Why use jargon?
Sometimes there's just no other way to say something: you can say electrochromic glass or you can burn a full sentence glossing "glass that responds to an electric current by changing color."
Clearly, there's an advantage to the first option, though it may occasionally send something scurrying for a dictionary. (But sometimes, you just need to spell it out if you don't want to alienate your audience.)
But other times, it seems like people use jargon out of fear. Fear of saying something plainly, putting it out in the open. And I get that—there's a nakedness to "repainted" that "update finishes" seems to dress up.
We're afraid to just…put it out there.
Porte-cochère is architectural jargon I could do without for this reason.
It just feels so damn cowardly to sneak around with French clothing on.
Yes, it's a historical term—it literally means "coach gateway," with reference to an outdated feature that would provide entry for a carriage (coach) into a courtyard.
But no normal layperson knows what a "porte-cochère"—so let's just call it what it is:
Covered drive-through.
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