By Bob Yearick
Common Sense Revisions
Two of our erudite readers point out the fallacy of a couple of popular expressions.
• First up, retired teacher Walt DelGiorno, who spotted a story in USA TODAY that contained this sentence: “The agency’s civil rights office has been reduced to a fraction of what it once was.”
Walt, who taught a few math classes during his career, points out that 1/100 and 99/100 are both fractions, but the first equals 1 percent, while the second is 99 percent. So, Walt says, “If the meaning is to indicate a large reduction, then the expression should be ‘reduced to a small fraction.’”
• Next is long-time reader Larry Kerchner, who bristles at the phrase “walking on eggshells,” which signifies the need to be extremely cautious in one’s actions or words. Admitting that the phrase is “ubiquitous and even in the dictionary,” he posits, first of all, that it doesn’t make sense.
“If the eggs are already broken,” Larry says, “and ostensibly emptied of their contents, who cares if they’re walked on? Where’s the challenge, or the worry, or the danger?”
Secondly, citing several sources, including The McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs, he says: “Walking on eggs, so as not to break them, is more accurate, and pre-dates the ‘eggshells’ version by several centuries.”
Noted, in both cases.
Media Watch
• Stephanie Farr, of The Philadelphia Inquirer, writing about the “Crab Couch” created by Philly artist Rose Luardo: “Once just a regular white sofa that was looking for a new home on Facebook Marketplace, Luardo . . . rescued the couch and Frankenstein-ed that couch into a comfy crustacean.” With words like “Frankenstein-ed” and alliteration like “comfy crustacean,” Stephanie demonstrates why she is one of The Inky’s most creative writers. But, alas, she commits a rare miscue with a misplaced modifier that describes Luardo as a white sofa.
• Similarly, reader Olga Grushin caught this dangler from a BBC News briefing: “A 1960s Aston Martin DB5 — a model immortalized in classic James Bond films — bought second-hand in 1973 and left to rust on a driveway for years, has been returned to its former glory. After spending £400,000 ($523,000) on a three-year restoration, the car is now worth £1m ($1.3m).” The car didn’t spend the money; presumably, the owner did.
• Safety Marcus Epps, who recently rejoined the Philadelphia Eagles, was quoted in The Philadelphia Inquirer about playing next to Reed Blankenship: “It’s kind of seamless. We already have that repertoire of playing together in the past.” I’m pretty sure Marcus meant rapport.
J’ever Notice . . .
. . . that many people ignore the first l in vulnerable, pronouncing it vunnerable.
Department of Redundancies Dept.
• Award-winning journalist Larry Nagengast sent in this from the Tallahassee Democrat’s story about Alligator Alcatraz, the immigration detention center in Ochopee, Fla.: “According to the report, punitive punishment at Alligator Alcatraz includes being ‘put in the box,’ described as a 2×2 foot cage-like structure people are put in as punishment . . .” Apparently, this detention center can be punishing.
• The Reef Seafood & Steak, a north Wilmington restaurant, asks customers to “sign up for email and be the first to get new updates.” Well, I certainly don’t want old updates.
• From a Philadelphia Inquirer editorial: “Let’s not forget he is a convicted felon who was criminally indicted three other times.” Felon: a person who has been convicted of a felony.
• Being a reader of “The War on Words” has made Steve Larrimore hyper aware of redundancies. So, when he used the term unrelenting onslaught in a recent Facebook post, he had second thoughts. Looking up onslaught, he found that it means unrelenting attack. He quickly deleted the redundancy from his post.
Erratum
In the discussion last month of the redundancy “Please RSVP,” we mistakenly added an s to the first word in the phrase “répondez s’il vous plaît,”making it réspondez.
Word of the Month
philippic
Pronounced fa-lip-ic, it’s a noun meaning a discourse or declamation full of bitter condemnation; tirade.
Buy The War on Words book at the Hockessin BookShelf, at Huxley & Hiro Booksellers, or on Amazon. Or email me at ryearick@comcast.net.
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