The Professional Writer Podcast

Jargon Drives Me Crazy

The owner of a car lot narrated the following radio ad:

“…These cars are heavily incentivized…”

Incentivized?

I’ve heard of “offering incentives.”

But incentivized? I had to check it out. Sure enough, it’s in the dictionary, and it means “to give incentives to.” Another form of the verb is incentivizing (what a mouthful!).

I stand corrected. Incentivized really is a word. But is it the appropriate word to use when advertising cars — or anything, for that matter?

I hate it when people use big, impressive-sounding words when small ones will do.

Wrong Word Choice Results in Stinky Sentence

Heard on the radio: “When I was a little girl, I had a fragrant disregard for taking my shoes off when I entered my house.” The deejay must have had stinky feet when she was younger — which would account for her fragrant disregard. She meant to say flagrant (which means blatant). Your turn! Submit […]

A Little Toilet Humor

Seen inside a public toilet stall: Toilet out of order. Please use floor below. (My sons do that… and our toilet works.) On a readerboard outside a pre-school: This sign intentionally left blank, just like your child’s mind. (Should parents interpret this as a compliment or an insult?) In an office break room: After tea […]