By Bob Yearick
Words Gone Wrong
Professional communicators continue to twist the meanings of words to fit their off-base definitions. A few examples:
• Greg Finberg, The Philadelphia Inquirer: “Interim head coach Terry Smith lauded Penn State’s opportunity to ‘shock the world’ against No. 1 Ohio State on Saturday.” One lauds (praises) something that has been achieved. What Smith did was tout (to sell something or attempt to persuade people of the merits of) the possibility that Penn State could beat the Buckeyes. (They didn’t.)
• From the Epstein files controversy and reader Charlene McGrady, we get a lesson in the confusion between poignant and pertinent. Charlene reports on an interview she heard with Epstein’s brother about something Donald Trump once said in his presence: “Jeffrey Epstein asked Trump why he slept with so many married women and Trump replied, ‘Because it’s so wrong.’ Epstein’s brother declared ‘the poignant part of the story is that it showed that Trump and Epstein had a relationship.’” Poignant (moving, emotional, touching) hardly applies here. Pertinent (relevant, germane) is the appropriate word.
• Jim Nance, of CBS, doing play-by-play of the Kansas City Chiefs-Baltimore Ravens game, reported that the Chiefs kicker came into the game “to apply his trade.” Although this wording is technically correct, the usual expression is “to ply (practice, pursue) his trade.”
Media Watch
• Matt Hayes, USA TODAY: “That was Texas A&M Saturday night in LSU’s famed Death Valley, where dreams go to die. Unless you have a spare $477 million laying in the desk drawer.” That’s “lying in your desk drawer.” Lying is the present participle of the verb “lie,” which means to recline or rest in a flat position. It does not require a direct object. Laying is the present participle of the verb “lay,” meaning to place or put something down. It requires a direct object. Common mistake.
• Pamela Brown, on CNN, reporting on the mafia-funded gambling ring on college campuses that involved some athletes, added a syllable to the name, calling them “ath-a-letes.” Too many in the broadcast media commit this gaffe.
• On WDEL AM, a network reporter said that Justin Timberlake had “Lyme’s disease.” There is no apostrophe in the name. Or s. It’s simply Lyme disease.
• Meanwhile, on the WDEL website, a story on people in Lewes dealing with major flooding included this statement: “John Phelps and his family, who live in Lewes, say they had their bags packed incase it got any worse.” In case is two words. (So is all right, BTW.)
• Reader Larry Hamermesh submits this from the website of the Birdland Jazz Club in New York City: “Jazz luminaries Champian Fulton and Klas Lindquist are set to captivate Birdland Jazz Club with their exhilarating nine-piece nonet [a group of nine people or things, especially musicians — which, incidentally, makes this a redundancy] debuting every Sunday in October 2025.” “I could be wrong about this one,” says Larry, “but I thought that a debut was the first in a series, not the beginning of each event in a series.” Larry’s right, the website is wrong. A person, performance, piece of music, etc., can only debut once.
Department of Redundancies Dept.
• Ehsan Kassim, USA TODAY: “[Boston Celtic Jason] Tatum will be responsible for various responsibilities, including providing feedback on player performance, mentoring student-athletes, advising on roster construction . . .” I just hope Tatum acts responsibly in dealing with his responsibilities.
• Old Reliable, Bob Nightengale, of USA TODAY, returns once more with this prolixity in a story about the crackdown on betting in baseball: “The betting limit will now be limited to $200 on wagers focused on individual pitches and exclude them from parlays . . .”
• From an ad for the Brandywine Zoo’s Halloween event: “Enjoy spooky cocktails and liquid libations.” Sometimes used facetiously, libation almost always refers to an alcoholic beverage, or liquid, such as cocktails.
• Reader Larry Kerchner submits “Please RSVP” as a classic example of a failed attempt at sophistication. RSVP is an initialism of the French “réspondez s’il vous plait,” which translates to “respond if you please” or “please respond.” So “Please RSVP” means “Please, please respond.”
Word of the Month
superannuated
Pronounced sooper-anya-waded, it’s an adjective meaning outdated or obsolete through age or new developments; old.
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