OMG, It's Looming!
All this fiscal cliff talk raises a very important question: Why does the fiscal cliff always “loom?” I guess it’s for the same reason hurricanes always “pack winds.” (“Hurricane Elmer, packing winds of 95 mph...”) And, speaking of weather, how heavy does rain have to be before it’s called “torrential?” When I was a Los Angeles TV weatherman, I avoided the term (unless I said the rain was “coming down in Torrance.”)
Why are employees who go on shooting rampages described as “disgruntled?” My desktop dictionary defines that word as “angry or dissatisfied.” Disgruntled? I’d say it’s more like really, really peeved. In much the same way, support never arises; rather it “outpours.” And, while you can grow petunias or grow weary, can you really grow a business? I wonder, too, why mobs are always “chanting slogans?” I’m not sure I even know how to chant.
Bank robberies and surgical procedures gone awry generally seem to be described as “botched,” though it seems to me that word is more appropriate for a faulty chocolate chip cookie recipe. Does anyone who is not a journalist actually use the word “motorists” instead of “drivers?” (And while you’re out driving, would you mind trying to find the “campaign trail?” I’ve always wondered exactly where that was.)
I guess we all have our little lists of annoying journalistic clichés, but, at the end of the day, there’s not much we can do about them at this point in time. Still, what are some of your un-favorites?
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Comments:
Sep '10
Re: OMG, It's Looming!
"At the end of the day" makes me gnaw on my keyboard like its a birch tree in a beaver farm.
Just sayin'.
Sep '10
Re: OMG, It's Looming!
Ah, Nixonesque.
Sep '10
Re: OMG, It's Looming!
Perhaps "they're packing looms" could be our latest neologism.
Dec '10
Re: OMG, It's Looming!
I really dislike when a single words becomes so cliche it is in every news story. I don't know if "gravitas" was the first, but it was the one that really got my notice and ire.
Re: OMG, It's Looming!
"Tony." Nice neighborhoods in journalism-speak are always "tony." But you rarely hear someone say that in real life.
Sep '10
Re: OMG, It's Looming!
I've always wondered what the "Tony Awards" were really about.
Re: OMG, It's Looming!
Oh, one I'm trying to get away from is "in fact." I like the way it sounds when I'm writing but it's unnecessary. I'm going to limit my usage of the phrase to thrice daily.
Aug '10
Re: OMG, It's Looming!
Torrance ! Brilliant .
El Segundo, or second, the word disgruntled. When properly applied I think it might mean unable to defecate, there fore full of same.
Also suspect it has something to do with "return to sender" and "undeliverable" as most shooters have been disgruntled postal workers.
Chocolate chip cookies could easily be chocolate wedge cookies, if chocolate were a bit cheaper. But ,that close to the green, prices fade like puts.
Sep '10
Re: OMG, It's Looming!
The fact of the matter is that in fact is redundant.
Re: OMG, It's Looming!
I understand the humor, Mollie, but your use of the word "thrice" sent me scrambling to find what follows "once, twice, thrice." As it turns out, nothing does. Not terrible important news, but I'm happy to learn almost anything.
Re: OMG, It's Looming!
I cringe when people are praised for being "proactive." I'm anti-pro-active.
May '10
Re: OMG, It's Looming!
WOMAN MAKES CLOTH ON MOUNTAIN SIDE
Fiscal cliff looming.
Aug '10
Re: OMG, It's Looming!
irregardless
whassup with that ?
i miss safire
Aug '10
Re: OMG, It's Looming!
EJHill: WOMAN MAKES CLOTH ON MOUNTAIN SIDE
Fiscal cliff looming. · 1 minute ago
weaving spiders hang out here
Re: OMG, It's Looming!
Then again, to your point, cringe is too strong a word!
Jun '10
Re: OMG, It's Looming!
I always love to hear my mom react when she hears about someone who "went missing." She goes nuts. Whatever happened to "disappeared"?
Sep '10
Re: OMG, It's Looming!
Passed away = died
Having said that = allow me to clear my throat
Please use the nearest exit = get out
Air masks will deploy = get out now
Jun '10
Re: OMG, It's Looming!
Artistic types who use the word "fabulous"
but it's more like "fah-ah-ah-ah-bulous"
and you must be able to hear the "ah-ah-ah" resonating about in the nostril.
Jun '10
Re: OMG, It's Looming!
It moved South.
May '10
Re: OMG, It's Looming!
And, what are "angry memos" and why are they always "fired off"?