I sometimes think of the English language as a living, breathing creature that devours new words and spits out the obsolete ones. New words are added all the time, and existing words are given new meanings, which is what makes the English language so wonderfully diverse.

The word ‘gifted’ means ‘blessed’ or ‘talented’. When used in the expression ‘gifted and talented’ we’re saying ‘talented and talented’ – a lovely example of tautology. What I have noticed recently is the use of ‘gift’ as a verb. I find it quite annoying. We already have ‘give’, ‘donate’, ‘bestow’, ‘grant’, ‘bequeath’ and ‘endow’, so is this ludicrous new fashion of using gifting really necessary?

I read a recent sporting headline: “This team has got to stop gifting their opposition a head start.” What’s wrong with ‘giving’ instead?

While I’m on my ranting platform, there’s another word that makes me wince – agreeance. The correct word is ‘agreement’. Agreeance did once exist, but has been obsolete since 1714, yet it has started creeping insidiously into conversations and news stories in recent times. From a news story, “…over eight in ten students have been in agreeance with the action.”

Another meaningless buzzword is impactful, particularly popular in sporting commentaries. Swimming World Magazine has a list of the ‘Top Ten Most Impactful People of 2015’. The word ‘impact’ means collision, so these people were full of collisions – hardly a compliment, they may even sue!

I admit I didn’t like the word ‘psyched’ when it first became popular, back in the 70s. I have gradually overcome my prejudice and now find the expression ‘psyched up’ quite useful. Who knows, one day I might be in agreeance with gifting the impactful nature of these new words, wondering how I ever got by without them.

Happy Puzzling!