I don't think anyone objects to new, useful words. It's the misuse of our old favorites that gets our undeys in a bundle.

Is this a good time to put in a complaint about the verb "to diagnose"? Perhaps an injury or ailment can 'be diagnosed' by a doctor. However, a patient cannot "be diagnosed with phlebitis," for crying out loud. The sufferer is not the disease.

Incidentally, my motorcycle mechanic assures me that 'mainly dogs get flea-bite-us.'

I, too, have wondered about 'vet', so I looked it up in the Big Fat Dictionary, which gives, "2. Brit. vt. to examine closely." How about those Brits!

This thread is good because it reminds us all of the blunders to avoid during conversations with ordinary (non-musical but educated) people.

Johnny in Oklahoma City, "Toe-Tappin' Tunes & Fancy Patter"