Misused Words.

Star (Christchurch), Volume LXIV, Issue 940, 9 December 1933, Page 8

Misused Words.

“ J THINK IT’S SILLY,” said a member of the Chamber of Commerce when asked to support a change of name in the inter-island ferry service. It was not clear whether he thought the new name, “ steamer express,” silly, or merely thought that it was silly for such a responsible body to strain at a gnat and swallow a camel. (Readers can think up suitable camels for themselves.) Anyhow', “ Touchstone ” agrees with him. Webster defines a ferry as a vessel in which passengers and goods are conveyed over narrow waters. To ferry is “to carry or transport over a river, strait or other narrow water in a boat or by a ferry.” A steamer is a vessel propelled by steam, and an express is now narrowed down to a railway train for transporting passengers’ and goods with speed and punctuality. “ Steamer express,” etymologically speaking, is a hybrid or mongrel term. ” Express steamer ” w'ould be better, but all ferries are not steamers; some are propelled by internal combustion engines. Anyhow, who is dissatisfied with “ ferry service”? It minimises rather than magnifies the discomforts of Cook Strait. It owes its popularity to its apt descriptive value and ease of utterance or articulation, and it will survive because the masses are staunch guardians of purity of speech where names are concerned. TOUCHSTONE.