Language is flexible and adaptable and probably none more than the English language due to its evolution and its tendency to suck in other languages over the centuries. Now in many ways the trend has reversed and English is giving back to world more and more vocabulary all the time and especially in the areas of science and business. However, there is an additional trend which can also be described as mangling the language and it marks a reversal of the steady evolution in its development.

I have no objections to variations, eg I don't care if it is colour or color, so long as you also spell neigbour / neighbor with or without the "U" respectively. I don't care whether you use -ise / -ize and I don't even care if you use centre rather than center although centered does seem a bit overlong. I can also live with gotten instead of got (after all we do have forgotten in British English)

What I care about is this...

***

01/29/26

'This pizza is delish isn't it?' said one NYPD officer to another in the little Italian place on the corner.

A call comes in on the radio.

"We have a 187, the DB is in the basement of 2353 Phoenix Avenue with the corner of 31st Street. We have yet to establish the COD or TOD. We need to get the cadaver to the ME pronto. The UnSub was seen wearing a yellow coat and have put a BOLO out - no scrub that - an APB and it seems that his MO is in accordance with the Fast Strangler'

"10-4"

"A bus is already on route, but we need several shops to close down the area and we have an airship up, aiding with the search. We need back up ASAP but watch your six as he appears to be armed. Copy?" 

'10-4 We are headed your way - ETA ten minutes.

***

This is an abomination - a total mangling of the English language and as Uncle Bobby said famously in Supernatural, "I'm sorry but I don't speak FBI!"

Here is the key with comments to understanding it.

• 1/29/26 American dating format is non-sequential. Just imagine 34:14:58 meaning 14:34 and 58 seconds. Totally non-sensical!
• Delish - the word is delicious - why do perfectly serviceable words need to be truncated?
• NYPD - more obvious, New York Police Department, but why not just say the Police - you never know NYPD might mean Non-Yapping Pet Dog!
• 187 - Code for murder. Ok, if some things need to be kept coded, but there is widespread access to police scanners and these codes are so widely understood, especially thanks to U.S. TV series, just say it as it is. 
• DB - Dead Body
• Cadaver - Dead Body, I have added this one because, while it is authentic, to me it creates the association of a formerly living person being labeled as a slab of meat which is totally disrespectful. The more common use of the word cadaver is to describe a dead body that has given over to science / medical research.
• COD - Cause of Death
• TOD - Time of Death
• ME - Medical Examiner
• UnSub - Unspecified Subject - the suspect.
• BOLO - Be on the look out.
• APB - All Point Bulletin
• MO - Modus Operandi - the methodology used, in this case by the killer.
• 10-4 - "Acknowledged" / "Okay"
• bus - ambulance
• shop - patrol / police car
• airship - helicopter
• ASAP - As Soon As Possible, which is acceptable, but do not say it as a word unless you can also say RSVP as a word too.
• Watch you six - watch your back!
• We are headed your way... Should be "We are heading. your way". For language purists this should be a Present Continuous format (be + verb + ing) and what it actually is is a present simple passive. Let me illustrate... Many people visit the US each year is an active sentence which can be transformed into The US is visited by many people each year using the passive structure (be + Past Participle / III Form). Both sentences make sense with the only difference being a shift in emphasis. Thus, if we follow this logic through, we should also be able to transform the first sentence too. Only what we get is "Something heads us your way" - which makes absolutely no sense whatsoever - and my proof is that, as far as I know, this is the only verb we do it with. Why break a structure that is perfectly served by the Present Continuous (Current temporary action, that may be interrupted - eg reading a book,  that is going on during this time). The secondary rule, although not relevant to my point concerns irritating habits (which are always subjective - it might irritate but not you) - "He is always biting his fingernails".
• ETA - Estimated Time of Arrival. Ok I might just let this one through.

Language is a powerful tool and it should be used correctly. Incidentally, there are a couple of "Britishisms" that can be irritating too, not that I have any in mind at the moment other than the ubiquitous "innit".

On that note, as always my friends, stay safe and stay well.