Monday, July 9, 2012
LINGUISTICS DESK: As part of my job, I wind up sending a decent amount of stuff via overnight delivery, though rarely by FedEx (we have a discount deal with UPS Overnight that makes it cheaper). Of course, the question comes up "how do I describe in letters how I'm sending it?" "Via Courier" makes it sound like hand delivery. "Via Overnight?" "Via Overnight Delivery?" Or do we just go with "Via FedEx" in the vein of Southern "I'll have a coke." "What kind of coke?" "A Sprite."?
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Via Overnight Delivery is how I usually see these things.
ReplyDelete"Via Overnight Delivery" is how we label that stuff, or sometimes "Via United Parcel Service" if we're including the tracking number.
ReplyDeleteI send things via UPS overnight delivery a lot. I tend to write "VIA UPS," although I will occasionally use "VIA OVERNIGHT DELIVERY."
ReplyDeleteUPS is just as common as FedEx. Why not "I'm U.P.S.-ing it overnight", at least for conversational purposes?
ReplyDelete--bd
"VIA UPS GROUND" "VIA UPS OVERNIGHT". That's how we do it here at Bell & Bell. Courier is "Via Hand Delivery".
ReplyDelete"Express mail/shipment" if it's not overnight (2 Day, etc.), and "overnight delivery" if it is.
ReplyDeleteYeah. Name of company / type of serice / tracking number if applicable. Then the file has all the information if it's needed.
ReplyDeleteOK - I've lived in the South all my life and I swear I have never once ordered a "Coke" and been asked what kind.... But maybe it's because I usually ask for "a Coca-Cola"?
ReplyDeleteEither UPS-ing or overnighting.
ReplyDeleteI say UPS-ing all the time and agree with those that say it's best to say name of company being used and expected delivery tiome (and tracking number) if possible, otherwise you just have to track it yourself and update people.
ReplyDeleteMy employer has a rich history of mushing words togather and turning nouns into verbs, all of which harkens back to the day when messages were sent by teletype and you were charged by the letter. So we just say we're "overnighting" the package. Or, more specifically, something like: "Oniting pkg. Shd arrive tmw."
ReplyDeleteAs another southerner, I may refer to all soft drinks as cokes but I would never order anything that way. For example, I will announce when going to the refrigerator, "I'm going to get a coke" but ultimately return with a Sprite. When ordering in a restaurant, I will specifically order the Sprite.
ReplyDeleteI send a lot of proofs back to printers overnight, and I usually go with Via UPS Overnight. And when I'm going for the early delivery: Via UPS Next Day Early.
ReplyDeleteI send a lot of proofs back to printers overnight, and I usually go with Via UPS Overnight. And when I'm going for the early delivery: Via UPS Next Day Early.
ReplyDeleteI don't know about coke, but I do remember one of my parents being very surprised with what they got when they ordered a cup of tea on a trip through the south.
ReplyDeleteInertiaGirl has the right of it. That direct conversation rarely happens in the South or Great Plains/Midwest/South area I'm from-- when you order a coke, the wait staff almost never asks what kind. What is common is using "Coke" to refer to all, and then getting or ordering something else. As in a friend asking: What are you going to get to drink? And replying: "A Coke" only to actually order Dr. Pepper or Sprite or what have you. Or the scenario IG said. That said, although it is rare, I did have this exact conversation last week, so take that as you will.
ReplyDeleteA friend of mine has her British parents visting for several months - they've learned to order "hot tea" when in restaurants. They admit it feels completely redundant to have to say such a thing.
ReplyDeleteWhaaaaa? Tea is automatically tea, not ice tea. (Of course, they're probably also appalled by the tea when they get it, hot or not.)
ReplyDeleteI started using "Via Overnight Delivery" when I saw a case dinging a law firm for not saying that it was overnight, just "via FedEx," in a certificate of service.
ReplyDeleteOr delighted!!! Sweet Tea is amazing.
ReplyDeleteIt should be, but it isn't. I've learned, too. And I agree that ordering "hot tea" feels redundant. I always thought that was an American thing, but maybe it's just a southern thing?
ReplyDeleteIt should be, but it isn't. I've learned, too. And I agree that ordering "hot tea" feels redundant. I always thought that was an American thing, but maybe it's just a southern thing?
ReplyDeleteJJF-you got it. The reaction as I remember it was, "Oh okay, well, iced tea is fine. [sips] I don't think I can drink this."
ReplyDelete"FedEx" fails as a verb not because you might not send it with that company, but because they all offer so many services it isn't specific enough. "Overnight delivery" seems like the working generic, though as others have noted if you're giving tracking numbers you have to name the carrier anyway. (Also, sending by courier is a real thing if you live in a big city, so that could be confusing.)
ReplyDeleteOrdering "hot tea" doesn't seem nearly as redundant as ordering "unsweet tea."
ReplyDeleteOne of the more annoying things about living in New York was ordering a "regular coffee" and discovering there was milk in it. I've cut down on soda since going to the midwest because "pop" just sounds unhealthy. Tea is hot tea, unsweetened. If I want to sweeten the tea, or milken it, or sweeten or milken the coffee, I can do it myself.
ReplyDeleteYes, although since I like plenty of milk in my coffee, I have to order "coffee, with room for a lot of milk." Have never had "regular coffee" include milk - is that in NYC?
ReplyDeleteYes, we have to courier items that are going within the city, because that's cheaper than overnighting it via UPS.
ReplyDelete