And other perils of using trendy words
by Andy Scheer
Words are tricky. It’s bad enough that they can mean more than one thing. (The classic example is trunk.) Worse, a word’s meaning can keep changing—without filing due notice.
A recent promotional email from the Johnsonville sausage company reminded me I’m hopelessly behind the curve on one term’s transformation.
I thought I knew the meaning of hack. Then I read this subject line: “Hack Your Morning Time With Johnsonville’s New Breakfast Links.”
I knew that today, hack means more than a smoker’s cough or what someone does with an ax (or a golf club). I knew about computer hackers—who break in and vandalize software.
[cryout-pullquote align=”left|center|right” textalign=”left|center|right” width=”33%”]Malicious destruction didn’t seem a reasonable goal for one’s breakfast.[/cryout-pullquote]
But malicious destruction didn’t seem a reasonable goal for one’s breakfast—at least not one a sausage company would admit. In case you like hacking (of whatever kind) the email included a link (pun intended) to an opportunity to a :30 Second Morning Hack sweepstakes and game on Pinterest.
I’ll let you check it out—and the potential results on your own breakfast. Meanwhile, I’ll stick with bacon.
