Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
About Me
- Rachael King
- The Sound of Butterflies was the title of my first novel, published in the UK by Picador, in the US by William Morrow and in New Zealand by Random House, and translated into eight foreign languages. In 2009 my next novel, Magpie Hall, was published in New Zealand by Random House, and in 2012 my first novel for children, Red Rocks. This blog is my thoughts on the world of writing and books. Photo by Sharon Blance.
Magpie Hall out now. Click image to buy.
US paperback out now. Click image to buy!
Red Rocks out now. Click image to buy.
New novel.
What I'm reading.
Books and Writing Blogs
-
-
-
Waikato Times letter of the week #924 years ago
-
The Divine Muses5 years ago
-
Bye bye blog5 years ago
-
AND THE DEAD SHALL RISE ...6 years ago
-
War & Peace: beginning6 years ago
-
-
Tuesday Poem: Missing Hat10 years ago
-
The workspace hijack11 years ago
-
Pssst...12 years ago
-
Love drives.12 years ago
-
-
I've moved! Blogs, that is.13 years ago
-
welcome, non-robots!17 years ago
-
Other blogs I like
-
-
-
-
-
-
Hey...I'm pregnant!9 years ago
-
-
Rustic Burgers Seymour12 years ago
-
-
-
Subscribe To
Posts
Comments
9 comments:
The Aussie equal to the NZ iconic is hero. I don't think it is a grumpy old woman moment, if you are a writer you care about words and how they are used. I think if I hear another sportsman or whatevers being called a 'hero' I shall scream. But then I will be called the other word, which is the opposite of 'hero' that is bandied about by everyone, "un-Australian", as if Australia is an absolute....or maybe we are such Iconic Heroes we are beyond this! :)
This is reminiscent of the kafuffle a wee while ago when Lauren Bacall told an interviewer on breakfast TV in the UK: "She's not a legend. She's a beginner... she can't be a legend at whatever age she is." It's a fair comment. Many words have been devalued by overuse. You mention 'iconic' but what about 'star' and 'superstar'? Nowadays all you have to do is appear on television and you're a star. It's reminiscent of the cup sizes in Starbucks: 'Tall', 'Grande' and 'Venti' which mix pretentiousness with downright inaccuracy.
So...hero, legend, iconic... all relate to people or things being praised. Hmmm. What can this mean?
(I think I've found a new feature for my blog! Stay tuned...)
Oh god, I said it last night in the thank you speech for the best first book award: I called Bill Manhire... (gulp) .... iconic.
Ha ha! That's big of you to admit! Bill is famous and unique, I'd even call him a treasure, but I would not taint him with the iconic brush!
Oh I agree! And I also hate it when people qualify 'unique' as in "very unique" or "quite unique" because surely something is either unique or it isn't? There can't be degrees of unique-ness, right?
Another not really related but kind of related thing I hate is when people (and they are usually people who work in advertising or PR) describe things as "(fill in the blank) with a twist". What the hell does "with a twist" mean, anyway? Usually it means this product/person is not very much like this more well-known product/person but we will link them in this lame way to draw attention to them. (You can tell I spend too much time thinking about this stuff...)
Hurgh! I hate that one so much I acutally shudder when people say it.
There's my ten cents worth!
Helen
i thoughtof a nother word that 'iconic' or 'icon' have been trying to replace: 'landmark'.
Quintessential.
Mine is 'literally' used incorrectly. I hear it almost every day on telly. "He literally exploded with joy!" Erm, no.
Post a Comment