Stop Beating Up My Language!

I just need to rant here for a second, okay? This isn't political, and is only tangentially about society. If you want to skip it, my feelings won't be hurt.

I've encountered what I consider to be some rather egregious misuses of the language lately and wanted to address them here.

If you work in food service, your smallest size is a small, okay? Regardless of WHAT your marketing department tells you to call them, you DO have a small – it is your smallest size. Years ago, marketing departments decided that “small” had negative connotations, so they started to tell their people to call their sizes something like “large, extra-large and jumbo”. It's still small, medium and large. Even if they say “call them jumbo, huge and GIGANTASAUR”, it's still small... medium... and large.

I also think that it's idiotic, and says something bad about us as a culture that our smallest size soda at most fountains is now enough soda to float a supertanker in.

If you have a really bad headache, you do NOT have a migraine unless you frequently get headaches so bad that they prevent you from functioning. You DO have a really bad headache. Take an aspirin.

If you have trouble sleeping sometimes, you do not necessarily have insomnia. You probably drink too much caffeine. Insomnia is a very specific syndrome that prevents you from getting restful sleep.

Use the language correctly, please.

Peace.

Rev. Randal