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There are many different kinds of pins, so in spoken discourse, it is necessary to distinguish the PIN number from other kinds of pins. If your meaning is in doubt, would you call it a "PI Number"?
I would think the meaning would be clear from the context.
Ink pen." I suppose to distinguish from a lead pen?
ROFL, but I think that's for the people who pronounce "pen" the same way they pronounce "pin". For some reason, a good chunk of the US does not seem to realize that there is a "short e" sound and says it all like a short "i". What they are really saying is "Ink pin". First time I heard this, it was a woman at work from the south. She asked me for a pin. I said, "a safety pin"? She said, "no, an ink pin".
Even the robo voice on my work phone says "please inter your ID number". And I even hear anchorpersons say "Tin O'clock news."
My son always cringes at MLB baseball, NFL football, NASCAR auto racing, etc. that the preview channel writes.
He also cringes at the above mentioned.
There was a time when "NFL football" was the only concise expression what would distinguish it from AFL football, a competing league which has since merged with the NFL It is still necessary to distinguish, on TV listings, for example, NFL Football from College Football.
If I caught a foul ball at a game, and handed it to you, would you expect me to say "This is an officail MLB baseball", or could I just say "This is an official MLB". MLB is an acronym for a specific corporate entity, and "MLB baseball" is the game that is sanctioned by that organization. And the ball they use. Just as a can of ESSO oil can be put in your crankcase, and you'd better be sure that you speficy "Esso oil" before the attendant puts Esso gasoline in your engine, even though your son cringes because the "O" stands for "oil"..
That cannot be taken for granted. The reason words have fairly precise definitions is because meanings are not always clear from context.
I would think that any discussion of a peronal identification number would have sufficient context to know that was a PIN and not some other pin, such as a safety pin.
Quote:
Originally Posted by jtur88
There was a time when "NFL football" was the only concise expression what would distinguish it from AFL football, a competing league which has since merged with the NFL It is still necessary to distinguish, on TV listings, for example, NFL Football from College Football.
If I caught a foul ball at a game, and handed it to you, would you expect me to say "This is an officail MLB baseball", or could I just say "This is an official MLB". MLB is an acronym for a specific corporate entity, and "MLB baseball" is the game that is sanctioned by that organization. And the ball they use. Just as a can of ESSO oil can be put in your crankcase, and you'd better be sure that you speficy "Esso oil" before the attendant puts Esso gasoline in your engine, even though your son cringes because the "O" stands for "oil"..
The baseball and football terms are irrelevant because the second use of the word football or baseball does not refer to the same word as used in the acronym. For Esso oil, you would indeed need to specify oil because Esso also sells gasoline. Also, Esso is now a name in itself and is not truly an acronym.
But saying ATM machine or PIN number is redundant. If you expand the acronym into its full words, you see the reason. What you get is nonsense: automated teller machine machine or personal identification number number. The second use of the word does not add any useful information.
Ink pen." I suppose to distinguish from a lead pen?
ROFL, but I think that's for the people who pronounce "pen" the same way they pronounce "pin". For some reason, a good chunk of the US does not seem to realize that there is a "short e" sound and says it all like a short "i". What they are really saying is "Ink pin". First time I heard this, it was a woman at work from the south. She asked me for a pin. I said, "a safety pin"? She said, "no, an ink pin".
Even the robo voice on my work phone says "please inter your ID number". And I even hear anchorpersons say "Tin O'clock news."
I heard a young woman complaining today because she has applied for several jobs and hasn't had a received a job offer. She said, "They are all keeping me in lingo."
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