Issues by Oversight
"How did this happen?" - fuming
"The mistake happened by oversight." - sheepish
"How? If there was oversight, it couldn't have happened." - ready to burst
"Eh?" - puzzled
"How-could-it-happen-if-there-was-oversight?" - speaking to a two-year old.
"It happened because of oversight." - trailing off mid-sentence.
"I just don't understand. If someone was overseeing this, it should have been caught and logged as a defect." - back to getting-ready-to-burst.
"Oh! No, no. No one was overseeing. That is why it happened. No one oversaw." - words tumbling out in hurry, now that comprehension has dawned.
How often have we said something that has meant something else to the listener? Oversight to some may mean watchful and responsible care; to others, an inadvertent omission or error. To avoid ambiguity, maybe we need to dumb things down, become verbose, lose a bit of terseness?
I am reminded of the following sentence that I overheard during a long train-journey.
"What! Even after 10 years of marriage, they are not having any issues?"
No, I am not commenting upon their having and holding. I am commenting on issues. Two possible interpretations of the sentence are:
* Even after being married so long, they do not have any children.
* Despite being together for so long, they manage not to have any problems with each other.
Hmm.
And I recall the puzzlement of an American friend of mine.
"How can you speak on a mobile? I love mobiles, but I hang them on my porch."
