The what?
The Soggies* - our Stamp out Gobbledegook Awards
(or Soggies, as we like to call them).
This special award, which will be bestowed by the Word Nerds every year, has been created to show the importance of knowing how to say or write what you really mean – and just how foolish you’ll look if you don’t. (I’d be lying if I didn’t add that it’s for your entertainment, too.)
And because the Word Nerds can’t be everywhere at once, I’d like to solicit your eagle eyes to find and submit those cringe-worthy comments. Send them to stevieg@wordnerds.co.za

And the Suds
To spice things up, we’ve also added a category called the Suds – the Save Us from Dumb Statements award.
Here’s a couple of our own Soggies …
From an unnamed US drug agency officer, interviewed on television:
“… it would allow them to access areas or get exposed to things that are gonna be fatal to their person.”
(Er, do you think he means ‘kill them’?)

“Be careful how you language it to the child.”
Lee Kingma, author of What’s Your Tribe: An Enneagram guide to human types at work and play, being interviewed by Nancy Richards on the SAfm radio programme Otherwise)

“Today is a new beginning for the automotive industry. When people have an opportunity to see the kind of products that are now being manufactured and will be on display, they will realise the auto industry is manufacturing products people want to drive.”
US Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, speaking at the Detroit Auto Show this year
(No kidding!)

… And a couple of Suds:
“I’ve never really wanted to go to Japan. Simply because I don’t like eating fish. I know that’s very popular out there in Africa.”
Britney Spears

From a product label: CAUTION: Knife is very sharp. Keep out of children.

“Chemistry is a class you take in high school or college where you figure out 2+2=10 or something.”
Dennis Rodman, US basketball star, June, 2009

*The Soggies are affectionately dedicated to the memory of Maury Maverick, a take-no-prisoners liberal Texan politician and businessman who coined the term “gobbledegook” in 1944 – before sending out a dire warning to his staff that anyone who didn’t write in plain English “WILL BE SHOT”.
For your further amusement, if you take a look at our full Soggies entry you’ll also find a full copy of Maury’s memo.
R.I.P. dear Maury – if you can!

Tags: awards, Britney Spears, gobbledegook, Maury Maverick, Soggies, Suds, word nerds, words