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Idioglossia

Posted by Bob on March 30, 2006

In Reply to: DDD posted by Lewis on March 30, 2006

: : : : I was at a meeting this morning where the following conversation took place: Person 1: "we're running out of tarmac to meet the triple-d (triple dee?)for public comment". Person 2: "What's the triple dee, again?", Person 1: "30th April". (Person 3): "No, no the deadline's been extended ..." I didn't get a chance to ask. I've googled every sound-alike variation "triple dee" I could think of but apart from a radio station and a surprising number of people called "Triple D" have found nothing. Any ideas?

: : : My guess (and it's only a guess; I haven't heard this before) is "drop dead date," the ultimate deadline.

: : Thanks for that, Bob. I looked up "drop dead date" and notice it seems to come from the legal area which fits in with the agenda of the particular committee. I rather like the phrase - but "triple d" seems neither useful nor decorative. Pamela

: triple-d does not have widespread usage in the English legal system. it may be in USage, but not UKage.

: I think the "drop dead date" has been used in the context of deadlines for offers to be accepted, but that doesn't make it widespread and many people would look bemused at the mention of 'triple-d'.

: L

Saying "triple D" is a result of the urge to have a secret language that baffles outsiders. Twin babies have idioglossia, the shared babble of a self-invented language; cockneys have rhyming slang; each profession has its insider jargon. There's a pleasure to being "in." When it becomes deliberately unintelligible to listeners (cryptophasia) it's often also rude.

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