Sideswipe: Dead wrong

Left: Don't use text speak you don't understand. Right: A long wait for an appointment at Onehunga Mall, Auckland. Photos / Supplied

That's a 'yes' in any language

"OK" is one of the most frequently recognised words in the world. It's an odd expression and looks like an abbreviation or an acronym, rather than a real word. But this oddity may be why it's so popular, says the author of a book on the subject, Allan Metcalf. "We generally spell it OK - the spelling okay is relatively recent, and still relatively rare - and we pronounce it not "ock" but by sounding the names of the letters O and K. Visually, OK pairs the completely round O with the completely straight lines of K. So both in speech and in writing OK stands out clearly, easily distinguished from other words, and yet uses simple sounds familiar to a multitude of languages. Ordinarily a word so odd, so distinctive from others, wouldn't be allowed in a language to begin with. As a general rule, a language allows new words only when they resemble familiar ones. Clever coinages may be laughed at and enjoyed, but hardly ever adopted by users of the language." (Source: BBC.co.uk)


Unlikely bedfellows, in name only

You know you're over-exposed when ... Julian Assange, the embattled WikiLeaks founder, has applied to trademark his name in a bid to protect it for use in "public speaking services" and "entertainment services", it has emerged. And he's not the only high-profile figure to do so. Sarah Palin, who famously likened Assange to an al-Qaeda operative, has applied for similar protection for both herself and daughter Bristol Palin.


Maharajah of good deeds

On Sunday morning after a late night out, Madeline was woken by knocking at the front door. "A man had come asking my name and if I had lost my wallet. I checked my bag and sure enough I had! The man was Raj from Summit Taxis and he had driven all the way into Ponsonby from Papakura on his day off to return my wallet! Thank you, Raj! I'm sorry I barely had enough cash to cover your journey to my house!"

Sory abowt the speling

Sideswipe can't be accused of being too proud to laugh at itself ... The job ad published last week asking for a warehouse "fascist" was incorrectly typed by a Herald staff member and not the recruitment agency named.