Thursday, 14 January 2010

A New Language

An article in my local paper, the Witney Gazette, highlights the bureaucratic use of inventing a new form of our language resulting in new crimes.

"Detective Superintendent Barry Halliday said: “Tackling serious acquisitive crime is a priority for Thames Valley Police......."

The Oxford English Dictionary defines 'acquisitive' as: 'keen to acquire things'', materialistic', 'avaricious'.

Therefore it must follow, for example, that MPs are now guilty of this new crime whichever definition one chooses to use - especially when thinking of property.

2 comments:

microdave said...

When are these police spokesmen going to realise that trying to be clever actually makes them look even more stupid.

It's just another example of "Police Speak"

Mrs Rigby said...

I was going to make a list of all the "speak" words I've come to detest. Maybe I'll get round to it one day.

Did you know that you can charged with 'theft by finding'?