aversion to the use of pre-pretty much anything, I should explain that I have nothing against those three letters and their accompanying itty, bitty dash. Not at all.
However, I object to their use to signify anything we've done before we actually do what we've already done.
Take "pre-packaged," for instance. If a manufacturer packages a food in, say, a bag, it is at that point packaged. How on earth did that same packaged food become pre-packaged when it hits the store, hmmm? What magic occurred en route to make it so?
Please, people of Earth, please stop using this horrifically stupid expression and others like it! To wit:- Pre-meeting
- Pre-conference
- Pre-reading
- Pre-writing (We're writers, we can't come up with anything better than "pre-writing" to describe writing warm-up activities?)
- Pre-order
- Pre-book
- Pre-purchase
- Pre-recorded
- Pre-drink
- Pre-enough!
Other stupid expressions
- Each and every (Can you have an each but not an every? I think not.)
- Reread (Is rereread next?)
- Personal friend (Dontcha just hate those impersonal ones? Those bums!)
- General public (Now, Colonel Public I can understand.)
- Regular routine (What, there's an irregular routine? Well, helloooo, FiberCon!)
- Advance registration (Oh, now this one is just silly. It should be pre-registration!)
Do your part. Banish the stupid!
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