It happened this time of year many years ago. If you want me to be precise about the exact number of years, I would say about three decades, or thirty years ago.
Summer had just ended, fall was settling in, and it was the beginning of the school year, or perhaps it was the fact that just as the school year begins, the yom tovim cannot be too far off.
Anyway, we were doing what all parents do at this time of year: clothes shopping for the kids for both school and yom tov. It might have been that the school uniforms were not yet in force, hence the need for clothes shopping. But even with school uniforms, with all the days of yom tov and going to shul in the weeks ahead, the season demanded a lot of new clothes.
I was hanging back, pretending to be interested (some things never change) and involved in the process when I heard someone say to a sales clerk that they wanted something “transitional.”
My ears perked up. Transitional?
Of course, I knew what the word transition meant, but I was not quite certain how it applied to the concept of children’s clothing. So, I turned to my wife and asked her if she had heard the exchange and she replied that she had, and what was the big deal about it anyway?
I soon found out that in addition to the four seasons on the calendar, the fashion season contains several times of the year known as “transitional periods,” when a particular season transitions into another.
I don’t think this applies (or can be fully understood) in places where this paper is widely circulated, such as South Florida. I heard a news commentator say the other day that he was born and raised in Southern California and that even though the weather was basically the same all year round, he would overhear his parents and friends discussing the weather, which usually revolved around whether the next day would be 76 or 77 degrees or whether it would be clear or cloudy, and that was pretty much the nature of those conversations.
Last year, I interviewed a book publisher in Israel who shared with me that there are certain words in the publishing business that he discourages his authors from using. In addition, there is a whole slew of words that publishers do not like to use anymore, such as the word I heard in the clothing boutique thirty years ago, a word publishers try to steer clear of, and that word is “transition” or “transitional.” And the reason for this is because the idea of transitioning has taken on a whole new context that is beyond the simple definition of the word, which means to change from one position, state, stage, or subject to another. As a result, the only way to describe this concept today is to use the verbs change or alter.
While we were on the subject, I asked the publisher about other words he now avoided. He mentioned three other words that he feels he has no choice but to treat the same way, such as fundamental or fundamentalist. He said regardless of the context, the word fundamentalist just has a negative if not outright disturbing connotation.
Fundamental is a nice word that essentially means something that serves as an essential part of, basis of, or foundation of a policy or an idea. But the word, like so many others, has been expropriated by, wouldn’t you know it: the fundamentalists.
Now, when someone uses the word fundamental even in a well-meaning, ordinary context, it unfortunately conjures up images of either mullahs or Moslem clerics. Hassan Nasrallah, your basic everyday modern terror merchant, is at heart, a fundamentalist.
Of course, you can still use the word fundamental or fundamentalist in numerous ways to convey or communicate any number of ideas, but there is no question that once you hear the word, a part of your thought process floats off or moves in the direction of what is known as radical Islamic terror, a phrase the Democrats would certainly like to remove from the vernacular.
The next word we discussed that this publisher says he tries to steer clear from is “extreme” or “extremist.”
While in reality they are basically the same world, in actual usage, extreme and extremist are worlds apart when it comes to what they mean and the context in which they are used.
For example, you can have extreme weather, which usually means what we used to refer to as bad weather, such as hurricanes and tornados, which can wreak havoc and cause a great deal of damage. But when you talk about extremists, most often these days you are referring to a type of political philosophy that is far more dangerous than the damage any extreme weather pattern can inflict.
Yahya Sinwar of Hamas is not just an extremist; he is a wild and crazy extremist who needs to be killed. Over the last few days, Israel’s Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said that just like Ismail Haniyeh and Mohammed Deif and ultimately Sinwar, the extremists will all be killed by Israeli forces, the Mossad, or the Israeli police. The beeper incident is a good start on that front.
As you can see, the use of the word extreme or extremist is really not the way anyone wants to be characterized.
And then the publisher changed gears to say that another word he can no longer use because its meaning has been significantly altered is “gay.” This word used to mean carefree, bright, or lighthearted. But as you know, the word gay has been usurped and completely reworked and overhauled to mean something completely different.
So, these are just a few of the words the publisher recommended that authors and editors steer clear of. And to think this entire essay began decades ago in a clothing store when a random shopper wanted to buy some clothes for that period when autumn dissipates but winter has not yet begun. In other words, they needed a traditional light coat or some other type of in-between season outfit for school or yom tov.
This approximately 1,100-word essay is filled with exactly that: words. And words need to be used precisely and thoughtfully as they create all kinds of ideas and connotations in the minds of the readers. And that is the domain and responsibility of publishers and writers, whether we produce books or weekly newspapers, or anything else readers consume.
And that’s the final word. n
Read more of Larry Gordon’s articles at 5TJT.com. Follow 5 Towns Jewish Times on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter for updates and live videos. Comments, questions, and suggestions are welcome at 5TJT.com and on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.
