Semantics

dreadnut

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So first a high-schooler commits to play at a given college; next we're reading about how he "de-committed" and will now play elsewhere. Is "decommitment" even a word? Because it means he never really "committed" in the first place. If one can "decommit", then it devalues everyone's "commitments." This kinda stuff drives me nuts.
 

adorshki

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Is "decommitment" even a word?
NO it's not.
The correct term would be "renege(d)(on their promise)" but of course that just sounds like a bad thing, which it is, and lord forbid we should accuse anybody of doing a bad thing these days.
That is if we even know the proper term for it.
This just irks on so many levels, and I hear examples of mangled usage at least a couple of times a week now from television news anchors.
As well as an ongoing pronunciation of nuclear with two U's.
From folks in positions of power.
Now THAT's kinda scary....
And on the short summary given, the college that lured him away from the college that had the original commitment deserve every consequence of failure to keep a commitment he's going to show them.
Assuming they lured him with a "A better offer".
If they're innocent of that, they'd be better served to withdraw any offer in light of the subject's demonstrated lack of trustworthiness.
Maybe he'll learn something to boot.
Keep us posted?
 
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Grassdog

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Irregardless of the mis-use of words, there's no commitment to begin with anyway in modern day collegiate athletic recruiting so it means nothing. Commitment for what, one or two years? As long as they're getting playing time? I still root for my favorite teams but the whole system of college athletics just depresses me immensely.
 

GAD

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Irregardless of the mis-use of words, there's no commitment to begin with anyway in modern day collegiate athletic recruiting so it means nothing. Commitment for what, one or two years? As long as they're getting playing time? I still root for my favorite teams but the whole system of college athletics just depresses me immensely.

Oh no you did not!
 

walrus

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Irregardless of the mis-use of words, there's no commitment to begin with anyway in modern day collegiate athletic recruiting so it means nothing. Commitment for what, one or two years? As long as they're getting playing time? I still root for my favorite teams but the whole system of college athletics just depresses me immensely.

Very true. It is a common topic of discussion in a few of my college-level courses. Even the students recognize the huge money-making scam that is the NCAA.

walrus
 

dreadnut

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Some more of my favorites:

"Quote, Unquote." Really they mean "Quote, End Quote."

"Take the chicken out of the freezer and unthaw it." Wait, if it's in the freezer it's already unthawed.

I remember hearing this from a personnel manager: "You've been deselected." Hold on, doesn't that suggest I'd already been selected? But to adorshki's point, it sounds nicer than "Sorry but we've chosen another candidate for the job."
 
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CA-35

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The correct word is renege.

My definition of renege: Total lack of integrity

Prime football examples: Josh McDaniels "commits" to be the Head Coach of the Indianapolis Colts then reneged. Manny Diaz not only "commits" but signs a contract to be the Head Coach of Temple University then reneged.
 

Curlington

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McDaniels is a NE Patriot, so, what do you expect?! Partially kidding.

Stick to your commitments, tell the truth, play fair - no cheating, honor one's word, proper spelling and usage. Such obsolete values in this age of emojis, instagram videos, and alternative facts.
 

Grassdog

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There may have been an understanding between the parties after a job interview (none of us know for sure), but I don't believe McDaniels ever signed a letter of commitment or any form of contract with Indy. NFL coaches have a very unusual job search situation. There's a short window to make a decision, it's a high pressure job, open to public scrutiny, and the press is always rushing to be first to the story. If his heart was still in NE, I don't blame him at all for staying. Regardless, it worked out fine for both - NE's assistant coaches have a sketchy record leaving to go elsewhere anyway, and the Colts are headed in the right direction with the guy they hired.
 

walrus

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There's some sort of football game on tomorrow....

GO PATS!!

walrus
 

dreadnut

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It also used to be known as "Indian giver," but you can't say that any more. Imagine trying to release that song today...
 

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Soon you'll not be able to say anymore.

Ralph
 

adorshki

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I remember hearing this from a personnel manager: "You've been deselected." Hold on, doesn't that suggest I'd already been selected? But to adorshki's point, it sounds nicer than "Sorry but we've chosen another candidate for the job."
I think Orwell might have been the first to characterize this disturbing trend when he described "Newspeak" in 1984:
"Newspeak is a controlled language, of restricted grammar and limited vocabulary, meant to limit the freedom of thought—personal identity, self-expression, free will—that ideologically threatens the régime of Big Brother and the Party, who thus criminalized such concepts as thoughtcrime, contradictions of Ingsoc orthodoxy.[2][3][4] ".
I trace the current misuse of the prefix "de" to the mid '60's, anybody remember the term "de-escalation"?
Newspeak for politicians seeking to legitimize their agendas by use of dissociative terms to blunt the naked emotional shock of the subject the term was being applied to.
The birth of "politically correct" speech.
So now this kind of language is used as some kind of faux intellectual legitimizer.

In terms of simple everyday usage, I also get weary of hearing old clichés mangled in the name of "more colorful speech":
"Honing in".
No, the term is "HOMING in".
To hone is to sharpen and that's not the original meaning of the term "home in".
And the confusion of the terms "suspect" and "perpetrator" in reference to an apprehended criminal suspect who is not as yet proven guilty of any crime.
Guilty. At least I didn't say "nuculear"
:glee:
Just remember there's no "I" in Jaguar, either.
:glee:
 

Westerly Wood

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So first a high-schooler commits to play at a given college; next we're reading about how he "de-committed" and will now play elsewhere. Is "decommitment" even a word? Because it means he never really "committed" in the first place. If one can "decommit", then it devalues everyone's "commitments." This kinda stuff drives me nuts.

i don't pay attention to the hype re high schoolers committing to colleges for football or basketball. the system is so flawed, totally fails our youth, and teaches these kids to be entitled. i understand it is a larger cultural issue, but the following of this is just so discouraging. where is the humility anymore?
 

dreadnut

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You and Orwell nailed it, adorshki.

"De-escalation," I'd forgotten about that one. I believe that meant "We're sending less guys to VietNam this month than we did last month."
 

adorshki

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You and Orwell nailed it, adorshki.

"De-escalation," I'd forgotten about that one. I believe that meant "We're sending less guys to VietNam this month than we did last month."

Yeah everybody always thinks the real "evil" of 1984 is Big Brother's constant surveillance.
Far from it.
The real evil is the control of language to hobble critical conceptual thinking.
And does anybody remember what the protagonist Winston's job was?
He rewrote the digital history files and expunged files that no longer echoed the current party line, daily.
In the absence of hardcopies, history itself was corrupted.
A guarantee of repetition by those whose ability to learn from history was effectively amputated.
 
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