So being a sports writer -- and for the past eight months, solely a copy editor -- there are phrases which continue to creep up into copy, and I continue to remove them post haste. It seems most of our writers (and I imagine it is the same at every other publication around the globe) forget what they wrote about 30 seconds after they send it in. "It's gone, and I wish it the best," they must think. Or, of course, some are just stubborn, and they like the way it sounds so much they're going to write it, no matter what. And while no cliche is a good cliche, they seem to find their way into copy, even though they rarely make the paper. Gotta give a determined writer an "A" for effort though. They keep trying; we keep striking.
Well, here are the ones I hate most (with a little help from my desk mates):
10. "It looks like ... "
Unless it is a column or an analysis, I don't give a rat's ass what you think something "looks like." Just tell me what happened or what you know is going to happen. Leave the "it looks like" crap to the talking heads who we all know don't know what the hell they're talking about. It looks like you know what you're talking about when you say, "it looks like," but we all know better.9. "No love lost"
The cliche of all cliches. The premise of this one is that two people don't like each other, then one does something the other doesn't appreciate, and they like each other less. Sure there's no love lost, freakbox, there was none to be had in the first place. Duh. I wonder if using cliches is like being crippled without using a wheelchair or crutches. No love lost. Horse hockey. I have lost plenty of love over people I can't stand. Some, maybe, I even once loved. Not naming names, of course.
8. John Doe "stepped up"
Well no wonder why that little runt was able to slam one home in the waning seconds. They gave the little bastard a step ladder. I might be able to dunk, too, if they put one of those things in front of the goal. ... Ahhh, maybe not.
Well no wonder why that little runt was able to slam one home in the waning seconds. They gave the little bastard a step ladder. I might be able to dunk, too, if they put one of those things in front of the goal. ... Ahhh, maybe not.
7. "The sky's the limit"
Most often, this is in a quote, but that doesn't mean the writer has to use it. Why is the sky the limit, anyway? If he's a basketball player, it's not like he has a 20-mile vertical leap. Unless he/she intends to become an airline pilot, the sky is not the limit. Hell, I'd bet you'd never hear an aspiring astronaut say the sky's the limit.
Most often, this is in a quote, but that doesn't mean the writer has to use it. Why is the sky the limit, anyway? If he's a basketball player, it's not like he has a 20-mile vertical leap. Unless he/she intends to become an airline pilot, the sky is not the limit. Hell, I'd bet you'd never hear an aspiring astronaut say the sky's the limit.
6. Sally Doe "exorcised her demons"
To be honest, I'm not really sure what this is supposed to mean. Does it mean just before she went up to the plate, she got a priest to spray holy water on her bat while she ate two cloves of garlic? If that's what it means, then I'll gladly take this one off the list.
To be honest, I'm not really sure what this is supposed to mean. Does it mean just before she went up to the plate, she got a priest to spray holy water on her bat while she ate two cloves of garlic? If that's what it means, then I'll gladly take this one off the list.
5. "Walk-off home run"
This one has peeved me since ESPN began using it about five or 10 years ago. I believe it was Dan Patrick or Keith Olbermann who was the first to coin the phrase, but it really gets my goat. (LOL, a cliche. So I'm a hypocrite. I asked him, though, and Ol' Billy doesn't like it, either, that little paper-eating hoofed devil.) Why does everything have to be cutsie? We can't just say what it really is anymore: a game-winning homer. No, that's not dramatic enough. It's even worse that print journalists decided to institute the phrase made up by no-clue talking heads, as well. Besides, do teams really walk off when they hit a game-winning home run? The losing team usually mopes off with their heads hanging. The winning team, conversely, hangs around, jumping in unison around the plate as the bashee flips his helmet and jumps in to get mobbed. So, no one really walks off. Therefore, stop saying it. It might be cute, but it's inaccurate and stupid. (Yes, I said stupid.)
This one has peeved me since ESPN began using it about five or 10 years ago. I believe it was Dan Patrick or Keith Olbermann who was the first to coin the phrase, but it really gets my goat. (LOL, a cliche. So I'm a hypocrite. I asked him, though, and Ol' Billy doesn't like it, either, that little paper-eating hoofed devil.) Why does everything have to be cutsie? We can't just say what it really is anymore: a game-winning homer. No, that's not dramatic enough. It's even worse that print journalists decided to institute the phrase made up by no-clue talking heads, as well. Besides, do teams really walk off when they hit a game-winning home run? The losing team usually mopes off with their heads hanging. The winning team, conversely, hangs around, jumping in unison around the plate as the bashee flips his helmet and jumps in to get mobbed. So, no one really walks off. Therefore, stop saying it. It might be cute, but it's inaccurate and stupid. (Yes, I said stupid.)
4. Anything that "erupted" or "exploded" or "caught fire"
No they didn't, or it would be a much bigger story. When trying to say Team X had 10 consecutive hits or scored 21 straight points, use something else. No one wants to think of his or her favorite player going up in flames. I am not sure if Joe DiMaggio was cremated after he died, but that's really the only way he ever caught fire. Not even during his record 56-game hitting streak did he really catch fire, unless Norma Jeane left the roast in the oven too long, and Joltin Joe had to grab it with those crusty, black pot holders. Although she was a Baker, so who knows?
No they didn't, or it would be a much bigger story. When trying to say Team X had 10 consecutive hits or scored 21 straight points, use something else. No one wants to think of his or her favorite player going up in flames. I am not sure if Joe DiMaggio was cremated after he died, but that's really the only way he ever caught fire. Not even during his record 56-game hitting streak did he really catch fire, unless Norma Jeane left the roast in the oven too long, and Joltin Joe had to grab it with those crusty, black pot holders. Although she was a Baker, so who knows?
3. "Went to war"
The boys in Iraq went to war, not the Saints and Falcons. If we're going to use awful analogies, I think it would better if we turned it around the other way. Make war sound like a game. Something like, "Corporal Joe Harris packed his belongings and kissed his wife as he headed to the desert gridiron to quarterback the U.S. Army in its tough tilt against the rival Iraqis. Harris spent all summer preparing, hoping his team wouldn't end up on the losing end with his performance causing him to be trimmed from the roster of life." Sounds kinda dumb, huh? Also, a little trite. So do two teams or people going to war when they're getting ready engage in a contest.
The boys in Iraq went to war, not the Saints and Falcons. If we're going to use awful analogies, I think it would better if we turned it around the other way. Make war sound like a game. Something like, "Corporal Joe Harris packed his belongings and kissed his wife as he headed to the desert gridiron to quarterback the U.S. Army in its tough tilt against the rival Iraqis. Harris spent all summer preparing, hoping his team wouldn't end up on the losing end with his performance causing him to be trimmed from the roster of life." Sounds kinda dumb, huh? Also, a little trite. So do two teams or people going to war when they're getting ready engage in a contest.
2. Anything that has "Hurricane Katrina" in it
It's three years later. Can we -- for God's sake -- move on, already? I don't want to read about some kid who had to live in a trailer for two years and is just now feeling normal again. I don't want to read about School X, which continues to struggle in the aftermath of HER. I don't want to read about how some kid's parents' FEMA checks have run out and they don't know how they're going to survive. I don't feel sympathy for them. Yay, you picked yourself up 36 months after a tragedy struck. Good for you. That's what you're supposed to do. That's what almost a million other people who lived through it did. What makes you special? I lived it. I am done with it. Don't write it.1. "Not to mention ..."
Huh? The most ignorant phrase in the history of phrases. Don't say it. Ever. You'll sound like a moron, if you do say it. You'll seem like a moron if you write it. You'll feel like a moron if you think it. Ninety-nine times out of 100, whatever follows, "not to mention," mentions whatever it is that was not supposed to be mentioned. Say, "something that also needs to be mentioned ..." Say, "Joe Blow failed to mention ..." Even say, "It's not really worth mentioning, but ..." Just don't say, you know what. You're welcome. Don't mention it.
Huh? The most ignorant phrase in the history of phrases. Don't say it. Ever. You'll sound like a moron, if you do say it. You'll seem like a moron if you write it. You'll feel like a moron if you think it. Ninety-nine times out of 100, whatever follows, "not to mention," mentions whatever it is that was not supposed to be mentioned. Say, "something that also needs to be mentioned ..." Say, "Joe Blow failed to mention ..." Even say, "It's not really worth mentioning, but ..." Just don't say, you know what. You're welcome. Don't mention it.
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