# Generic words standing in for more precise phrases

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/generic-words-standing-in-for-more-precise-phrases/737837>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [November 17, 2015, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/generic-words-standing-in-for-more-precise-phrases/737837 "2015-11-17T23:27:24Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 3

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**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\
**Post date:** [November 19, 2015, 6:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/generic-words-standing-in-for-more-precise-phrases/737837/41 "2015-11-19T06:38:37Z")

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About the whole “singular they” non-debate: [If someone tells you singular ‘they’ is wrong, please do tell them to get stuffed](http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/tomchiversscience/100184652/if-someone-tells-you-singular-they-is-wrong-please-do-tell-them-to-get-stuffed/)

(Yes, I do mean non-debate: If a “debate” is a bunch of people making demands of reality, it isn’t a debate. It’s an open-air mental institution.)

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**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\
**Post date:** [November 19, 2015, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/generic-words-standing-in-for-more-precise-phrases/737837/42 "2015-11-19T16:25:44Z")

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Singular “they” is in a bit of an odd spot right now: It’s caught on completely for quasi-plural words like “everyone”, but it still sounds a bit odd in completely singular contexts. Compare, for instance, “I e-mailed the HR director and asked them if I could meet with them”: It sounds like I’m communicating with the whole HR team, instead of just the person at the top. Ordinarily in such a situation, one would use “he” if the director was male and “she” if female, but one might not necessarily know.

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**Author:** ![boffking](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/858c86/32.png) [@boffking](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/boffking)\
**Post date:** [November 19, 2015, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/generic-words-standing-in-for-more-precise-phrases/737837/43 "2015-11-19T17:28:36Z")

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Singular They is also the pronoun some transgender people prefer to use.

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**Author:** ![LynnM](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/b2d939/32.png) [@LynnM](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LynnM)\
**Post date:** [November 20, 2015, 1:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/generic-words-standing-in-for-more-precise-phrases/737837/44 "2015-11-20T13:18:09Z")

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**jsc1953** :   
\*\*"\*\*There’s a sort-of related linguistic evolution, where the “adjective + noun” phrase gets shortened to just the adjective. The best example is “short pants” becoming “shorts”. Less common, “pearly whites” for “pearly white teeth”. **"**

For the omission, or elision, of sound(s) or syllable(s) from a word, there are these terms:

**apheresis**  
**apocope**  
**syncope**

…but I’m not aware of a term for the omission of word(s) from phrases.

Maybe we need a linguistically evolved neologism that “scales up” the above terms–suggestions?

Syncope accounts for the weird-looking  
**fo’c’s’le** , sometimes  
**fo’c’sle**

Forecastle (pron. fowk-sul; commonly abbreviated “fo’c’s’le”) refers to the upper deck of a sailing ship forward of the foremast, or the forward part of a ship with the sailors’ living quarters.

> **[fo'c's'le](https://www.thefreedictionary.com/fo%27c%27s%27le)**
>
> Definition, Synonyms, Translations of fo'c's'le by The Free Dictionary

> **[forecastle](https://www.thefreedictionary.com/forecastle)**
>
> Definition, Synonyms, Translations of forecastle by The Free Dictionary

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