perfect storm

meaning - a weather pattern involving the collision of a northeaster, a large high pressure system, and unusually cold Canadian air pushing down plus moisture and warm air pushing up from a hurricane to the south to create a 'once-in-a-lifetime' storm. (dictionary.com)

misused meaning - any combination of negative events or patterns

explanation - The standard meaning is itself a misuse of a word. The word "perfect" means that everything is perfect or aligned the same way. A perfect score in an exam is 100%, not 99%. A perfect game in bowling is 300, not 299. So therefore, the phrase "perfect storm" should not be used in any case where there is any kind of positive or mitigating factor. For example, this economy we are in is not a perfect storm, since gasoline prices are low and people don't have to pay so much for gasoline.

use instead - double whammy, unfortunate confluence of events, coincidence, clusterf*ck (although that latter one contains the most misused word of them all).

retort - Point out a positive aspect of the situation. Any positive aspect will do. For example, a recent newspaper headline (Mansfield, Ohio) said "Ohio's budget tossed by perfect storm". It goes on to say, "Bureau and U.S. General Accounting Office, the state is being hit particularly hard by the national economic downturn, the five-year phase-in of a 21 percent cut in income tax rates and elimination of the state corporate franchise tax, passed in 2005." However, Ohio's average gasoline price is $1.988, which is much lower than it was last year. So if someone points out that there is a perfect storm in Ohio's budget, point out that Ohio's gasoline prices are much lower than last year's.

If a hurricane is described as a perfect storm, its winds must be at least 195 mph. If a tornado is a perfect storm, its winds must be at least 318 mph. If a set of 10 craps rolls is a perfect storm, it must consist of 10 consecutive busts (2, 3, or 12). If the unemployment scene is a perfect storm, unemployment must be at least 25%, as it was during the Great Depression. Everything must be perfect for a perfect storm to exist. If something is not quite perfect, it is not a perfect storm.

meaning - 1 the line at the bottom of a financial report that shows the net profit or loss
2: financial considerations (as cost or profit or loss) (Merriam-Webster)

misused meaning - 1. the essential or salient point : crux. 2: the primary or most important consideration (Merriam-Webster)

explanation - By using "bottom line" outside of accounting or finance contexts, people are trying to impose corporate ideals on the rest of the world. It is a putdown of everyone else. I therefore feel it is a misused word. There are already words like point for this meaning.

retort - The best retort is to use "bottom line" in a context where it does not mean the net profit or loss, or the point or gist. Try it with baseball, for example: "The bottom line of a major league baseball standings is the last place team." Other retorts include insisting that the bottom line come up front, assuming that "bottom" means a person's behind, and assuming that "line" means a set of phrases that people use to entice others.

meaning - (n) 1. the act of sending out or puttihng forth: promulgation; distribution. 2. a series of things or one of a series of things that is printed, published, or distributed at one time, as in a magazine issue. 3. a point in question or a matter that is in dispute. 4. offspring; progeny.5. something that comes out, as in a stream. 6. profits from a sale (mainly legal).

explanation - The word issue has been used mostly in the past to mean a topic of contention, especially in a political campaign. Now it is used to mean trouble or a problem. Correct usage: "Mr. Kellner failed to discuss the issues in tonight's debate.". Incorrect usage: "I was late to work today due to issues with my car's tires." In the second example, the speaker had a problem, not an issue. Another example: "We need to deal with these issues today." The correct way is :"We need to deal with this matter today." The rule is that if there is a substantial point to both sides, it is an issue; otherwise, it is a problem. Global warming is an issue, as there are substantial points of view on both sides. Flat tires are a problem, since no one will favor the point of view that it is good to have flat tires. And remember that the Apollo 13 astronauts did not say, "Houston, we have an issue.".

retort - Assume the user means "problem". Assume the user means "tissue". Challenge the user of the word to a debate. Assume the user means "offspring". My development once wanted to take pictures of all its houses, and said that photographers would be coming. They then said "If you have a dog or other issue...", thereby insulting the women who live in the development, as "issue" means "offspring", implying that they are bitches.

meaning - adj. 1. consisting of, having, or involving several or many individuals, parts, elements, relations, and so forth; manifold. 2. Electricity. a. (of circuits) arranged in parallel. b. (of a circuit or circuits) having a number of points at which connection can be made. n. Mathematics. a number that contains another number an integral number of times without a remainder; for example, 12 is a multiple of 3. (Random house Webster's College Dictionary)

explanation - The definition indicates that the adjective multiple is meant to apply to a singular noun representing something that has a plurality of other entities. A multiple ballpark, for instance, is a ballpark with more than one field in it. If the word is used with a plural noun, then it means that each individual within that noun has multifaceted parts to it. The word manifold in the definition is key. Recently, however, the word is being used to mean a plurality of anything, including things that don't have more than one part to them. The problem with this is that it is redundant - use of the plural noun already indicates there are more than one of it. For example, today's headlines include "Keeping confidence is key after multiple layoffs." How can a layoff be multiple? Does it have several layofflets within it? Can they lay off only part of your job, and then the rest later? The important thing is this: Can a layoff be manifold? No it cannot. By its nature, it is a singular entity. The correct way of saying it is "Keeping confidence is key after many layoffs".

use instead - many, several, a plural noun without an adjective such as many or multiple.

retort - The main retort is to use the word multiple with a singular noun. For example, boxes of cat litter may say "for multiple cats". Ask the proprieter or the litter maker, "What's a multiple cat? Is it a cat with two or three heads?"

meaning - Law - 1. the place of a crime or cause of action. 2. the county or place where a jury is gathered and a case tried. 3. the designation of the place where a trial will be held. (Random House Webster's College Dictionary)

explanation - This is an example of a specialized word that people have tried to bring into everyday language, and it winds up being misused. As you can see from the meanings above, all three of them concern a crime or the result of one: a jury, a hearing, or a trial. Now people have used the word to mean any type of location, place or event. In so doing, they imply something criminal about that location, place or event. Here's an example from Canada.com: "No Doubt, in the middle of a North American tour, persuaded local venue operators to give them most of the best seats..." They mean location or place. The way they stated it suggests that this is a legal case. There already are two words for the concept, namely location and place. We don't need a third term. The only good way of using the term is to use it to represent where a trial or hearing will be held, as in "change of venue". Use location or place if this is not what you mean.

retort - Assume the speaker means Venus. Assume that the item with the venue is a legal proceeding or trial. When you hear, "After this incident, we will hold our meetings at another venue." Reply with "Who's on trial?" Assume the place or location which is referred to as venue is going to be changed.

This is a new page which I am establishing, because of the large number of mis-used words that are making its way into the public nowadays. I will have a list of such words, together with the following:

misused meaning - the meaning that is used that constitutes a misuse of the word.

use instead - It is better to use these words instead of the misused words in these circumstances

retorts - when a person misuses the word, how you can reply to him in such a way as to deter him from using the word that way in the future.

Misused Words

perfect storm