Engineering Decisions, Rants 
No Comments Foolproof is Not an F-bomb
I am always amused when smart people behave irrationally.
A few years ago, (judging from my picture in the articles, it has been more like a few decades) I wrote two articles about foolproofing practices in dies: Foolproofing Dies Part 1 and Foolproofing Dies Part 2.
Then came the phone calls and emails.
“It is not politically correct to call people ‘fools’,” was the theme.
The term ‘foolproof’ does not characterize anyone as anything.
Accoring to Merriam-Webster, foolproof is defined as:
Main Entry: fool·proof
Pronunciation: \ˈfül-ˌprüf\
Function: adjective
Date: 1902
: so simple, plain, or reliable as to leave no opportunity for error, misuse, or failure <a foolproof plan>
Sounds about right to me. Webster has not let me down yet. Rest assured, foolproof is OK to say in the workplace, library, or church. Tell your friends that Webster said foolproof is not an f-bomb.
In fact, according to Webster, foolproof is the proper term relative to errorproof.
Where is the proof?
As it turns out, errorproof is not a word recognized by the authority on words. Click here to see for yourself.
