Idioms R Us
Dec. 5th, 2018 07:20 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
tippergreenHello again! A new post! I'm really making this happen! Yup.
So, I happen to write a lot, but not always fun things. Because I'm a lawyer, I do a lot of writing at work. "Drafting," they call it, when it's a contract, and "persuasive writing" when it's a response to an IR or a brief. I also, of course, argue with other lawyers in emails, and this is where things get sticky. When it's an argument in a negotiation, your emails need to have excellent grammar, punctuation, spelling and, of course, be clear and concise, otherwise you lose points with the other attorney, and they tell their clients you're an idiot. No one wants to be an idiot.
Which is why it's really annoying when you write an English idiom and find yourself stuck for ten minutes trying to figure out a homophone problem. In this case, "cue" and "queue." Since google failed to provide me with an answer, I thought I'd ask here.
So, here's my question: if you are setting something up to be discussed at a later date, are you: "queuing something up" or "cuing something up?"
(The whole sentence was, "I'll queue this up for our next meeting." Then I deleted "queue" and typed in "cue." So, "I'll cue this up for our next meeting." Then I changed it back. Then I went to Google, which failed to find me a clear answer. I ended up writing, "I'll set this up for the next meeting" but it has been bothering me all day!)
So, I happen to write a lot, but not always fun things. Because I'm a lawyer, I do a lot of writing at work. "Drafting," they call it, when it's a contract, and "persuasive writing" when it's a response to an IR or a brief. I also, of course, argue with other lawyers in emails, and this is where things get sticky. When it's an argument in a negotiation, your emails need to have excellent grammar, punctuation, spelling and, of course, be clear and concise, otherwise you lose points with the other attorney, and they tell their clients you're an idiot. No one wants to be an idiot.
Which is why it's really annoying when you write an English idiom and find yourself stuck for ten minutes trying to figure out a homophone problem. In this case, "cue" and "queue." Since google failed to provide me with an answer, I thought I'd ask here.
So, here's my question: if you are setting something up to be discussed at a later date, are you: "queuing something up" or "cuing something up?"
(The whole sentence was, "I'll queue this up for our next meeting." Then I deleted "queue" and typed in "cue." So, "I'll cue this up for our next meeting." Then I changed it back. Then I went to Google, which failed to find me a clear answer. I ended up writing, "I'll set this up for the next meeting" but it has been bothering me all day!)
no subject
Date: 2018-12-06 05:40 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2018-12-06 07:22 pm (UTC)If you are "queuing something up" it means you are putting in a line of existing items. Like, queuing up a playlist, or queuing up an agenda item in a meeting.
Whereas, "cuing" something up means you are presenting it to be played/listened to. So, the way I used it, which was to cue up people to let them know there would be another meeting and what it would be about, I actually think "cue" was correct.
Frankly, I don't think anyone would actually notice, but this is what's in my head now.