By Bob Yearick
Where Are the Editors?
The political situation is not only getting ugly, it’s also becoming ungrammatical. Take these three recent examples:
• Peter Cordi, in the Washington Examiner: “If President Joe Biden succumbs to growing pressure to drop out of the 2024 race, Vice President Kamala Harris may not be a shoe-in to take over.” That’s shoo-in.
• Then we had this redundant statement from the Biden campaign: “Trump is telling obviously false lies.”
• In a politics-adjacent comment, Philly sports media personality Mike Missanelli tweeted: “Throughout history, there’s always been wannabe demagogues who will pray on weak minds.” Two corrections: “there have always been,” and prey — to exert a harmful or destructive influence.
Aside from politics, we have these additional recent gaffes in the media:
• Reader John McDermott caught Barrett Brooks, during the Birds Huddle broadcast on NBC Sports Philadelphia, utter the double comparative when he proclaimed that Eagles defensive tackle Jordan Davis “will have to play more better this year.”
• Gabe Lacques, in USA TODAY, after noting that University of Tennessee baseball is loaded with talent, wrote: “We’ll hone in on (Christian) Moore, a middle infielder with major pop.” And so continues the misguided march to replace the correct home in (to target) with hone (to sharpen) in.
• Dan DeLuca, music critic for The Philadelphia Inquirer: “Young’s prior visits with Crazy Horse — which currently comprises of longtime members Bill Talbot on bass and Ralph Molina on drums, plus guitarist Micah Nelson . . .” “Comprises of” is a construction I’ve never seen before. “Is made up of” would’ve been acceptable. The whole comprises the parts. Therefore, Crazy Horse comprises Neil Young, Bill Talbot…etc.
• Rob Tornoe, also in The Inky: “(Merrill) Reese said he thought the epitome of his career was being placed in the Eagles Hall of Fame in 2018.” Epitome (ih-PID-uh-mee) is often misused to mean “pinnacle” or “high point.” It actually means “a person or thing that is a perfect example of a particular quality or type.”
• A USA TODAY caption on a picture of the star of The Bear: “Are half-naked photos of Jeremy Allen White all over your Instagram feed?” More to the point, what exactly is a half-naked photo?
• And finally, there was this from Eddie Murphy’s Netflix movie, Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F: During an argument with his daughter — an articulate, sophisticated lawyer — she says: “If you had went to therapy…” I almost yelled, “Had gone!” at the TV.
Department of Redundancies Dept.
• Bob Nightengale, USA TODAY: “They are Major League Baseball players, who can tell you about the menacing threats that have been inflicted upon their lives . . .” Aren’t all threats menacing?
• Also from USA TODAY, via reader David Hull, is this headline: “Beware of Fake Vacation Scams.” So, in a kind of double negative manner, does that mean they’re not really swindles?
Foreshadowing a Harbinger
Foreshadowing in literature provides an indication or a hint of what is to come. Likewise, a harbinger is something that foreshadows a future event. They are tricky in that writers almost automatically insert “something to come,” or a similar phrase, after these terms, which makes them redundant. Two recent examples:
• Daughter Danielle reports that Ryan Condal, showrunner for House of Dragons, spoke thusly of the murder of the of the king’s infant son in Episode 1 of Season 2: “It’s meant to be a harbinger for things to come.” Also, “harbinger of,” not “harbinger for” is the standard phrasing.
• Brandon Holveck, reporting on the Blue-Gold All-Star Football Game in The News Journal: “The 92-yard passing touchdown, . . . only foreshadowed what was to come.”
Careful writers insert something specific following such phrases. E.g., in the first case: “It’s meant to be a harbinger of the battles to follow.” In the second: “…only foreshadowed more success for the Blue’s passing game.”
Word of the Month
pluviophile
Pronounced PLOO-vee-uh-file, it’s a noun meaning a person who enjoys rain and rainy days, and who is fascinated by the sights, sounds, etc., of rain.
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