Pedants' Paradise

[oddoneout]

Newsletter from the Times this morning had me scanning the follow-up to see whether it meant what I thought it meant, or the opposite (it meant the opposite):

ANALYSIS: Doubtful ministers would dispense with masks today.

They're all pretty doubtful in my jaundiced view so I couldn't care less what they do about masks...

[french frank]

They're all pretty doubtful in my jaundiced view so I couldn't care less what they do about masks...

Well, reading the brief synopsis, it did seem to mean "It is doubtful whether ministers would dispense with masks [if making the decision] today" rather than "Sceptical ministers would dispense with masks today." But I didn't read the whole story as I only get the news headlines and I wasn't interested enough to make it one of my free articles.

[oddoneout]

Well, reading the brief synopsis, it did seem to mean "It is doubtful whether ministers would dispense with masks [if making the decision] today" rather than "Sceptical ministers would dispense with masks today." But I didn't read the whole story as I only get the news headlines and I wasn't interested enough to make it one of my free articles.

It's a bit like the "how many words from this set of letters" isn't it? How many interpretations from this set of words.

[french frank]

It's a bit like the "how many words from this set of letters" isn't it? How many interpretations from this set of words.

It could be deliberately ambiguous to make you read it. When I did a subbing course, I remember we were told we had to write bills for our stories which left the public guessing and made them buy the paper. "Boris Johnson trial - verdict "will sell more papers than "Boris Johnson - Guilty" (sigh of relief - don't have to buy the paper, just off to the pub).

[cat]

It could be deliberately ambiguous to make you read it. When I did a subbing course, I remember we were told we had to write bills for our stories which left the public guessing and made them buy the paper. "Boris Johnson trial - verdict "will sell more papers than "Boris Johnson - Guilty" (sigh of relief - don't have to buy the paper, just off to the pub).

Our local newspaper website has become terrible for this sort of thing. Instead of “Police Reopen Road After Minor Accident” we get “Important Update From Police on Accident That Closed Road”

[oddoneout]

Our local newspaper website has become terrible for this sort of thing. Instead of “Police Reopen Road After Minor Accident” we get “Important Update From Police on Accident That Closed Road”

The online version of my local rag has developed an extra twist - reading the text below the headline doesn't always clarify, it may be some time before a coherent version is posted. It would help if an attempt to write original text was made rather than just hurriedly rehashing police tweets which themselves are all too often rather lacking on the literacy front.

[french frank]

The online version of my local rag has developed an extra twist - reading the text below the headline doesn't always clarify, it may be some time before a coherent version is posted. It would help if an attempt to write original text was made rather than just hurriedly rehashing police tweets which themselves are all too often rather lacking on the literacy front.

Most news gathering seems to rely rather too much on quotes from social media. Not around in my day: bills (for the billboards) were handwritten on small squares of paper with the newspaper's logo at the top. I scribbled my letter of resignation on one.

[french frank]

A new BBC masterpiece of ambiguity this morning (or is it deliberate subversiveness?):

"Covid rules from 19 July: What has changed?"

[Serial_Apologist]

A new BBC masterpiece of ambiguity this morning (or is it deliberate subversiveness?):

"Covid rules from 19 July: What has changed?"

Do you mean "rules" being possibly used as a verb?

[french frank]

Do you mean "rules" being possibly used as a verb?

My brain must be differently wired: I read it as Covid rules (OK?)

[Serial_Apologist]

My brain must be differently wired: I read it as Covid rules (OK?)

No, similarly wired, you poor dear!

[Padraig]

The other day I came across a new word, meant to look it up, didn't and forgot what it was. The very next day in a different place I came across i the same word again! I looked it up and was amazed that I had not heard it before - how could I not have? The word was BLOVIATING.

[vinteuil]

The other day I came across a new word, meant to look it up, didn't and forgot what it was. The very next day in a different place I came across i the same word again! I looked it up and was amazed that I had not heard it before - how could I not have?

... the very same thing happened to me a couple of days back.

Perhaps appropriately, the word was - athazagoraphobia : the fear of forgetting, or of being forgotten

.

[oddoneout]

... the very same thing happened to me a couple of days back.

Perhaps appropriately, the word was - athazagoraphobia : the fear of forgetting, or of being forgotten

.

The latter meaning being another modern day affliction to go with *FOMO?
Learning the meaning of bloviating/bloviated came some time ago and as the result of the PM. It isn't a pleasant sounding word (to my ears, conjuring up images of flies and maggots, possibly being close to bloated) and the association makes it even more unpleasant...

* fear of missing out

[vinteuil]

The latter meaning being another modern day affliction to go with *FOMO?

/ ... /

* fear of missing out

I don't think I ever suffered much from FOMO. Rather FOBIA* (which has increased over the last eighteen months... )



* Fear Of Being Invited Anywhere

.