  This Post is Not Very Professional "Two professionals in their 20s seek professional M or F roommate in his or her 20s for 3BR share. " I remember seeing a bunch of ads like this when I looked for an apartment last year, and again when I looked to rent my place last month. As a matter a fact, I posted something very similar to that in my own urlLink Craigslist ad. It seemed that every other post used the word "professional" to describe either the current inhabitants or the desired additions. But what exactly is a professional? I always thought that, when used as a noun, professional refers to a person employed in, well, a profession.
And it used to be that there were about as many recognized professions as you can count on your hand. There were the doctors, the engineers, the lawyers, the, uh... embalmers, and, well, the contract killers. In order to be a professional, you had to have been traded in these practices, went to some sort of school, and earned some kind of degree. Are teachers professionals? Traditionally I think they have been excluded, but I saw on the local news last night an interview at an elementary school with some woman whose title was "paraprofessional.
" The implication of this designation is that the teachers themselves are professionals. In any event, teachers are closer to the narrow definition of the term than investment bankers, consultants, and managers. But now it seems that in order to be a professional, you just need to be employed as anything higher up the workplace food chain than a corner spotter for the local crack deal (the crack dealer himself is, of course, a professional).
So I guess we should probably call the spotter a paraprofessional. Another use of the word that kind of strikes me happens in sentences like this one, "Tie your shoes and get rid of that mustard stain on your shirt; you want to look professional. " I'm not sure if this is a sufficiency or necessity statement. Does having tied shoes make one a professional? Or does having untied shoes make one not a professional. Obviously what the statement is trying to communicate is the importance of looking like you're serious about whatever business situation your entering, so as not to give the other side the impression that they're dealing with some careless or dirty person. But I don't see why the word professional got impressed into the doing the shorthand work in this instance. What is needed is a word that conveys the meaning of looking like something within the broad range of "impressive" to "passable.
" After all, that is how we use it all the time now. "Make this presentation look more professional. " (Translation: "Make it prettier, with darker colors and fancy marble-patterned designs. ") It's a PowerPoint presentation. You don't need professional training to make or understand powerpoint; and if you had it, you'd probably lose it from making mind-numbing slides anyway. "You should act more professionally at meetings. " (Translation: "Don't use non-standard English associated with ethnic minorities.
Don't gesticulate like you're pistol-whipping someone. Wear a suit, preferably one without any logos on the lapels. ") I suppose the meaning of the word professional is well-understood enough, even if it is so vague as to approach meaninglessness. Still it kind of bothers me that so many people are encroaching on the word. I'm going to complain to my Member of Parliament, or maybe just write a letter to urlLink Barbara Wallraff and she what she says. 
