On Wed, 13 Jan 2021 07:01:23 -0800 (PST), "Peter T. Daniels"
Post by Peter T. DanielsPost by Peter MoylanPost by Marius HancuPost by Tony CooperOn Tue, 12 Jan 2021 18:43:13 -0800 (PST), Yurui Liu
Post by Yurui LiuI'd like to know if "employed" is used properly in the following
sentence. If the welders are still employees at the factory, we
can still use "employed" in that sentence?
The factory employed two new welders yesterday.
I'd appreciate your help.
Yes. Bog standard.
Love this term:-)
Some of us say and write it as "box standard", but I think the two
variants are starting to develop slightly different meanings.
"Bog standard" is Brit (thus not surprising from TC); is "box standard"
-- i.e. with final devoicing -- maybe Australian?
The OED entries for box-standard and bog-standard:
box-standard, n. and adj.
Etymology: < box n.2 + standard n. Compare later bog-standard adj.
The sense in which box can be understood in the phrase varies. In
the earlier noun, box reflects the hollow framework: hollow tubing
is the most economical (and hence most common) material with which
to build a strong frame or mounting. In the adjective, box is often
understood as a reference to packaging, though in quot. 1983 at
sense B., the sense is clearly of the box as a shape or frame.
Given the strong anecdotal evidence of an early association with
motorcycles and cars (see note s.v. bog-standard adj.), it is
possible the technical sense of the noun was originally present in
the adjective, but that box standard came later to be interpreted
(or rationalized) as meaning ‘a standard engine frame, etc., without
modifications, such as one might expect straight from the
manufacturer's box’, in turn giving rise to the present sense.
†A. n.
A frame or standard of hollow tubing forming the main framework of
a machine, engine, etc. Obsolete.
1884...
B. adj.
colloquial (chiefly British). In motoring, engineering, and other
technical contexts: in standard manufactured form, unmodified;
(hence) basic, unexceptional.Perhaps used originally of motorcycles
and cars: see notes in etymology and bog-standard adj.
1983 Computerworld 21 Feb. (In Depth Suppl.) 2/3 We cannot
foresee a day when a computer becomes just a standard box. There
will be box-standard machines along the road, but we do not simply
have to make those. There will always be something fresh waiting
to be done.
....
bog-standard, adj.
Etymology: Origin uncertain; perhaps an alteration of box standard
n. (although this is first attested later), after bog n.4
Differing theories of the origin of bog-standard have been proposed,
but none proven. An immediate association with bog n.1 {wet ground}
seems unlikely on semantic grounds. The most commonly held view is
that the transition from box to bog resulted from a mishearing or
misunderstanding of box standard n.
Others have suggested a derivation < bog-wheel, former Cambridge
slang for a bicycle, though ultimately also related to bog n.4: see
P. Beale Conc. Dict. Slang (1989) 47/2, 48/1.
slang (depreciative, chiefly British).
Ordinary, basic, standard; without extra features or modification;
unexceptional or uninspired. Cf. box standard n.
1962 Motor Sport Apr. 283/1 (advt.) Bog standard Sprite, 1959,
two owners.
1968 Hot Car Oct. 35/1 The brakes are bog-standard—anyway Barry
says he only uses them in the paddock!
1972 Daily Mirror 15 May 21/1 She was ‘bog standard’—meaning
straight from the production line without modifications.
....
--
Peter Duncanson, UK
(in alt.usage.english)