atw: Re: SEC: UNCLASSIFIED "Ad hoc"

From: "SUNTER Bede" <Bede_SUNTER@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: <austechwriter@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Fri, 11 Mar 2005 11:02:57 +1100
Hi Howard,

'ad hoc' indeed means literally 'towards this [thing]'.
You are also right in that most people say 'on an ad hoc basis' and
transfer
=20it to writing.

These days a lot of peoples' speech is littered with verbal junk that
has
the main function of giving our mouths something harmless to do while
our=20
brains catch up.

Myself, I avoid 'ad hoc' and replace it with 'as required' or
'as needed'.


-----Original Message-----
From: austechwriter-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
[mailto:austechwriter-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx]On Behalf Of Silcock, Howard
DR
Sent: Friday, 11 March 2005 10:48 AM
To: 'Austechwriter (austechwriter@xxxxxxxxxxxxx)'
Subject: atw: SEC: UNCLASSIFIED "Ad hoc"


I recently changed the phrase "use of these buttons/actions is something
that is generally done on an ad hoc basis (developer skills are required
to
create buttons/actions)" to "developers generally create buttons/actions
ad
hoc". But when I thought about it, I realised that I never see the
phrase
"ad hoc" used like this nowadays - people almost always write "on an ad
hoc
basis". My words seemed almost archaic as I reread them, even though the
usage conforms to the original meaning as it's described in dictionaries
(as
an adverbial phrase - I think it means literally "towards this [thing]",
meaning presumably the matter at hand - can Daryl C or anyone else
confirm
the translation?)=20

Do people write "on an ad hoc basis" instead of just "ad hoc" for the
same
reason they write "on a weekly basis" instead of just "weekly" - that
is,
presumably, just because it sounds a bit more formal? Or do you agree
that
my usage has an archaic ring to it? (Or maybe you just wonder why I
would
even worry about it!)

Howard=20

--------------------------------
Howard L. Silcock
Technical Writer
Project Office - Infrastructure
Department of Defence
(02) 626 58828 =20
--------------------------------=20
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atw: Re: SEC: UNCLASSIFIED "Ad hoc"

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