Were you offended?

We have men bombing Syria with the Americans - after parliament voted against bombing Syria - and some of these asylum seekers are from the very country we are bombing . We bombed Afghanistan and there are asylum seekers from there too

A swarm of bees are trying to find a new home. That is exactly what this swarm of people are doing, so it is a far more appropriate word than some people seem to think.

What a storm in a teacup!

The offence lies in over-magnifying the numbers by the use of the word. Scaremongering in other words.

We need to get their own countries into a better state. And that means more foreign aid for governments that are do-operative, and troops and bombing for those that are not. But who really wants to go down that road?

It was the context he used the word in that was unfortunate. I'm not sure whether it was through carelessness or by design. I think it could have been the latter. He wants to get support for his negotiations in the EU. Not a good way to go about it if that was the case. We don't want a lot of immigrant hatred being encouraged. And I am a Tory supporter.

Sometimes I think DC is simply the best of a bad bunch.

If the EU would get it's act together and make a solid joint decision about all these souls we could perhaps have a handle on managing the situation.

I think that whenever the word swarm is used, whether insects, people, anything else, it means that those in the swarm are being regarded as a mass.

I happened to look at a globe of the world this morning, though, (yes, really) and was struck again by how very tiny the UK is.
We don't have room for huge numbers of incomers but clearly something needs to be done other than just putting up the barricades.

I will leave Eloethan to answer your question Ana.

Bzz bzz bzz .....

soontobe As I said if you look n a dictionary you will find that the term has been and is used to describe large numbers of things, insects, people moving about . Therefore what is there to be offended about ?

Did Eleothan specifically refer to her family, soontobe, or are you just making assumptions again?

ginny. When Eloethan speaks as she does about her family members, I think it is right not to carry on using the phrase on gransnet.

Elegran Don't worry about the weather. I have been promised that it will be sorted out within the next week in time for my trip to Cornwall. I expect there will then be swarms of people moving around the country if they are not worried as being labelled as such.

Soon Have a look at a decent dictionary.

Thatbags

I dont think we can know for sure what was in DC's mind when he said it though.

But I dont think he should use the phrase in future. I hope he doesnt. The phrase is not appropriate.

What a fuss about nothing. Swarm.. hardly an offensive word. The media, and people, do love to take offence so easily and start jumping around and being indignant..... all over nothing. It's all poppycock.

I had a feeling in my water that this would happen. I'm sure some of you will understand to what I refer.

Yes indeed...

One can use the expression "to drone on" of people too.

Elegran. No I dont think it is a good word as regards people. Because it has offended some people. As it generally refers to insects as far as I know.

[I wrote my above post before reading yours].

I think most people have heard the word in that context.

There are plenty of threads in pedants corner about words having different meanings in different parts of countries.

And sometimes a word can mean something nice or nicish somewhere, and not so nice elsewhere.

If it is not so nice elsewhere, it is not unreasonable for a person not to have liked the use of the word.

And heck. Some posters may not have heard of a word used in that context ever before.

It wouldn't make me any less of an individual.

You have heard it now. Don't you agree that it is a good description of a lot of people all rushing toward a single point?

Words are not always just sober plodding terms for dull facts, they can paint a vivid picture for the reader. They are often used creatively round the edges of their usual meaning - that is how they gradually change their meaning, and change their form to look or sound different. They bare not fixed, on stone tablets.

The histories of words can be found in the records of how they have been used in the past and in different countries and how they have developed the way we use them today. You say elsewhere that you have never thought about how words get their meaning. You have missed a lot.