Monday, August 13, 2007

False Alarm


false-alarm gps
Originally uploaded by jennybach
At the JFK airport baggage claim, a young man was speaking on his cell phone. With an Eastern European accent he shouted, "It was a false alarm! Don't you know what false alarm means?" I assume his friend thought there was trouble, and this guy was telling him that everything was really OK.

The term false alarm originates from a mistaken call to the fire department reporting a fire, when there really is no fire. Also called a nuisance alarm, it could be a deceitful prank, or just worry over something that did not actually happen. A similar instance is the classic anecdote of someone yelling out, "Fire!" in a crowded theater, causing a dangerous stampede by the panicked crowd.

Another example would be the Aesop fable of "The Boy Who Cried Wolf", but that's another story.

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2 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

Hi!
I need a word to describe something that is incredibly normal and thus boring. It should apply to both things and persons. For instance "Oh, that shirt is so -----". Or like a family in a house in the suburbs with a white fence, station wagon and a dog named Rex. In swedish we use one of the most common lastnames, Svensson. I've also heard some people use the word for vanilla to describe the same thing.
Have you got any suggestion?

Regards
Robin
(Please answer to rob_metallica@hotmail.com)

4:36 AM  
Blogger MediaSpinner said...

Hi Robin,

Interesting question! Vanilla is a good choice for describing something that is very predictable, normal, run-of-the-mill, cookie-cutter, routine. Other expressions that come to mind are "plain Jane", "white bread" or "Joe Normal." Maybe we'll get some more suggestions. Thanks,

- HG "MediaSpinner"

8:06 AM  

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