By Bob Yearick
Where Are the Editors? (Formerly “Media Watch”)
• Reader David Hull notes that the British daily The Guardian mishandled this quote from singer Norah Jones: “When I met Ray Charles, I couldn’t stop crying. Ray and I were introduced . . and I balled uncontrollably.” The word is bawled. The slang term “ball” means to have a good time or to excel at a sport, especially basketball (“He can ball!”).
• Kelly Lawler, USA TODAY, on the pervasiveness of political news: “And when that news verges from disturbing to depressing, it can be exhausting and overwhelming.” Things and people don’t verge from; they verge on. Better choices: intensifies, ramps up.
• Reader Jane Buck found this in Flash Points, a newsletter published by Foreign Policy magazine: “The House of Windsor owns large tracks of land and all the swans in the country.” Land comes in tracts.
• Presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. says he spoke “pretty continuously” for a month with New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers about being his running mate. Continuously describes an action that happens without stopping. Continually describes an action that recurs frequently or regularly. So, since even a politician can’t talk nonstop for a month, Kennedy was “pretty continually” speaking with Rodgers.
• In The News Journal, a story about the new book Lost Delaware contained this convoluted reference to the long-gone Wilmington Dry Goods: “Opened by Jacob Lazarus, Lost Delaware points to News Journal columnist Bill Frank’s writing that the store was ‘hailed as the major spark of thriving retail business in downtown Wilmington.’” Lazarus opened the famous downtown store; he had nothing to do with the book.
• TNJ also loosed this long and rich-in-language-lessons sentence upon an unsuspecting universe: “Estranged from her family, not wanting to bother neighbors and unwilling to contact social services after losing her income, court documents say Mercedes Ferguson told police she and her son lied around her Elsmere area apartment starving.” (Deep breath) 1) As constructed, the sentence avers that “Estranged from her family” modifies “court documents.” The phrase, of course, refers to Mercedes Ferguson. 2) She and her son lay around their apartment. Lied is the past tense and past participle form of lie when it means “to make an untrue statement.” 3) And finally, there should be a comma after neighbors.
• Gabriela Carroll, in The Philadelphia Inquirer: “. . . the Phillies’ unique font for the nameplate on the back of the jersey is still in tact.” Maybe a typo, but still a teachable moment — intact is one word.
• Keith Pompey in The Inky, quoting 76er Buddy Hield: “This is where I workout.” That’s the noun. Keith meant to use the verb, which is two words: work out.
TV Follies
Print and digital media are not alone in their abuse of the language. Television recently gave us these:
• Keith Jones, anchor with NBC10 Philadelphia: “You might have saw it Sunday night on the Academy Awards show.” Saw is the past tense of see. Have seen — the present perfect — is what any major market TV anchor should have chosen.
• Amazing how often the double superlative occurs. Actress Fran Drescher, appearing on CBS News Sunday Morning: “Playing a Jewish person instead of Italian was the most easiest for me to play.” No need for “most.”
• Reader Maria Hess noticed this candidate for The Department of Redundancies Dept. from Liz Kreutz, reporter on NBC’s Today: “[The guest] will appear virtually via Zoom.” If you’re on Zoom, you’re for sure going to appear virtually.
• Another redundancy occurred during the NCAA Wrestling Championships when an announcer observed: “You can see the visible frustration on Arujau’s face.” As opposed to seeing the invisible frustration?
Department of Redundancies Dept.
• Tyler Dragon, in USA TODAY: “The Steelers hired former ex-Falcons head coach Arthur Smith as their offensive coordinator.” Choose one, Tyler — former or ex.
• Headline in USA TODAY: “Somber but yet hopeful opening day in Baltimore.” The “but yet” redundancy keeps happening. You only need one of those words, especially in a headline.
Word of the Month
Prescind
Pronounced pri-sind, it’s a verb meaning to leave out of consideration; cut off or separate from something
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