Starting this week with a visit to the quirky world of nominative determinism now in which an aptronym has surfaced to announce that the very best person – name wise – has been appointed to an important position with a particularly important role to play.
So it is at the National Transport Commission which has chosen a new Chief Executive to drive it into the future, steering the country’s transport sector as it makes inroads into the scary developments of driverless cars and trucks and other issues of national transport importance.
Speaking aptronymically, the NTC’s new leader comes perfectly named for the job.
Who better to manage a transport commission than a Dr Miles?
PS-sssst! has great pleasure congratulating Gillian on her appointment.
Copper plated
Staying with quirkyness now, PS-sssst! had reason recently to immerse itself in a matter relating to the Western Australian Police Force and noticed to our finicky pernicketiness that the fine officers of the WA constabulary refer to themselves as the Western Australia Police – in defiance of the more grammatically attractive Western Australian Police.
A quick visit to other States has found the same un-‘n’ing of locality has also infected police forces in other States who have committed the same misdemeanour of misspelling their names so they become the Victoria police, Tasmania police and South Australia police – when they are in fact the Victorian, Tasmanian and South Australian police forces.
Far be it from PS-sssst! to accuse the fine officers of the forces of conspiring to commit the crime of un-‘n’ingness but the coincidence can hardly go unnoticed.
Does anyone know the reason?
Fabulous book prizes for the most informative, or entertaining, suggestions. Send your thoughts to [email protected].
Foot tapping giveaway
To Rama’s weekly giveaway now in which lucky readers had the chance to score an André Rieu concert DVD simply by naming the square in Maastricht in which the concert was played.
The answer was Maastricht’s magnificent medieval square – the Vrijthof – in the Netherlands and the three sharp-eyed entrants who recognised the name from Rama’s DVD review and then managed to squeeze out of the PS News Barrel of Booty ahead of the rest were Nicholas L from the NSW Office of Environment and Heritage, Gwenith T from Queensland’s Department of Natural Resources, Mines and Energy, and Voret C from the Australian Taxation Office.
Congratulations to all the winners and thanks to everyone for taking part. André’s DVD ‘Love in Maastricht’ will be winging its way to its new owners very soon.
In the meantime, for another chance to enlist in Rama’s Army of winners, simply visit this week’s giveaway at this link and join in the fun.
Good luck to all who do.
Quirked up
And finally, yet more quirkiness, this time with the compliments of the English language.
How, we may ask, is it possible to recite at a play and play at a recital? To ship by truck and send cargo by ship?
To have noses that run and feet that smell and a slim chance that is a fat chance at the same time?
And why is a wise man the opposite of a wise guy?
Who knows? Who cares? It’s our language!
Till next week……
