Semi serious

The prefix semi, often used with a dash, is very common in English usage. I understand it; it indicates partial. Notice for example I just employed a partial, semi-colon. A half colon. Marty gots good English skills.

So why doesn't this rule apply on the highways and bi-ways of our once proudly English speaking nation? I often pass trucks with trailers and the license plate on the back says semi trailer. But they're always full, complete, entire trailers! There's nothing half way about them.

Then there's what I believe the state of Maine has on their trailer licenses: semi permanent. So is the plate not permanent, not there all the time? Or is the entire truck subject to the whiles of some errant space time continuum thing, going in and out of existence? Because, I tell you what, they've never blipped out of our universe when driving past me, especially when it's raining heavily so that my van gets thoroughly drenched and my wipers can't keep up.

I mean, if we want the children of our country to learn English, we really need the consistent use of terms.