WMATA's Alternative Dictionary

Sunday, July 26, 2009

The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority has inserted a few shiny new buses into their usually-ragged mix. The new buses are bright & sparkly like new buses should be, with blue seats & yellow rails & an aura that doesn't scream "Some kid peed in this seat right before you sat on it."

I'm jazzed about them, I am, especially combined with the snazzy new Next Bus service which (usually) works fairly well at letting me know exactly how behind-schedule I'm running. But one thing really irks me about these otherwise-lovely new vehicles: Why did WMATA need to make up a word for this floor sign?



Riddle me this: Wouldn't "standing" have been just as effective? And even if they wanted to use a noun instead of a gerund (you're welcome for that impromptu grammar lesson), doesn't "standers" seem like the proper path to take?!

7 comments:

  1. I think it's a public transportation word. Our buses have the same sign.

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  2. Standees! Haha, that's great. Perhaps the bus creatures never learned to read?

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  3. you win smartypants of the day for teaching me the word: gerund.

    you also win the Kreativ Blogger award, i awarded you on my bliggity blog

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  4. They don't want a "standing orgy" to occur en route.

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  5. Agreed. "Standee" would mean that it is a person upon whom a "stand" is being enacted by another agent, in the vein of infector/infectee (wherein the infector has infected the infectee with an infection). Clearly one does not enact a stand upon someone else. Ergo, bad grammar.

    How much do you love me right now for my dorkish ways?

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  6. Oh WMATA, they will never make sense to me.

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  7. I dunno, I think every real dictionary would agree with WMATA. According to Merriam-Webster standee is "a standing person" or "one who occupies standing room." The word dates back to 1856.

    http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/standee

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