Word misuse in the hobby and how it annoys you...

MasterFygar

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NO, PEOPLE ON CRAIGSLIST AND EBAY, YOU DO NOT HAVE "ARCADES" IN YOUR GARAGE.

More than ever before, I tend to see "arcade" used in place of "arcade game", "arcade machine", "video game" or anything that is actually correct. No, you do not have a "Dig Dug Arcade" for sale unless you are selling an arcade that is full of Dig Dug machines. No, you do not have "25 arcades for sale" unless you just bought out a country worth of Dave and Busters. No, you do not have "other arcades for sale", because you aren't selling a full arcade in the first place. And guess what? You do not have "arcades in your garage" unless you have several sectioned off buildings in there each with a selection of their own games. Your garage can be reffered to as AN arcade, but unless you can prove you have multiple garage arcade setups in a single garage, you do NOT have "arcades" in your garage.

An "arcade" is, by Merriam-Webster's definition:

1: a long arched building or gallery
2: an arched covered passageway or avenue (as between shops)
3: a series of arches with their columns or piers
4: an amusement center having coin-operated games

NOT AN INDIVIDUAL MACHINE THAT HOUSES A GAME INSIDE WHICH WOULD BE FOUND INSIDE OF AN ARCADE.

Sigh.


This is not directed at anyone here, as everyone here does a pretty good job of avoiding the mistake. But it's everywhere else, and it's about to drive me insane. What misuse of our language grinds your gears when you're trying to enjoy the hobby? :D Come on, don't be shy, let it out. "Virtua On" instead of "Virtual On" also drives me mad, but it's understandable since it's such an unpopular game...
 
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I agree with your example completely.

My issues are more around terms than individual words. As I've said ad nauseum before, I think "HUO" needs to go away because it doesn't mean anything. "Home-use-only" machines can still be garbage.

Another one: "Mint". These things get some dings whenever they're moved; it's simply not realistic in 99.9% of cases.
 
no one mentioned "Shoped" ive seen it on arcade games and pins usually it means they wiped it down and probably screwed something up in the process
 
no one mentioned "Shoped" ive seen it on arcade games and pins usually it means they wiped it down and probably screwed something up in the process

That arcade retail place I used to go to claimed to have "shopped" their games out, too.

So why do half of them have ROM errors, I asked? No answer.

(Well, I sort of got my answer when they went out of business...)
 
that is flippin hilarious

;) ...there's nothing wrong with saying you collect "arcades" ...it's acceptable shorthand and everyone knows what you're talking about. It's like if you say I'm eating Subway for lunch....no one is going to get confused and think you're actually eating the entire establishment...they know you mean Subway sandwich!!!!
 
I ate a subway today. An entire one.

We already touched NOS. Shopped to some people means they sprayed windex on it.
 
If these terms really annoy you more than just a casual fleeting annoyance you're way... way... way too sensitive for this hobby. Really.
 
Yes, I see that incorrect usage of the word "arcade" on CL often, and it does mildly annoy me. I ignore it because the "arcades" are overpriced and of the ilk that they'd have to pay me to take.

And "mint," to refer to a condition, while it is almost always an exaggeration, is at least correct usage. Incorrect, and much more annoying, usage is "minty" or other such terms which relate to peppermint, plant oil, or fresh breath. The term "mint," in regard to an item's condition, derives from its use in coin collecting where it refers to the same condition as when it was minted... in the mint.

Ahhh.... thanks for the invitation to vent ;)
 
1. An arcade is a place, not a thing.

2. "Grail" was amusing the first 37 times I saw it.
Now it just triggers a deep, hibernating Tourette's reaction.
 
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