The power of jargon

Robert Fisk has a bit of a rant in The Independent about the rise of jargon and the corruption of words.

Key paragraph:

• Some newly popular phrases, such as "tipping point" - used about Middle East conflicts when the bad guys are about to lose - or "big picture" - when moralists have to be reminded of the greater good - are merely fashionable. Others are simply odd. I always mixed up "bonding" with "bondage" and "quality time" with a popular assortment of toffees. I used to think that "increase" was a perfectly acceptable word until I discovered that in the military sex-speak of the Pentagon, Iraq would endure a "spike" of violence until a "surge" of extra troops arrived in Baghdad.

Okay, it's a pretty tired and overworked subject, but Fisk gives it his own spin.