Dear all There plenty of examples where obsolete units of measurement still form well known (metaphoric) phrases in ordinary language; e.g. "a grain of intelligence". How many people know, I wonder, that the "grain" is (or was) in fact a very small unit of mass (~65 mg).
The best we can do is introduce alternatives (a gram of intelligence perhaps) and let them catch on gradually. I don't think we can force the issue even if we tried. In any case it isn't (in my view) all that important and is likely to be counter-productive. We don't want to lend credibility to the argument that metrication is an attack on freedom of expression. BTW the word "mileage" is often used metaphorically to means some kind of gain without reference to distance at all. Phil Hall -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Phil Chernack Sent: 30 May 2006 05:43 To: U.S. Metric Association Subject: [USMA:36870] Re: Wyeth footage I still "dial" the phone as I'm sure many of you do too. I haven't actually dialed a phone in years. I don't see the terms "footage", "mileage" or "acreage" disappearing anytime soon. Maybe eventually some will be replaced--land area for acreage, fuel economy for mileage, etc but even as we move to metric, some terms will outlast the original meaning. The process will be organic. Use the term that makes you comfortable. Eventually, the language will adapt and common usage will follow. Let's not make the mistake of "forcing" the change on people. Let it come naturally with your own personal usage coming first. Phil > -----Original Message----- > From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf > Of Bill Hooper > Sent: Monday, May 29, 2006 9:03 PM > To: U.S. Metric Association > Subject: [USMA:36867] Re: Wyeth footage > > > On 2006 May 26 , at 12:22 PM, Robert H. Bushnell wrote: > > > 2006 May 26 > > ... 6836 Harry Wyeth reports location "within two feet". > > Then he says there is "great footage". > > So, all of you: what do we say instead of "footage"? > > Please help. > > > How about "DISTANCE" or "LENGTH". > Same thing for "yardage". > > I know of know of no instance of the use of "inchage". > Thank goodness for small favors. > > Of course, we do have "acreage" which is just another word for area > (usually used only for land area). > > Yes, I do understand that when someone says "acreage" he/she usually > means "the area AS MEASURED IN acres" (and "yardage" is intended to > mean "the distance in yards", etc.). But if the speaker doesn't know > that the generic term is "area", how can he/she even ask how to > measure "it" in metric. > > Dare he/she ask "What is the acreage in square metres?" ( or ... in > hectares?") > May I answer that the acreage is 40 hectares? > ... or that the yardage is 10 metres? > ... or that the poundage is 35 kilograms? > ... or even that the wattage is 300 HP? > > And what about "milage"? Unfortunately "mileage" has come to mean > something else entirely. Mileage is not even measured in miles; here > in the US, mileage generally means how many miles you can drive your > car on a gallon of gas and so it is measured in miles per gallon > (MPG)). This example of the inconsistency of usage is just one more > argument against this "age" old practice. > > This practice: > tacking on the suffix "-age" to a unit of measure and > using that suffixed word to mean the quantity being measured > is a travesty. Such usage ... (Oh, oh! Do I need to eliminate > "usage", too? Tsk, tsk!) ... Such usage should be avoided at all > costs and deprecated everywhere. > > Call the distance "distance" (or length, or height, etc), not footage > or yardage. > Call call the electric current "current", not amperage. > Call the power "power", not wattage. > Call the area "area", not acreage. > Call the electric potential difference "potential" (for short), but > not voltage > Call the mass "mass" (or even "weight"), not tonnage or poundage. > > Let us leave the Dark "Ages" and call things by their proper names. > > > Bill Hooper > 74 kg body mass* > Fernandina Beach, Florida, USA > > * plus or minus a kilogram or two
