IT seems that as one exceeds the bus pass qualification age by a few years or so, more and more matters in life pass one by unnoticed.
As an illustration, I would proffer the introduction of the word "vape" ("Vape pips Indyref to Oxford's word of 2014", The Herald, November 18). I understand that it can be used as a noun or a verb. I believe (maybe I need to get out more), that, when the verb form is altered and it serves the same function as a noun in the sentence , it is known as a gerund.
Apparently the creation of the word "vape" is all to do with electronic smoking. How smoking has moved on from the days of general shortages and rationing after the Second World War when smokers were pleased (perhaps that is a less than accurate description of the emotional condition engendered) to smoke '"Pashas", which were made from Turkish tobacco and which smelled about as bad as they tasted, so I am informed.
Until the news broke this week, my reaction to the idea of electronic smoking and words associated with it would have been a toss-up between ignorance and apathy. Now I have to relate simply to the latter of these mental states.
Ian W Thomson,
38 Kirkintilloch Road, Lenzie.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article