Viewing 39 posts - 1 through 39 (of 39 total)
  • I keep using this phrase wrong: "It is contingent upon me/us" – What's correct?
  • 13thfloormonk
    Full Member

    I know WHY I’m using it wrong, because ‘contingent’ could mean ‘depending on’ as in ‘it depends on us completing the task’.

    However I’m trying to say ‘it is our responsibility’ e.g. ‘it is our responsibility to complete the task’.

    Is there a similar phrase which means the same thing?

    Sorry, weird query but I keep catching myself using the phrase for some reason and I know it’s not correct.

    perchypanther
    Free Member

    However I’m trying to say ‘it is our responsibility’ i.e. ‘it is our responsibility to complete the task’.?

    Why not just say that then?

    It’s encumbent upon you to use the simplest language possible.

    jamiep
    Free Member

    “incumbent”?

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    martinhutch
    Full Member

    encumbent

    Narrows eyes…

    donald
    Free Member

    It is incumbent upon you to spell correctly too 🙂

    pistonbroke
    Free Member

    I’d start with the simple stuff, it’s WRONGLY.

    perchypanther
    Free Member

    cucumbent?

    Cougar
    Full Member

    Never use a big word when a diminutive one will suffice.

    GlennQuagmire
    Free Member

    Is that a bananacumber?

    iainc
    Full Member

    Depends really…. 🙂

    martinhutch
    Full Member

    Bencumberbatch?

    GlennQuagmire
    Free Member

    LOL! Looks like he’s just sh*t the bananacumber!

    woody2000
    Full Member

    Cucumberbatch

    perchypanther
    Free Member

    Surreal thread derailment complete.

    My work here is done.

    Amazing what you can accomplish with one spelling mistake and a bent cucumber. 😉

    martinhutch
    Full Member

    Cucumbercat?

    GlennQuagmire
    Free Member

    Tears of laughter here…excellent work all.

    🙂

    martinhutch
    Full Member

    Surreal thread derailment complete.

    More of a contangent.

    GrahamS
    Full Member

    Never use a big word when a diminutive one will suffice.

    Agreed. There is always something casuistical and sophistical about sesquipedalian loquaciousness.

    perchypanther
    Free Member

    There is always something casuistical and sophistical about sesquipedalian loquaciousness

    +1 😉

    martinhutch
    Full Member

    perchypanther
    Free Member

    Jacob!

    That’s a cracker.

    seosamh77
    Free Member

    It’s up tae us…

    MTB-Idle
    Free Member

    Is this work related?

    Tell them there is a dependency on you and ask them to log it on the RAIDs log.

    donald
    Free Member

    The utilisation of obfuscatory terminology is deprecated.

    13thfloormonk
    Full Member

    Excellent, this thread could not have gone better 😀

    I think ‘incumbent’ was our winner, thanks for that.

    I’m 100% guilty of obfuscatory language, doesn’t really help in the construction industry either, spend half my time editing my own emails just to de-poncify them 😳

    Just consider this a mental itch scratched, it is incumbent upon me not to use this in any emails to subcontractors trying to install basement drainage pipework 8)

    perchypanther
    Free Member

    it is incumbent upon me not to use this in any emails to subcontractors trying to install basement drainage pipework

    Inplumbent?

    Greybeard
    Free Member

    I know you’ve found a suitable word to use, but to be boring* and follow up on ‘contingent’, I think it applies to events not people. So you can’t say “It is contingent on the subcontractor to lay the pipework correctly” but you could say “Getting the pipes laid correctly is contingent on the subcontractor’s pipelayers being competent”.

    * The Yellow Pages did originally have an entry “Boring: see Civil Engineers”

    Cougar
    Full Member

    The utilisation of obfuscatory terminology is deprecated.

    I’m totally stealing that.

    Cougar
    Full Member

    I know you’ve found a suitable word to use, but to be boring* and follow up on ‘contingent’, I think it applies to events not people. So you can’t say “It is contingent on the subcontractor to lay the pipework correctly” but you could say “Getting the pipes laid correctly is contingent on the subcontractor’s pipelayers being competent”.

    So “dependent” then.

    seosamh77
    Free Member

    I often wonder why it takes people so long to do things. Guess the answer is that they are too busy pissing about trying to justify their job with nonsense like this.

    The correct response should be:

    Tell Wullie to get his arse in gear and sort oot they pipes, pronto! 😆

    Which is clearly where it’s going to end up anyhow, after management have finished talking nonsense trying to impress each other.. 😆

    martinhutch
    Full Member

    I know you’ve found a suitable word to use, but to be boring* and follow up on ‘contingent’, I think it applies to events not people. So you can’t say “It is contingent on the subcontractor to lay the pipework correctly” but you could say “Getting the pipes laid correctly is contingent on the subcontractor’s pipelayers being competent”.

    Without wishing to encumber you further, would laying a cable be contingent on the successful laying of a pipe, which is contingent on the competence of the incumbent subcontractor? Hopefully there is a plan in place to deal with the contingency of an incompetent incumbent?

    footflaps
    Full Member

    Hopefully there is a plan in place to deal with the contingency of an incompetent incumbent?

    I think you can get a cream from the chemist….

    Daffy
    Full Member

    The utilisation of obfuscatory terminology is deprecated

    …you’ve just paraphrased my Ph.D supervisor.

    GrahamS
    Full Member

    The correct response should be

    Ah but the golden rule of QA is “if it’s not written down it didn’t happen”.

    slowoldman
    Full Member

    In my previous professional life where I was often in communication with “drainage types” it would be more a case of “connect this ****er to that *** over there”.

    slackboy
    Full Member

    Surely the choice of language depends on the exigencies of the situation?

    slackboy
    Full Member

    Without wishing to encumber you further, would laying a cable be contingent on the successful laying of a pipe, which is contingent on the competence of the incumbent subcontractor? Hopefully there is a plan in place to deal with the contingency of an incompetent incumbent?

    Maybe to mitigate the contingent nature of the job you could get a contingent of sub-contractors in to do the work. Obviously any bonus would be contingent on a successful outcome.

    CaptainFlashheart
    Free Member

    In view of some of the doubts being expressed, may I propose that I recall that after careful consideration, the considered view of the Committee was that, while they considered that the proposal met with broad approval in principle, that some of the principles were sufficiently fundamental in principle, and some of the considerations so complex and finely balanced in practice that in principle it was proposed that the sensible and prudent practice would be to submit the proposal for more detailed consideration, laying stress on the essential continuity of the new proposal with existing principles, the principle of the principal arguments which the proposal proposes and propounds for their approval. In principle.

    frankconway
    Full Member

    Syntactical inexactitude.

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