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 07:19 pm (UTC)"Is it Cue Up or Queue Up?
Adding somewhat to the confusion of these two words, both phrases, cue up and queue up are acceptable to use, but they relate to each word’s individual definition.
For example, the phrase "cue up" is used when positioning an audio or video in readiness for playing. A radio talk show might ask his producer to cue up clip 17.
Similarly, the phrase "queue up" is used when someone is lining up. Air travelers queue up when their plane is boarding. If you have Netflix, you might have queue of shows that have lined up, waiting for you to watch."
So, both are used, but I think if you "cue something up" it means you are signalling someone to play something next. Whereas if you "queue something up" it means you are adding it to a line of things.
Which didn't help my quandary much. I actually think, in the context in which I used it, the proper word was cue.