CATACHRESIS

English for Today by Ganiu Abisoye Bamgbose (Dr GAB)

CATACHRESIS

There was a *go-slow* for about two hours (Popular Nigerian English; PNE).
There was a *traffic jam* for about two hours (standard).
A traffic jam is a line of cars, trucks, etc. that are moving slowly. In most varieties of English, a go-slow is a protest by workers in which they deliberately work slowly in order to cause problems for their employers:
The workers embarked on a *go-slow* for months (standard).

The *working class* are the influential ones who should help transform the country (PNE).
The *upper class* are the influential ones who should help transform the country (standard).
The working class or the working classes are the group of people in a society who do not own much property, who have low social status, and who do jobs which involve using physical skills rather than intellectual skills, while the upper class or the upper classes are the group of people in a society who own the most property and have the highest social status.
GAB