Monday, June 02, 2008

'Iconic', the Word that must be Destroyed

What turbulent Thought Experimenter will rid me of the word 'iconic'? I just heard 'absolutely iconic' on Start the Week. It detonated my equanimity. Can this word be stopped? It does nothing, means nothing, enslaves the imagination. What must we do?
Posted by Bryan Appleyard at 8:57 am

13 comments:

  1. maltyJune 02, 2008 9:09 am

    Hmmmm, angry musings from the iconic blog this morning

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  2. maltyJune 02, 2008 9:15 am

    You had better prepare yourself Bryan, Yves has stopped sewing and Sven has tied his last bootlace, wait for it.

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  3. AnonymousJune 02, 2008 10:33 am

    how could you destroy such a word? It's so -- um, how can I put it -- iconic.

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  4. Selena DreamyJune 02, 2008 10:54 am

    Bryan has long achieved an absolutely iconic status with bloggers and readers of the Sunday Times alike, but does his great and faultless reputation stand up to scrutiny?

    Can this iconic man be stopped?

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  5. Ian russellJune 02, 2008 2:22 pm

    iConic?

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  6. BritJune 02, 2008 2:38 pm

    What does 'classic' mean these days?

    Does it mean iconic?

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  7. AnonymousJune 02, 2008 3:40 pm

    Isn't the i-conic that new, funny-shaped MP3 player Apple are bringing out? You know, the one that looks like an ice cream?

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  8. AnonymousJune 02, 2008 3:48 pm

    It's two 'ics' surrounding a 'con.' Personally, I love it. It rhymes with 'ironic,' another word I love.

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  9. AnonymousJune 02, 2008 4:06 pm

    We live in an iconic age - pictures are now more important than words. Therefore "iconic" perfectly captures the zeitgeist - mind you, I'm pissed off with that word too!

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  10. MarkJune 02, 2008 6:10 pm

    Oh well, try thinking you heard "Titanic" and imagine a huge commentator upended and sinking as listeners flee to the lifeboats. Perhaps Andrew Marr will go down with his commentator, standing there with earphones and clipboard as a 22,000-ton bum finally slides beneath the waves.

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  11. AnonymousJune 03, 2008 2:40 am

    Whatever you do, remember to maintain a tolerable equanimity.

    While we're trading pet peeves about language usage, what's with pluralizing singulars? You hear sportscasters doing this when they say things like "the Kobe Bryants of the league", meaning players of the caliber of Kobe Bryant.

    Another pet peeve is a phrase that started in England and is now widely used in the US, "in studio". As "in studio today we have ..". It's in THE studio.

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  12. BritJune 03, 2008 8:06 am

    Are you sure that started here, Duck? I can't say I've noticed 'in studio' before.

    We do however have the "Kobe Bryants" phenomenon. In fact, it's worse than that. Sports pundits will often say something like: "At the back you've got the Rio Ferdinands and the John Terrys of this world". Meaning Rio Ferdinand and John Terry.

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  13. AnonymousJune 03, 2008 1:03 pm

    Brit,

    I first remember hearing "in studio" in a Monty Python sketch. Not that that is conclusive proof of origins.

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