tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7122549.post112416060756578870..comments2023-11-10T16:19:46.880-05:00Comments on Blogslot: Damn This Traffic JamUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger14125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7122549.post-1125096559961026042005-08-26T18:49:00.000-04:002005-08-26T18:49:00.000-04:00Yes, language evolves. And the battle to retain pr...Yes, language evolves. And the battle to retain precision and specificity in language never ends. "Similar" should not be good enough, but people are lazy, and eventually we have to invent terms that would have been redundant 20 years earlier. Someday we'll have "gridlock that involves the locking of a grid, as opposed to just plain gridlock."Billhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01512881095588291721noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7122549.post-1125096103502111132005-08-26T18:41:00.000-04:002005-08-26T18:41:00.000-04:00" You need grid + lock to = gridlock."Do you then ..." You need grid + lock to = gridlock."<BR/><BR/>Do you then need chair + man to = chairman?<BR/>Words and their meanings evolve. We had a phenomenon to describe, and a word that already described something similar, and we stretched. Sue us.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7122549.post-1124247850816864692005-08-16T23:04:00.000-04:002005-08-16T23:04:00.000-04:00I did that tour, too, on my one visit to Boston!I did that tour, too, on my one visit to Boston!Billhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01512881095588291721noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7122549.post-1124247564169119622005-08-16T22:59:00.000-04:002005-08-16T22:59:00.000-04:00... Coincidentally, there are in fact seagoing ves...... Coincidentally, there are in fact seagoing vessels that are regular elements of the Boston traffic nightmare. I rode in one a couple of weeks ago.<BR/><BR/>http://www.scubamom.com/travels/fallfoliage/ducktour.jpgPeter Fiskhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11047119349197900440noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7122549.post-1124246534650455052005-08-16T22:42:00.000-04:002005-08-16T22:42:00.000-04:00... No schooners allowed.... No schooners allowed.Peter Fiskhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11047119349197900440noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7122549.post-1124246301498402102005-08-16T22:38:00.000-04:002005-08-16T22:38:00.000-04:00** Landlocked. **** Landlocked. **Peter Fiskhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11047119349197900440noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7122549.post-1124240972628512302005-08-16T21:09:00.000-04:002005-08-16T21:09:00.000-04:00If that's Phil's stricter definition, I agree with...If that's Phil's stricter definition, I agree with it. It does take more than one intersection to achieve gridlock. Otherwise, it's just intersectionlockPeter Fiskhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11047119349197900440noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7122549.post-1124240580640427482005-08-16T21:03:00.000-04:002005-08-16T21:03:00.000-04:00At a minimum, I'd say:If somebody's angry stab at ...At a minimum, I'd say:<BR/><BR/>If somebody's angry stab at the gas pedal would generate a broadside collision, it's gridlock. If any such collision would merely be a rear-ender, it's just a traffic jam.<BR/><BR/>Phil, as I understand it, demands landlocked immobility affecting multiple intersections.Billhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01512881095588291721noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7122549.post-1124240435886570482005-08-16T21:00:00.000-04:002005-08-16T21:00:00.000-04:00… To clarify, I mean if traffic is stopped on a l...… To clarify, I mean if traffic is <B> stopped</B> on a limited-access highway because of traffic that is <B>stopped</B> on the ramps in true gridlock – be it a right-angle grid or otherwise – the vehicles on the highway are part of the gridlock.Peter Fiskhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11047119349197900440noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7122549.post-1124239779428271462005-08-16T20:49:00.000-04:002005-08-16T20:49:00.000-04:00I'd ask what Phil's stricter definition is, but od...I'd ask what Phil's stricter definition is, but odds are it will be forthcoming with or without my request.Peter Fiskhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11047119349197900440noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7122549.post-1124239600192215772005-08-16T20:46:00.000-04:002005-08-16T20:46:00.000-04:00... If we're talking about a stretch of limited-ac...... If we're talking about a stretch of limited-access highway that is backed up as a result of something other than off-highway traffic, <I>gridlock</I> would indeed be the wrong term.Peter Fiskhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11047119349197900440noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7122549.post-1124239234068368922005-08-16T20:40:00.000-04:002005-08-16T20:40:00.000-04:00Phil Blanchard, you'll be stunned to learn, has a ...Phil Blanchard, you'll be stunned to learn, has a stricter definition still.Billhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01512881095588291721noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7122549.post-1124239144015685062005-08-16T20:39:00.000-04:002005-08-16T20:39:00.000-04:00Well, I've certainly seen gridlock in Boston, even...Well, I've certainly seen gridlock in Boston, even though the streets there are not on a regular 90-degree grid. I don't think we're diminishing the term <I>gridlock</I> if we allow it to include diagonal roads or curvy roads or elevated highways that are stopped because vehicles can't move on or off the ramps.Peter Fiskhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11047119349197900440noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7122549.post-1124225232266594412005-08-16T16:47:00.000-04:002005-08-16T16:47:00.000-04:00A bumper-to-bumper freeway backup attributable to ...A bumper-to-bumper freeway backup attributable to gridlock elsewhere is not "gridlock on the freeway." <BR/><BR/>It would be a shame to take this very specific word and ruin it. You need grid + lock to = gridlock.Billhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01512881095588291721noreply@blogger.com