4 ms·

Calling them Legos is torture enough

by matja 4y ago

makeitdouble 4y ago
I get making an effort to use the right words and expressions, like using the correct plural for criteria, or not abusing “begging the question”. But should we really spend mental energy to protect trademarked brands from becoming generic terms ?
- LanceH 4y ago
  "begging the question" is only wrong when you apply it to the wrong logical fallacy. Otherwise, it is just a descriptive phrase that really makes more sense than "raises the question", IMO. There really is no official book of phrases where anything outside that usage is wrong -- otherwise the first use of "begging the question" itself would have been wrong. Or, if we insist that there is some notion of official phrases amongst the population, the logical meaning of the phrase would have long been with the descriptive one. Also, whether you call building blocks lego or legos it is bad for the trademark. I also don't get why someone gets to sell naming rights to a building and we're suddenly supposed to call it something else like it hasn't been there for 100 years. So yes, I've visited the Sears Tower. I play with legos. I've played ultimate frisbee, etc... If they want me to change what I'm calling things, they can start paying me.
- OJFord 4y ago
  > But should we really spend mental energy to protect trademarked brands from becoming generic terms ? It's not a case of that, IMO. I certainly say 'a hoover' or 'hoovering' sometimes, when it isn't one and I've never owned one. I do balk at 'legos' though, and it's simply because I'm British. For whatever reason we just decided differently across the Atlantic how to refer to the items: here, 'lego bricks'; there 'legos'. (In the singular too, 'a lego brick', not 'a lego', it just sounds weird to me.) It's not the trademark becoming generic thing, because even when it is 'a Lego' we don't call it that. It's a lego brick.
- Jaruzel 4y ago
  From the official source: https://twitter.com/lego_group/status/842115345280294912?lang=en-GB https://twitter.com/lego_group/status/842115345280294912?lan... 'LEGO is always an adjective. So LEGO bricks, LEGO elements, LEGO sets, etc. Never, ever "legos."'
dredmorbius 4y ago
Singular "Lego" is revisionist history. https://books.google.com/books?id=VCwEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA39&dq=%22legos%22+(bricks%7Ctoys%7Cblocks%7Cplay%7Cplaying)&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjwiI6KqOn4AhW0kGoFHV2XBN0Q6AF6BAgKEAI#v=onepage&q=legos&f=false https://books.google.com/books?id=VCwEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA39&dq=%2...

Calling them Legos is torture enough

by matja 4y ago

Calling them Legos is torture enough

I get making an effort to use the right words and expressions, like using the correct plural for criteria, or not abusing “begging the question”. But should we really spend mental energy to protect trademarked brands from becoming generic terms ?

LanceH 4y ago
"begging the question" is only wrong when you apply it to the wrong logical fallacy. Otherwise, it is just a descriptive phrase that really makes more sense than "raises the question", IMO. There really is no official book of phrases where anything outside that usage is wrong -- otherwise the first use of "begging the question" itself would have been wrong. Or, if we insist that there is some notion of official phrases amongst the population, the logical meaning of the phrase would have long been with the descriptive one. Also, whether you call building blocks lego or legos it is bad for the trademark. I also don't get why someone gets to sell naming rights to a building and we're suddenly supposed to call it something else like it hasn't been there for 100 years. So yes, I've visited the Sears Tower. I play with legos. I've played ultimate frisbee, etc... If they want me to change what I'm calling things, they can start paying me.
OJFord 4y ago
> But should we really spend mental energy to protect trademarked brands from becoming generic terms ? It's not a case of that, IMO. I certainly say 'a hoover' or 'hoovering' sometimes, when it isn't one and I've never owned one. I do balk at 'legos' though, and it's simply because I'm British. For whatever reason we just decided differently across the Atlantic how to refer to the items: here, 'lego bricks'; there 'legos'. (In the singular too, 'a lego brick', not 'a lego', it just sounds weird to me.) It's not the trademark becoming generic thing, because even when it is 'a Lego' we don't call it that. It's a lego brick.
Jaruzel 4y ago
From the official source: https://twitter.com/lego_group/status/842115345280294912?lang=en-GB https://twitter.com/lego_group/status/842115345280294912?lan... 'LEGO is always an adjective. So LEGO bricks, LEGO elements, LEGO sets, etc. Never, ever "legos."'

dredmorbius 4y ago

Singular "Lego" is revisionist history. https://books.google.com/books?id=VCwEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA39&dq=%22legos%22+(bricks%7Ctoys%7Cblocks%7Cplay%7Cplaying)&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjwiI6KqOn4AhW0kGoFHV2XBN0Q6AF6BAgKEAI#v=onepage&q=legos&f=false https://books.google.com/books?id=VCwEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA39&dq=%2...