H.O.V. lanes
Out west we call them carpool or diamond lanes, but here in Boston (and apparently throughout the New England and mid-Atlantic states) they're called H.O.V. lanes -- i.e, lanes for "high-occupancy vehicles." In other words, people in these parts prefer a dorky acronym over plain English. I was driving into Boston the other day and I didn't have a clue what H.O.V. meant, but then I read in Glenn Kenny's L.A. Times Mike Nichols profile that Charlie Wilson's War "belongs in the H.O.V lane"...what?
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Posted by Jeffrey Wells on December 17, 2007 at 11:50 AM
comment #1
rocco
says ...
I remember when they opened them on the LIE and my mother asked what the hell H.O.V. was supposed to mean...if they were going to stick with an acronym, why not go with something intuitive like "M.O.V.E" (multiple occupancy vehicle express).
Then again, expecting as much creativity as that from beaurocrats is probably a bit of a stretch.
Posted by rocco
at December 17, 2007 12:23 PM
comment #2
jeffmcm
says ...
'Diamond lane' isn't plain English either.
But yeah, jargon sucks.
Posted by jeffmcm
at December 17, 2007 12:25 PM
comment #3
Wrecktum
says ...
Yes, but "carpool lane" is.
Posted by Wrecktum
at December 17, 2007 12:37 PM
comment #4
jeffmcm
says ...
I know. That's why I didn't include it.
Posted by jeffmcm
at December 17, 2007 12:46 PM
comment #5
lazarus
says ...
H to the Izz-O, V to the Izz-A.
Get yo' damn hands up.
Posted by lazarus
at December 17, 2007 1:08 PM
comment #6
Josh Massey
says ...
Says a guy who lives in a city most often referred to as an acronym...
Posted by Josh Massey
at December 17, 2007 1:13 PM
comment #7
BurmaShave
says ...
Oh, snap
Posted by BurmaShave
at December 17, 2007 1:18 PM
comment #8
Peter T Chattaway
says ...
They're called H.O.V. lanes "out west" if you live in Canada. Definitely less dorky than "diamond lanes", a term I have never heard before (though I do believe there are diamonds painted on the road in those lanes).
Posted by Peter T Chattaway
at December 17, 2007 1:34 PM
comment #9
ZayTonday
says ...
I live in LA and I've always called them carpool lanes.. it's wacky, I know.
Posted by ZayTonday
at December 17, 2007 2:16 PM
comment #10
Craig Kennedy
says ...
I live in LA and I call them either HOV lanes or carpool lanes. Maybe I picked it up when I used to live in Seattle? That's practically Canada as far as the rest of the country is concerned.
Posted by Craig Kennedy
at December 17, 2007 3:52 PM
comment #11
alvysinger
says ...
I live in San Diego and this is the most inane subject for a post I've ever seen.
Posted by alvysinger
at December 17, 2007 4:43 PM
comment #12
rocco
says ...
So if I've got my 10 year old nephew in the front seat with me we're "car-pooling"?
Posted by rocco
at December 17, 2007 5:22 PM
comment #13
lazarus
says ...
Come on, del, we know that's not your nephew.
What's the male version of "Amber Alert"?
Posted by lazarus
at December 17, 2007 5:26 PM
comment #14
Kim Voynar
says ...
If you're commenting on a post that you're calling the most inane subject for a post you've ever seen, what exactly does that say about you ... ?
They're HOV lanes in Seattle too, Jeff. Now that I live in OKC, though, I've had to adjust to there being no HOV lanes (or carpool lanes, or "diamond" lanes) -- just people driving like maniacs no matter which lane you're in.
Posted by Kim Voynar
at December 17, 2007 7:09 PM
comment #15
Lee
says ...
They call them submarine sandwiches out west but when you get back east they change to grinders. It just don't make a lick o' sense. Next thing you know, they'll be using some fancy east-coast acronym for Revenue'rs and another acronym for G-Men. Franklin Roosevelt must be spinnin' in his grave, Rest in Peace.
Posted by Lee
at December 17, 2007 9:02 PM
comment #16
rocco
says ...
They're called heroes or subs in NY, hoagies in PA...I think "grinder" is a midwest thing.
Posted by rocco
at December 17, 2007 9:36 PM
comment #17
JackeyAces
says ...
They're called H.O.V.lanes in the south. Looks like only the part of the country that uses those terms are dorky left coasters.
Posted by JackeyAces
at December 17, 2007 10:38 PM
comment #18
Zac Bertschy
says ...
Yeah everyone on the west coast is a dork because we don't use a retarded acronym to describe the motherfucking carpool lane.
Jesus christ east coasters are pretentious assholes.
Posted by Zac Bertschy
at December 17, 2007 11:07 PM
comment #19
Craig Kennedy
says ...
Hey, maybe if we try real hard we can turn this into a right/left red-state/blue-state argument.
Posted by Craig Kennedy
at December 18, 2007 12:30 AM
comment #20
guideman
says ...
Is there any one Mike's fans? Authorities said Mike Nichols posted a sexy profile at a celebs dating site named Richromances.com where many celebritis and beautiful people are looking for romances. I believe he does not look for common~~
Posted by guideman
at December 18, 2007 1:34 AM
comment #21
transmogrifier
says ...
I'm astounded at the seemingly inexhaustable ability of some people to care so deeply about monumentally trivial things.
Posted by transmogrifier
at December 18, 2007 4:48 AM
comment #22
rocco
says ...
We're all just having a casual conversation about a light topic and then Zac Barfly comes in and goes all Mickey Rourke on us...seems like there's only one person here who cares deeply about the subject.
Posted by rocco
at December 18, 2007 6:22 AM