as offensive .
ebee,
I sympathise, but the problem is that as context changes, what is originally an innocent comment can take on different meanings. The phrase 'call a spade a spade' originates in ancient Greek (Plutarch) though was a result of translation into English in 1540. It therefore predates the perjorative sense of 'spade' by nearly 4 1/2 Centuries. I, and others of my generation, may still use the phrase, but nowadays I am sensitive about who may be present when/if I say it. If I say it I am referring to a garden implement, but this does not stop others from misconstruing the intent. Workplace harassment (and harassment elsewhere) is not about intent but rather about the perception of the harassed individual.
If you want a good example of how context can change the sense of a phrase, in 2010 the Deepwater Horizon, operated by BP in the Gulf of Mexico, had a major failure which resulted in probably the largest oil spill in the history of oil exploration. Back in the 1990's the same company. BP, had run advertising campaigns in the US with the slogan "BP - bringing oil to America's shores!" This is not an advertising campaign they are likely to run nowadays as the context has changed.
I call a spade a spade and never even dreamt of that saying in any other context.
Some folk just look to find something as offensive .
ebee,
I sympathise, but the problem is that as context changes, what is originally an innocent comment can take on different meanings. The phrase 'call a spade a spade' originates in ancient Greek (Plutarch) though was a result of translation into English in 1540. It therefore predates the perjorative sense of 'spade' by nearly 4 1/2 Centuries. I, and others of my generation, may still use the phrase, but nowadays I am sensitive about who may be present when/if I say it. If I say it I am referring to a garden implement, but this does not stop others from misconstruing the intent. Workplace harassment (and harassment elsewhere) is not about intent but rather about the perception of the harassed individual.
If you want a good example of how context can change the sense of a phrase, in 2010 the Deepwater Horizon, operated by BP in the Gulf of Mexico, had a major failure which resulted in probably the largest oil spill in the history of oil exploration. Back in the 1990's the same company. BP, had run advertising campaigns in the US with the slogan "BP - bringing oil to America's shores!" This is not an advertising campaign they are likely to run nowadays as the context has changed.
