Have you noticed that no one says "in the future" anymore? Now the trendy term is "moving forward," as in, "Moving forward, we plan to open eight new stores."

Barack Obama loves the phrase; he has more "moves forward" than an NFL running back.

And then there's the very forward-thinking Connecticut architect who recently said of a renovation project, "Moving forward, there are clearly going to be more issues. The preservation of the original buildings . . . is critical going forward."

Speaking of architecture, no one talks about "structure" or "design" anymore; it's all about "architecture." Business writers describe the "architecture of a company," while techies extol the "architecture of a computer system" and literary critics discuss the "architecture of a novel."

I keep waiting for a commercial describing the "architecture of a Big Mac," which, come to think of it, does come with multi-levels and golden arches. A McMansion?

As long as we're talking buildings, how about the expansion of the real estate term "starter home" into other realms? For starters, the rich now purchase "starter castles," and divorce is now so common that first marriages are called "starter marriages." As a teenager, I owned a starter car that was, unfortunately, often a non-starter.

Back to those literary critics. These folks languish for decades in graduate school grooming terms such as "semiotics" and "deconstruction," and at least one of their terms has started to inform general discourse.

Yes, folks, it's the use of "inform" to mean not "give information to" but "to impart, to influence." A food writer, for instance, describes "the time-tested wisdom of the human palate . . . informed by tradition and general sense of moderation," while a reporter notes that a professor's career" had been "informed by fortuitous twists." (Fortuitous twist: "Pssst. Harvard has a job opening.")

Another trope writers brandish so much is "not so much." They infuse it with ironic understatement, as in, "Before the shark attack, he enjoyed surfing. Now, not so much."

"Not so much" also pops up in a recent TV commercial for the snack food Quaker Mini-Delights. A surly usher at a junk food-selling cineplex sits beside a sign that reads, "No Outside Food." A woman approaches him, points to the Quaker Oats character behind her and says, "He knows what's up. You guys, not so much."

Does the usher want to frisk the Quaker dude for smuggled Mini-Delights? Uh, not so much.

Rob Kyff, a teacher and writer in West Hartford, Conn., invites your language sightings. Send your reports of misuse and abuse, as well as examples of good writing, via e-mail to Wordguy@aol.com or by regular mail to Rob Kyff, Creators Syndicate, 5777 W. Century Blvd., Suite 700, Los Angeles, CA 90045. To find out more about Rob Kyff and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.

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