"We are the standard barriers"

[Joel S. Berson]

LOL.

When I once served on a software industry standards committee, I
thought of the representative of one company, which wanted to see the
standard fail, as the standard barrier (he always posed complications
and tried to poke holes).

But are some of the examples related to "setting the bar" -- setting
a standard, or target, for others to strive for?  For example the
following, which even uses "look up to", as one does to the high jump bar:

>"The students that are here tonight are the standard barriers for
>other students to look up to, and your parents should be proud of
>your hard work and their commitment to your success..."
>[Rep. Zach Wamp of Tennessee]

Joel


At 10/19/2010 10:19 AM, Laurence Horn wrote:
>Not an eggcorn perhaps as a reconfiguration for "standard bearers",
>but in any case I thought worth noting.  This was the
>self-description of the NFL Vice President and  competition committee
>member Ray Anderson, interviewed on ESPN radio this morning, for the
>role of his group in enforcing the rules against "egregious" hits
>leading to concussions and other severe injuries:
>
>"We are the standard barriers"
>
>The reanalysis does make a sort of sense here, Anderson sees his
>group as both upholding the proper standards and serving as barriers
>against such injuries, but some of the relevant written hits I could
>find on google don't allow this reconstruction, since it's not clear
>what the barriers are serving fend off:
>
>==================
>"The students that are here tonight are the standard barriers for
>other students to look up to, and your parents should be proud of
>your hard work and their commitment to your success..."
>[Rep. Zach Wamp of Tennessee]
>
>Christ is neither conservative nor liberal. He is Preeminent. God
>said "I am that which I am". He is defined only by Himself. The
>rightness or wrongness of conservatism or liberalism is determined by
>the degree they conform to Christ. We must engage in the political
>process to bring the biblical prespective into the light, but beware
>not to trust in the parties' standard barriers for much.
>
>The Temptations, The Four Tops, Ojays, Boyz II Men, Jodeci, Dru Hill,
>AzYet and Day 26 are the standard barriers for grat groups!
>
>I'm using SportsCenter as a standard barrier for what the public is
>interested in
>
>Dr. King was a "revolutionary Christian," in many ways a standard
>barrier for carrying on and enhancing the platform of "Liberation
>Theology."
>==================
>
>or this, from an official U. C. Santa Barbara site:
>
>==================
>Swimming at UCSB is a standard barrier for all our programs. Our
>amazing men and women simply win championships for themselves and
>their school.
>
>L
>
>------------------------------------------------------------
>The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org

------------------------------------------------------------
The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org