And Now for Some Trash Talk by Rob Kyff on Creators.com

Recently

These Boots Were Made For… Two random dispatches from the Word Front... — Talking the Walk "I am a slow walker," Abraham Lincoln once said, "but I never walk back." If only today's politicians would follow honest Abe's example. Every day, it seems …Read more. What's the Scoop on 'Troop'? Q. What's up with the noun "troop"? The definition of this word as I learned it and as defined by Merriam-Webster is "a group of soldiers." Yet, so frequently these days, I hear or read lines such as "three troops were …Read more. A Child's Garden of 'Versus' Q. Last year, we had a foreign exchange student from Germany stay with our family. When he wanted to challenge our boys to a video game, he would say he wanted to "verse" them. I have never heard of that form of "versus" being …Read more. Don't Flout the Rules on ‘Flaunt' Q. Could you please explain the difference between "flout" and "flaunt"? — John Daigle, Vernon, Conn. A. There's a difference? Just kidding, though the frequent misuse of "flaunt" for "flout" makes me …Read more.

And Now for Some Trash Talk

With the help of Mim Harrison's delightful book "Words at Work," let's go Dumpster diving and examine some jargon from the world of garbage collection ... er, "waste management."

If you still think of a garbage truck in the generic terms of your father's corny riddle ("What has four wheels and flies?"), you should know that those trucks with the noisy compactors to compress the garbage are called "packers," and that those trucks with large extending arms for picking up bulky items are called "clams." (What has a large arm, clamping jaws and flies?)

And I'll bet you thought all those stoves, washing machines and refrigerators set out by the curb were just broken-down home appliances. Nope.

Once they're trash, whether they're actual color is Harvest Gold (1970s) or Artichoke Green (1990s), they bleach like skeletons to "white goods," based on the color of almost all appliances during the 1950s, when the modern garbage industry was born.

Have you ever wondered what those big trash containers placed in driveways to collect debris during home renovations are called? And don't try to tell me you never tossed an old tire into your neighbors' bin when they weren't looking.

That container is a "roll-off," so called because it's rolled off the back of a truck and later rolled back on.

And the boards, bricks and Sheetrock that get tossed into those roll-offs is "C & D" (construction and demolition) debris. Hmmm ... I wonder whether a roll-off that's been sitting there a long time is called a "has bin."

And speaking of "haz," as in "hazmat" (short for "hazardous materials"), the needles, bandages and Q-tips thrown into those red plastic bags at your doctor's office are known as — ta da! — "red bag waste."

Have you ever noticed that the word "stream" courses through several terms used by trash professionals? What better way to associate mounds of garbage with pure mountain brooks? "Single stream recycling" refers to the practice of mixing all recycled materials — bottles, cans, newspapers, etc. — while the entire "flow" of garbage is called the "waste stream." Sounds more like the East River^ to me.

(Some names capitalized as a registered trademark of a major U.S. corporation. ^ = Name capitalized as a registered disposal site of a major U.S. crime organization.)

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, 737 3rd Street, Hermosa Beach, CA 90254.