Business, Broadly Understood

There is a Danish saying – Kært barn har mange navne – which literally translates into “a dear child has many names.” More broadly, and also more true to its actual meaning and use, a better translation would be something like “the one you hold dear has many names.” The saying can be used quite plainly to denote precisely how children who are liked by many tend to have several nicknames, but just as often, or perhaps even most commonly, it is used somewhat sarcastically to refer to different terms, concepts, and expressions that, with only minor variation, describe the same phenomenon. There is, as such, a certain ambiguity underlying the saying as it may, every so often, be expressed in a slightly irritated tone of voice.