Saturday, July 6, 2013

With Au Jus Sauce

Quite possibly the dumbest thing you can hear in a restaurant is a server saying that a sandwich comes "with au jus sauce". The problem here is that "au jus" literally means "with juice". So, to say that something comes "with au jus sauce" means that it comes "with with juice sauce", which is quite possibly one of the least appetizing things you can hear to describe a sandwich.

The major issue here is ignorance. People hear the term over and over again, but the only have a vague idea what it actually means. So eventually, somebody uses it incorrectly, but as long as an authority claims it, and it sounds kinda right, everyone goes along with it. And then you have "with with juice sauce".

I recognize that language is about communication. I know that as long as everybody knows what you're talking about, you're not really doing it wrong. But still, at least try out this exercise: when you try to use any word, try to explain what it means. Any word you can't explain, look it up in a dictionary. The same with words and phrases in other languages, too.

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