Obscure Box
Brave headline on the cup punt
It’s a brave sub that opts for a headline with so much potential for mispronunciation.
So it was that the ABC posted a story it headlined “Cup punt not child’s play” on Melbourne Cup day (Tuesday November 3, 2009).
I’m sure the linguists have a name for it; that move from the first word to the second [...]
Talking to ‘real’ people
Who hasn’t cursed at the automated telephone answering systems that have infected many organisations today?
Press 1 for rage, press 2 for even more rage and press 3 if you would like to swear at our automated response system in another language.
“I just want to talk to someone,” a very forward UK bank advert once said [...]
Why using a quote from a media release has its dangers
Too often these days you call an organisation looking to speak to someone for a story only to be told you’ll be sent a media release.
Sometimes the protesting works and you get to speak to a human being, sometimes it doesn’t and you are left with a statement that claims to be the words of [...]