Author Topic: disallowed term Wednesday (5-5-10) Challenge  (Read 5238 times)

nineoaks

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disallowed term Wednesday (5-5-10) Challenge
« on: May 05, 2010, 11:40:38 AM »
Dear Forumites:

Is the term 'relo' a common one anywhere but in the US? It's real estate agent talk for 'relocation' and fairly common here.

nineoaks
« Last Edit: May 05, 2010, 11:52:25 AM by Alan W »

Alan W

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Re: disallowed term Wednesday (5-5-10) Challenge
« Reply #1 on: May 05, 2010, 12:00:28 PM »
Nineoaks, I took the liberty of changing "Tuesday" to "Wednesday" in the subject line of this topic, since the puzzle is identified as Wednesday's (based on GMT), even though it's still Tuesday in California.

I'll respond to your question later on. (Here in Australia, relo is more likely to mean a relative - "The relos are coming over tonight.")
Alan Walker
Creator of Lexigame websites

nineoaks

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Re: disallowed term Wednesday (5-5-10) Challenge
« Reply #2 on: May 05, 2010, 12:07:58 PM »
Dear Alan:

Just living in the past, I guess. Thanks for bringing my post into the present.

9oaks

ensiform

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Re: disallowed term Wednesday (5-5-10) Challenge
« Reply #3 on: May 05, 2010, 01:26:05 PM »
As a US citizen born and bred and lived in several states, I can add that I have never ever heard the term relo.

birdy

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Re: disallowed term Wednesday (5-5-10) Challenge
« Reply #4 on: May 05, 2010, 01:44:40 PM »
I don't know it either - maybe it's a regionalism.

anonsi

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Re: disallowed term Wednesday (5-5-10) Challenge
« Reply #5 on: May 05, 2010, 11:24:53 PM »
Not common here either.

rogue_mother

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Re: disallowed term Wednesday (5-5-10) Challenge
« Reply #6 on: May 06, 2010, 12:32:57 AM »
I haven't heard it either. It certainly seems that real estate agents would use a shortened form like that, but I don't think it has spread to the general population like refi and reno have.
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pat

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Re: disallowed term Wednesday (5-5-10) Challenge
« Reply #7 on: May 06, 2010, 01:05:13 AM »
Nor me.

Refi and reno, RM?

rogue_mother

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Re: disallowed term Wednesday (5-5-10) Challenge
« Reply #8 on: May 06, 2010, 01:34:46 AM »
Refi and reno? Yes, but mostly in the U. S. and Canada, although Alan said that he hears reno in Australia. Refi is short for refinancing and reno is short for renovation. These are not 'common' words in Chihuahua. Reno was admitted to the rarer list in 2008 on the suggestion of blackcosmocat. I'm not sure refi is on the list, but it is used here by others than real estate agents.
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TRex

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Re: disallowed term Wednesday (5-5-10) Challenge
« Reply #9 on: May 06, 2010, 01:33:02 PM »
ISTM that relo and refi are, like telco, the jargon of a particular business field rather than a regional term.

pat

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Re: disallowed term Wednesday (5-5-10) Challenge
« Reply #10 on: May 06, 2010, 08:47:36 PM »
ISTM, TRex? I'm beginning to feel as if I've somehow slipped into a parallel universe!

rogue_mother

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Re: disallowed term Wednesday (5-5-10) Challenge
« Reply #11 on: May 06, 2010, 09:04:20 PM »
Welcome to the 21st century, pat! I'm familiar with a few of these chat room abbreviations, but I had to stop and think about this one. ISTM = It seems to me. You may also see IMO = in my opinion, and IMHO = in my humble opinion.
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pat

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Re: disallowed term Wednesday (5-5-10) Challenge
« Reply #12 on: May 06, 2010, 09:36:12 PM »
Thanks, RM. I have indeed seen IMO and IMHO and figured those out but I couldn't work out what ISTM stood for.

By the way, the 21st century is only 9 and a bit years old - it's a bit too soon for me to be au fait with it yet!

Alan W

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Re: disallowed term Wednesday (5-5-10) Challenge
« Reply #13 on: May 07, 2010, 05:41:35 PM »
I accepted refi following consideration in this thread and reno in this thread.

In both cases, there was evidence of usage in general news articles, and a few dictionary listings. Since we first looked at refi it has, if anything, increased in usage in US news media, thanks to its relevance to mortgage debt problems.

It seems to me that, as RM surmised, relo has not spread beyond the real estate profession to the same extent as the other two words. I didn't see it in any general dictionary, though it is listed in The American Heritage Abbreviations Dictionary at Dictionary.com and the Double-Tongued Dictionary, which has mainly new words.

(It's also listed in Wiktionary, as Australian slang for a relative, but this word is more often written with a double L, presumably to convey its pronunciation, rhyming with yellow. Rello and/or rellie, or perhaps their plurals, might well warrant inclusion, but that's another story.)

I don't think relo, in the relocation sense, is used at all in Britain or Australia. In US newspapers, it seems to be used infrequently, and when it is used, it's often put in quotes, as a term that is likely to be unfamiliar to readers. For example, Super Agents, Super Teams in the NY Times, 4 March 2007:

Quote
At the weekly team meeting at Michelle & Company, six women come and go, talking of corporate “relo.”

So at this stage, nineoaks, I feel relo is not widely enough used.
Alan Walker
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nineoaks

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Re: disallowed term Wednesday (5-5-10) Challenge
« Reply #14 on: May 08, 2010, 07:16:17 AM »
Thank you, Alan, for your careful attention to this suggestion. I agree completely with your decision. The forum discussion clarifies that 'relo' is not widely enough known to include as a common or rare word on Chihuahua.

as always,

9oaks