Drips out the bottom . . .

A109 Light Utility Helicopter flight with mayor Gisborne City from the air in November 2023.

More jargon joy from the business page. On Thursday's article on data sovereignty, we find these brilliant technical types trying to keep their cloud onshore, with lawyers advising “being onshore is no hedge”. Clouds on the ground with hedges around them? At school we were taught to avoid mixed metaphors, unless for comic effect. These so-called “techs” (a terrible new word that pretends the digital world is all of technology) have mastered comedy through the simple art of not understanding their language in the first place, or being aware they are using metaphors.

The intelligence of these guys (usually guys — girls do astrophysics) goes down a funnel. It's so narrow, worldly wisdom and common sense get stuck at the top, and drips come out the bottom.

Gavin Maclean