Grammar Moses: Words to avoid in the news business
"When I read today on the (London) Daily Mail's website that 'Ivanka was spotted peeing out of the window at Buckingham Palace with her husband Jared Kushner,' my first thought was to question whether it was a misplaced clause, or was Jared actually peeing out the window, too?' wrote Stan Zegel.
Not quite believing his eyes, Stan reread the passage to learn the word used was "peering."
Seriously, Stan. Are you still in fourth grade?
Actually, the best editors have some of the filthiest minds. They catch innocent mistakes or word combinations that might make some blush. But a filthy mind will get you only so far. Good editors also have a well-rounded education, knowledge of current events across the spectrum and a basic understanding and appreciation for cultures and experiences other than their own.
Stan wondered whether there are words or phrases we avoid "because they are susceptible to mischief if a typo creeps in."
I won't provide Stan's example auf Deutsch, given that this is a family newspaper that in its infancy printed a few of its pages in German.
According to News Editor Michelle Holdway:
• We generally write around using "whom" in headlines, because it feels stilted and because so few people understand the difference between "whom" and "who."
• We avoid the term "hospitalized," which means to send, put in or admit to a hospital," because many people think it applies only to admittance.
• We're careful with pop culture references that contain newly sexual meanings.
• We're extra cautious about cultural sensitivity issues. There are phrases that seem innocuous now but whose origins are not. Take Bugs Bunny's famous line "What a maroon!" I wonder how many people know that fugitive slaves were referred to as "maroons."
The other side of the coin is when someone assumes a word has a racial connotation but does not.
It makes me queasy to even type this word, but "niggardly" has nothing to do with race. Its origins are from the Norse hnØggr, which means stingy.
Still, aside from today's column and a pair of Burt Constable columns over the last decade that addressed racism and why we don't use certain words anymore, I can't imagine a reason why we'd ever use this one in our newspaper.
Whether intended or not, some words merely distract from what one is trying to say.
• One word I always triple check before sending is "public." I'll let you figure out why.
Mea culpa
Alice Mann is a self-proclaimed grammar freak.
"I'm wondering if you made a boo-boo on purpose. You wrote 'wasn't for naught' (a double negative,)" she wrote.
Alice, I learned a lot about life and language from Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, so I can't get no satisfaction. And apparently neither will you.
Good catch.
Write carefully!
• Jim Baumann is vice president/managing editor of the Daily Herald. Write him at jbaumann@dailyherald.com. Put Grammar Moses in the subject line. You also can friend or follow Jim at face-book.com/baumannjim.