“Our media is replete with examples of sloppy English,” bemoans reader PAUL VARSANYI, who has some to share.

In this “iconic” piece, he “hones” in on some howlers of words and phrases that, he “alleges”, are used by the media in the wrong context, or are simply wrong (“wow!”). 

Here are some of his favourites:

Icon or iconic. This term originally referred to a painting or statue of Jesus or other holy figure, particularly in the Orthodox Christian world. Now it can be read or heard some 20 times per day. Apparently, it now applies to a variety of circumstances, including football teams, cake recipes, house styles, clothing and even an Australian-made pair of boots. That’s just to name a few. So the term has been vastly devalued. Let’s opt instead for words such as “special”, “original”, “epic”, “stylish” or whatever term the circumstance really demands.

Bunker down. Television journalists, often in a difficult situation, will resort to this. The term is in fact “hunker down”. One may elect to hunker down in a bunker, but the operative word remains hunker.

Begs the question. Extensively used to suggest that the situation provokes a question. Strange as it may seem, its real meaning is the exact opposite. To beg the question is to avoid it completely.

Honing in. To hone an object is to smooth and sharpen it, or refine it over a period of time. Clearly nothing to do with moving in on a target, which is what the writer obviously means. This concept is dealt with by the phrase “homing in”.

Alleged. The purpose of this term is to acknowledge that the case referred is not yet proven. But a nervous media has massively overused it. For instance a recent ABC news item referred to an “alleged police arrest” of a person. An arrest is an indisputable fact, and should be referred to without qualification. To make matters worse, the same ABC has referred to “an alleged allegation”. 

Wow. To watch any TV show dealing with house renovations, cooking, indeed any show that features a form of reveal is to hear a chorus of cats on heat. A chorus of “wows”. It’s remarkable how this seems to be the only word folks can summon to indicate their pleasure with an outcome or scene. How about “neat”, beautiful”, “impressive” or “amazing” to name just a few.

This abuse of our language won’t go away unless we pull up the perpetrators. I have pulled up the ABC numerous times. I’m happy to report that the ABC is always civil enough to acknowledge and apologise.

Grumpy is an occasional column written by readers. Get grumpy at editor@citynews.com.au

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