Just a quickie ..
MAFS-USA! What the hell is this? Is it controversial to suggest its rubbish compared to AU and even UK? The contestants are sooo dull. The format is soo dull. And the experts are …
This isn’t a rant as such but a question about the use of the word ‘Novelty’.
In my head it screams of cheap tat you’d buy from a dusty arcade in some run down seaside town. Or something you’d of seen advertised at the back of a comic or porn mag until the 90’s.
Am I just old and too British? Has its meaning and use changed with time and location? Do the kidz use it differently? Is my i337ness being call into question? Have I been pwnd or would I now be considered a novelty?
To me it means cheap/tacky or not serious.
Oh no! This isn’t the impression I want to give off at all D:
What do you think would be a better word to describe toys like the following:
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I dont have a problem with word novelty but what about playful instead?
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Quirky? Fun?
I have no problem with novelty I was just stating the images the word conjures in my head!
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I love the look of that pineapple…
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Lol. I’m still annoyed by Snickers and Cif.
I can see why you’d use Novelty here. As @WillC suggested its saying quirky and fun. A bit different. Function disguised by its form. It makes sense.
But, and it might be my age or too many sad holidays in dying Victorian towns … when there’s no supporting image, my brain defaults to its hardwired association. I AM nearly 60.
So when you have images laid out like that, ‘Novelty’ works because you’ve visually defined what it means. You’ve given it context.
When all I’ve been given is “Novelty Suction Stimulator”, Novelty is the first word I read and, before I’ve had a chance to remember your new definition, I immediately think cheap tat and my first impression is tainted.
I’m still wracking my brain cell. As a secret tester toy you’re not going to want to give away what its novel features are. Its a secret. Maybe thats it. Does adding ‘ty’ to ‘Novel’ cheapen it? Make it sound more like a throw away kids toy? Should it just be Novel?
How about
Unique. Innovative. Original. Surprising. Fresh. New. Bold. Kitschy. Playful
Or in the case of the Lemon, infamous. Or the Pineapple could be pop-art.
Its worth Googling it as there’s some interesting and opposing explanations depending on your phrasing.
Novelty as cheap tat?
Novelty as quirky and fun
Or you could go the easy route
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I also wondered whether Novelty meant different things to other English speakers, in this case Americans.
I think that Pineapple would make you eyes water. @KinkyMira But what a way to go.
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Those notices to provide your information for porn sites have been popping up on a lot of sites. In my mind agree best to leave well enough alone and not do it.
I do tend to agree that the word ‘novelty’ puts me in mind of a Christmas cracker toy, however bc I know that its not a throw away toy, I accept the word. I like @WillC suggestion of Quirky
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I had a good one recently.
My son plays badminton at the local club, has done for a couple years and I go along to help or just hang about while hos group trains. These are from 11/13 year old up to 18year old. So secondary school kids, so a PVG is needed for all us adults.
There is one person who is there as a committee member, who has a PVG. Keep him in mind, let’s call his Bill for this. Not his real name of course.
There are some of the older kids who get asked to help the coach with feeding etc for the younger ones, one girl in particular is a pretty, chatty and sound person. She is always asking for advice for her game and chats away.
Recently she was telling me about her exams, so u went into parent mode and asked what her future looked like for her etc all those questions, uni or work you know.
She told me she has another year of school left, so that makes her 5th year. So by my maths that makes her 16 or 17ish.
Now “Bill” made a comment the other day about her, an inappropriate one. “She’s got potential and I don’t mean at badminton”
I said “aw that’s no ok she’s a child”
He quickly said “aw I’m only joking, its nothing serious, just tongue and cheek” to which I replied, “still not OK Jimmy Savile”
The next week I got asked about an altercation between him & myself. This is the only thing I could think of, but I was getting asked to “watch my language” around the kids as it offered anyone. I think because I said “Jimmy Savile” and someone only heard half the conversation, I don’t know. Butnaturally I’m annoyed.
So I told said person about the conversation, he still gets to come because he has a PVG and is a committee member. I was fuming. I still am.
I’ve told them if he is there next week I’ll inform the police
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Had to look it up, and discovered a PVG is the Scottish version of a DBS check. If it’s the same as the English version it just means they did a criminal record check, and found nothing untoward. It doesn’t guarantee they’re not a perv, just that they haven’t been caught. So I agree with you, he’s raised a red flag with his inappropriate language and ought not to be working with kids.
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I agree with @WillC it only means he has not been caught. I am sure her parents would be concerned about his comment, a person does not say such things as a.joke without there being those thoughts there in the first place.
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I wholeheartedly agree. As a man with children, nieces, a stepdaughter (Miss Heather’s daughter) that would make my blood boil.
Even if I didn’t have children, it still would. I had a bad childhood, I was sexually abused in addition to receiving other kinds of abuse too.
This is something that makes me go from 0 to 100 mph in an instant.
Children are precious.
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Without sounding horrible, I wouldn’t be waiting till next week. I would of informed them instantly after the incident. Making such comments and then passing it off as a joke is sickening.
Disgusting horrible man. I would of had a few more choice words for him aswell..
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LO visted his grandparents a while back and while playing with their dog in shorts ended up with a few scratch marks. On the same visit, he was bouncing on his trampoline with his cousin’s and got one or two bruises (you know how rough kids can be)
This ended in the school contacting SS. After a full investigation obviously everything was dropped.
I understand they have a job to do but today he came home with three bruises, I received no phone call and no incident was reported via the app on how it happened.
Now if I don’t contact them and mention it, I risk them doing the same again. They are very quick to judge parents but lack the same protocol or policy in regard to school hours - apologies for the rant, but it really made me angry 
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I know generalizing is wrong… My rant is about many younger folks now who aren’t able to count, make change or even read an analog clock. Clocks are being changed out in schools because kids can’t read them, they need to be digital.
An analog clock shows it be 2:10 and they can’t tell what time it is.
Earlier today, at the grocery store, the checkout lady was younger, not sure how young, at least 18, likely a bit older.
It was a large shopping trip, a bit under $350 and I gave her $350, three 50’s and the rest 20’s. She tried counting it out a few times and then told an older lady cashier she couldn’t do math today so the older lady cashier counted it out, said it was $350 and the younger lady then input that amount into the register as my total was like $347 something dollars.
So a young person of about 20 years old working a cash register in a busy grocery store wasn’t able to count up $350 in cash in just 50’s and 20’s.
3 50’s is 150. 10 20’s is 200. 150 and 200 is 350.
The young lady could NOT count up how much money I’d given her. She had to ask and give the cash to an older lady who was also a cashier there.
Moving on.
Heaven forbid if your total comes up to $9.81 and you give the kid a $10 bill and then say you have the penny. They are LOST trying to make your change then because they’ve already typed the amount into the register and they are unable to make a simple calculation in their heads.
Look, I’m not trying to say I’m Einstein as I’m not but I’m not talking about Mensa level tasks here either. Reading a clock. Counting out $350 in cash when it’s in 3 50’s and 10 20’s. Figuring out that $9.81 from $10.01 means a customer gets back 20 cents and they cannot do it!
These young folks are going to be in charge running things when I’m elderly and it scares the shit out of me.
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Sorry to hear this,O the wonderful life of schools and how they react or not react to certain things.
Bullying: That doesn’t happen at our school.
We have investigated and no bullying was happening.
Total denial 
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