Leading from the Middle

I?ve accumulated some of the following, what I call, "shorts" in hopes they'd trigger several paragraphs of writing worthy of my blog. Alas, such is not their fate, so here they are with little if any exegesis.
1. While looking up the phrase "with all due respect" I discovered that in 2008 the Oxford dictionary compiled a list of the most irritating phrases in the English language; my phrase came in fifth! So, if you want to annoy your work colleagues pop a few of these at every meeting:
1- At the end of the day
2 - Fairly unique
3 - I personally
4 - At this moment in time
5 - With all due respect
6 - Absolutely
7 - It's a nightmare
8 - Shouldn't of
9 - 24/7
10 - It's not rocket science
2. "God tempers the wind"
In A Sentimental Journey through France and Italy, (1768) Laurence Sterne tells of his second meeting with Maria, a girl who had lost her reason. Since last they had met she had travelled much " alone across the Apennines, over all Lombardy without shoes. "How she had borne it, and how she had got supported, she could not tell, but, "God tempers the wind ", said Maria, "to the shorn lamb".
3. Dugnad
"In Norway, we have a word that you don?t have in English,"Lt.Gen. Jakobsen told me. "It's called dugnad. It's very hard to explain." Then the military commander translated it. "If something happens that is bad," he said, "everybody turns up to help and do a job together to solve the problem." From: "Norway Was a Pandemic Success. Then It Spent Two Years Studying Its Failures."
4. Name that word: It starts with a "P"
"Duplicative language without appropriate attribution." Harvard University, using five words when one would suffice.
5. Adam Smith on the value - more or less - of government:
"All constitutions of government," Smith reminded readers, "are valued only in proportion as they tend to promote the happiness of those who live under them. This is their sole use and end."
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Nothing raggedy shorts about these books:
ONLY a click away, barely in time for gift giving :

And, not to be forgotten, Leading from the Middle, is available at Amazon.
Copyright John Lubans all text 2023

 

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