READERS’ WORDS

“Regime” and “regimen” are used interchangeably in medical literature. The former describes a form of leadership, usually dictatorial or military, whereas the latter refers to a systematic plan of action. Not infrequently we are informed of “drug regimes”, which by definition are prescribed by the ruling party and must by law be consumed by the population. — David Muckart

Friends, colleagues and acquaintances frequently tell me that they are “totally hectic” at the moment. “Hectic” means “intensely agitated, excited, confused, rapid and uncontrolled movement”. If half the corporate world is “hectic” every day, I fear for the state of our nation. — Brigid Hopkins

A word that has been irretrievably corrupted is “crisp”. Ever since some downtown Oriental take-away labelled their spring rolls as “crispy”, the whole world has adopted it as a valid adjective. — Paul Craig

The expression I particularly dislike is “the police swooped”. It conjures up images of policemen in Batman (Batmen?) outfits flying through the air. — Lynn Haken

I was delighted to see in last week’s column that there is another Carol Kramer out there who is concerned about the imminent demise of the words “I” and “me”! These words, after death, will be replaced by the word “myself”. That Carol Kramer did not give the full extent of the abuse, however (I could go on about the abuse of this reflexive pronoun as well as the now ubiquitous “yourself” [what happened to “you”?] And then there are the plurals of these!). That Carol did not know where this came from: the use of the word “myself” instead of “I” and “me” comes from uncertainty (or ignorance) about exactly when to use these two little words, uncertainty brought about perhaps by fear, instilled by many a school teacher branding poor innocent “me” as undesirable, to be avoided at all costs. — (another) Carol Kramer • E-mail words in need of protection to lifestyle@sundaytimes.co.za