A City and Country Specialist
A real estate agent near my home has a huge highway billboard upon which he holds himself out to be a “City and Country Specialist”.
When I first saw that, I snickered. What kind of specialist claims to do it all? But then I realized that maybe he was on to something. He’s actually associated his name with “specialist”, which suggests he’s no run-of-the mill hack, yet at the same time he’s kept all his options open. If his language was deliberate, it’s quite clever.
Many years ago when I edited the Russell Review, I went to solicit advertising from Ewart Campbell, the local electrician. Ewart was famous for giving away faceplates and calendars emblazoned with “Don’t gambol, see Campbell”. So when I spoke to Ewart about buying some advertising (which he did) I took the opportunity to point out that “gambolling” is what lambs do. People are more likely to “gamble”.
Ewart looked me straight in the eye and with his gentle smile said, “No, leave it the way it’s always been– so far it’s worked pretty well.”
You see, Ewart understood that although there are a million rules in language, the most important rule is this: use language which accomplishes your purpose. Which, I suppose, is why my website is www.purposeful.ca.