So-called style

Posted on by

Eric S. Harris calls the following shots:

Although I’m not a professional producer of journalism, just a steady
consumer of it (and sausage), I’d like to make a suggestion for your
“if I see this one more time I’ll scream” list.The word is “so-called,” when used in front of a legitimate
technical term or bit of professional jargon. It gives the impression
that the thing in question is not really a whatever-it-is.

Preceding it with “so-called” is essentially putting it in quotes,
like someone is trying to pull a fast one. Just because a term is not
widely used (yet) doesn’t mean it has no meaning to anyone. For some
reason, computer terms seem to get this treatment more than others:
so-called routers, so-called compilers, etc,. but not so-called NSAIDs
or so-called MAO inhibitors or so-called multi-vehicle accidents or
so-called meth labs or the so-called Drug War.

Forward, march

Posted on by

Rory Costello forwards the following:

My nominee is going forward, a filler phrase that has pervaded
the minds of everyone on Wall Street (always a lode of clunky jargon)
and has crept into the business media too, especially CNNfn and Bloomberg.
It’s implicit in almost any context in which it appears.Also, it seems as if the business media now insists on the unnecessary
use of by with verbs and amounts: “the German market was
up by 1.5%,” “raising interest rates by 25 basis points.”

How unique can you get?

Posted on by

Kenneth D. Williams is uniquely suited to state as follows:

The absolute, number one misuse of a word that I have ever seen or
heard is that of the ubiquitous “unique.”If something is unique, it is by definition the only one of its kind. It cannot be “very unique” or “extremely unique” or have any other word there to describe it.

It is just “unique.” One-of-a-kind is one-of-a-kind,
right?

Number two would be nauseous. “I’m nauseous,” people
say. Do they really mean to say that their looks make other people want
to throw up? I believe the word they are looking for is “nauseated.”

Also, I think you have forgotten a few phrases that should be banned.
Not necessarily written ones, but phrases that I hear misspoken every
day.

Not near or dear

Posted on by

Miccaela Baird Badger sent this missive:

What about “near miss?” Many journalists tend to
use this phrase to describe how two planes or trains nearly hit each
other, or some other sort of narrowly avoided accident. However, wouldn’t
a “near miss” actually occur when two objects nearly miss
each other, but still collide?

(Editor’s note: “near” in this instance implies distance,
not approximation — that is, a miss that was near vs. one that was
far, rather than things that nearly missed, but didn’t. Even so, I’d
ban “near miss” on the grounds that it isn’t a particularly
useful description. How near is near? When an asteroid comes
within a million miles of the earth, scientists call it a near miss.
Two aircraft 500 yards apart is another near miss. “Near”
is one of those weasel words like “almost,” “approximately,”
“several” and its ilk that we use when we’re too lazy to figure
out the precise measurements.

Cuts like a knife

Posted on by

Tara Calishain offers

I stumbled on your site while doing some research and
enjoyed it, especially the Banned for Life section. I’m not a newsie
(I’m a freelancie) but I would humbly suggest “cutting-edge”
as a phrase that needs to be retired.

A bitter pill

Posted on by

A judicious reader named Sam sent this along:

Must all Supreme Court dissents be “bitter“? Occasionally we get one that is merely “stinging.” Can’t the justices disagree nicely?

Make these extinct

Posted on by

Rick Palkovic sends a few that were missed by previous contributors:

  • Literally: I’m hearing this used as an all-around intensifier,
    usually when the speaker means just its opposite: figuratively. I
    once heard political commentator say: “Congressional leaders
    literally held a gun to the President’s head!” Don’t we have
    laws against this sort of thing?
  • Et al: Everyone seems to be using this when they mean “etc.”
    They seem to think it sounds more intelligent. Better not to use either,
    of course, but use “et al.” for people; “etc.”
    for things.
  • World-class: A term favored by PR flacks when a more accurate
    description is usually “barely competent.”
  • Endangered species: When all the loggers in the Northwest
    lose their jobs, they just have to find other jobs — they aren’t
    dead, and neither are their relatives, much less the whole human race.
    Casual metaphoric use of this phrase trivializes the enormity of driving
    a species into extinction.

    • Under his gun

    Posted on by

    Robert Markle finds the following in his crosshairs:

  • As an avid target-shooter, I am amazed when I hear television reporters
    explaining that during a particular melee, “shots rang out.”
    I have never heard a firearm, irrespective of manufacturer, “ring!”
    Also…
  • “Then, he turned the gun on himself.” What’s wrong
    with “he shot himself?” After all, turning a gun on oneself
    might legitimately describe the act of readjusting a holster.

    • Where is that sky anyway?

    Posted on by

    Rachel Sauer issues this call for freedom from the skies:

    Relating to your “rain couldn’t dampen the spirits of…” I really hate it when reporters go on and on about the sky.

    “Under a clear blue sky…” or “The sky
    overhead was an ominous gray as the people gathered…    ” or
    “Under a blood red sky…” or whatever.

    Aren’t we always under the sky? Anyway, that’s my pet peeve.

    A free pool of blood

    Posted on by

    G. Wong offered the following

    Some words and phrases are blithely used in the local media without
    a second thought as to their sensibilities.

  • Free gift: a gift is free by definition
  • Pool of blood: as in “The man was lying in a pool of
    blood”.
  • Action…. against: a catch-all term to mean punishment without
    saying much. Sometimes the paper, radio or TV stations will proffer
    the details but often won’t, leaving us to read between the lines.
    eg “Action will be taken against Anwar Ibrahim.”
  • Nabbed & transparency: as in detained, and public accountability
    _ the latter often used in govt.-speak to urge agencies or businesses
    to be more transparent.
  • Percentages: often misused when percentage points up or down
    are meant. Telekom Malaysia’s pre-tax profit was down 12 percentage
    points from 48 percent. Hardly the same as a 12 percent reduction.