I’m well accustomed to bureaucratic doublespeak- competencies, synergies, stakeholders, and so forth. It’s almost comforting to hear this nonsense coming from our officials. If a government worker actually responded to a question in a coherent manner I’d assume that he or she was either on the take or about to go nuts with a deer rifle. But when crazy-person jargon makes its way into the mainstream, it’s much less comforting and in many cases is downright infuriating.
Take, for example, a phenomenon I’ve noticed among pet lovers- a crossbreed or mutt (and I use those terms with affection, having owned and loved a number of mutts) is no longer called as such. Instead, it’s given a cutesy name like Labradoodle, or Cockapoo, or Pitbudoodle. Blerg. Similarly, there’s an emerging trend of people referring to their “staycation”, especially in the world of personal finance. They didn’t travel or go somewhere exotic; instead, they chose to “staycation” this year. With all due respect, you didn’t take a “staycation”- you stayed at home. That’s okay, even admirable. I’ve long been a proponent of exploring your own backyard, especially if you live in a place as spectacularly beautiful as I do. There’s no shame in it. But you don’t need a “staycation” to enjoy those things- a sunny Saturday or Wednesday afternoon will do just fine. Don’t try to turn it into something that it’s not. You’re not fooling anyone.
So what’s the harm in calling it a Labradoodle or a staycation? Some would say not much- it’s just a fun way to describe something. There’s some logic to this, I suppose- similarly, I can call my cat a domesticated Peruvian jaguar, I can call my canoe a 16 foot hybrid-powered luxury lake cruiser, I can call my Subaru a Fishplant Ferrari. No harm, no foul, right? Well, not quite. Putting fancy labels on things to make them sound, well, fancy, tells me that many people still don’t get it. I’ve been optimistic that there’s a silver lining to be found on the cloud of the current economic collapse as people begin to reevaluate and reject materialism, one-upmanship, and keeping up with those dastardly Joneses. You don’t need a vacation on the French Riviera or a safari in Kenya to feel good about yourself, nor do you need a $3500 purebred pooch. But you also don’t need to call going to the local museum a staycation- by doing so, you’re just replacing one silly social status symbol (bonus points for alliteration!) with another. And that’s not cool.
What say you? Are you going to staycation this year in the Paris of the Prairies with your Pitbudoodle, or do you think that’s just crazy talk?
Image by Martyne.
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I hate it when people use fancy French names for food, like creme fraiche. Or steak and frites- are you too fancy to eat fries with your steak? La dee da!
“a phenomenon I’ve noticed among pet lovers”
It’s not pet lovers you’ll find using those type terms, it’s fashion accessory lovers.
Staycations are enjoyed by those ashamed of not going to the places their friends went.
I’ve never seen/heard anyone but a journalist use the word “staycation”, which I’ve kind of mentally filed away with “recession chic”. Is it a word real live people use?
Anyway, when I was a kid staycations (which were common, growing up as I did in a faraway land in which employers actually give humane amount of vacation time and therefore people do their own chores) were called “taking a week off and painting the front room” or the like.
A Labradoodle is no different than a Bennifer or a Brangelina, no?
@Hurtin’ Albertan- Ah yes, the fancy french name to make food seem more exotic. Would you care for some Flacon Mais avec lait for your breakfast?
@Nick- Point taken.
@guiness416- Unfortunately, I’ve heard the term from a number of friends and co-workers. Based on your experiences growing up, do you think I could call taking an afternoon off to replace my bathroom sink a Euro-style “staycation”? That’s sure to give me some fashion credibility.
@Adam- Yes, like a Bennifer or Brangelina, but slightly cuter and less hairy…
Pitbudoodle presumably equals pitbull plus poodle, yes? So really, it should be “Pitboodle”… but as I’ve said before, Pitbudoodle is better than the alternative: Poobull… which is just bullsh*t backwards. Kind of like all the “designer breed” names. ; )
If you give a mutt a fancy name, you won’t have to give it away or drown it; you can sell it for at least a $1,000.00.