# Does anyone use "temblor" in spoken communication?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-use-temblor-in-spoken-communication/572439>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [February 24, 2011, 10:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-use-temblor-in-spoken-communication/572439 "2011-02-24T10:32:57Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 2

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**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\
**Post date:** [February 24, 2011, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-use-temblor-in-spoken-communication/572439/21 "2011-02-24T16:53:19Z")

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Yes, but then I’m a geologist working with geologists and geophysicists.

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**Author:** ![Balthisar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/balthisar/32/2825_2.png) [@Balthisar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balthisar)\
**Post date:** [February 24, 2011, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-use-temblor-in-spoken-communication/572439/22 "2011-02-24T17:19:05Z")

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> [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](#):
>
> Pssst. . . from the OP:  
> Bolding mine. I think the key points in the question are a) non-news, and b) spoken. I’ve never heard it in casual conversation. Only ‘earthquakes,’ ‘quakes,’ and ‘aftershocks.’

Yeah, I need to figure out how to turn nested quoting back on. That was in reference to the lack of use on CNN or BBC.

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**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\
**Post date:** [February 24, 2011, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-use-temblor-in-spoken-communication/572439/23 "2011-02-24T17:53:29Z")

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I used to work with a guy who used newsspeak in everyday conversation. It was very weird.

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**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\
**Post date:** [February 25, 2011, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-use-temblor-in-spoken-communication/572439/24 "2011-02-25T00:04:29Z")

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> [@lieu](#):
>
> Yes, but then I’m a geologist working with geologists and geophysicists.

Perhaps you’d be willing to share some inside scoop then. What’s the technical significance of the term? What are the extra nuances it conveys to your fellow professionals, etc?

As a word hound, where would I be right in using it? I’d like to avoid committing a clueless fux pax (as we \*literati \* so often say).

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**Author:** ![Civil\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/d78d45/32.png) [@Civil\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Civil_Guy)\
**Post date:** [February 25, 2011, 5:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-use-temblor-in-spoken-communication/572439/25 "2011-02-25T05:00:35Z")

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Tryin’ to think, here. If a sizeable one hit L.A., after the first few mentions, what would I try to come up with?

Jolt. 'Quake. “Event.” Generic “sucker”. Shake.

Can’t say “temblor” would come up, but we’d sure know what was being named if that word was used.

But then, the weather forecasters love the term “El Niño” more than comes up in casual conversation - me, I’m darned tired of it, even when valid.

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