Is it because they want to look like jocks, or sound like blue collar Joe Average? If that's the reason, it's condescending and mean. "Oh, look at me. I'm a guy who gets paid hundreds of thousands of dollars a year to sit here behind a microphone and pontificate, but I can talk just like you, you uneducated dolt."
To me, that's the message they're sending and it's rude.
Those guys sitting there in the broadcast booth don't have to be erudite and use every big word in the book. But how about trying to be themselves?
Do these guys really say things like 'oh, yeah, he played real stout' or 'did you see him go yard?' when they're hanging out with their friends? If they do, that's a college education wasted.
Stout is one that makes me nuts. When I hear someone say, 'He played stout.' I can't help but wonder, what? He played like a pint of Guinness? Or is it that he got fat while he played?
'Of late.' Is another one. What is that supposed to mean? That one, in our house, is like a drinking game. It's used so frequently it's a joke.
Announcer: 'blah blah blah-de-blah of late...'
Us: 'Of late!'
The other night one of the announcers of the All Star game said 'he went yard'. How does one 'go yard'? I know what he meant. The guy hit a home run. Okay. There are other phrases that could be used. Saying 'he went yard' sounds like the hitter made a prison break. It is both illiterate and stupid.
'Filthy' is another one that's recently hit my outer word defenses. I heard that the other night, several times from the same guy. The reference was to the player's skills. 'He's filthy good.' Huh?
Okay, let's break it down for understanding and comprehension.
'He is.' Got that. The player exists. Check.
'Good.' Okay, the player is good. Check.
Where does 'filthy' come into it? I just checked. Type filthy into the Google search bar and you'll get:
* * * * *
filth·y
ˈfilTHē/
adjective
adjective: filthy; comparative adjective: filthier; superlative adjective: filthiest
- 1.disgustingly dirty.
"a filthy hospital with no sanitation"synonyms: dirty, grimy, muddy, slimy, unclean, mucky; More
polluted, contaminated, unhygienic, unsanitary;informalcruddy, grungy, skeevy;literarybesmirched;formalfeculent
"the room was filthy"antonyms: clean - informalused to express one's anger and disgust.
"you filthy beast"
synonyms: despicable, contemptible, nasty, low, base, mean, vile, obnoxious; More
- Britishinformal(of weather) very unpleasant.
"it looked like a filthy night"
* * * * * *
Does anyone see anything in there complimentary? I don't.
Granted, in the second meaning 'he's filthy good' translates to 'he's (disgusting) extremely good' or 'he's (disgusting) tremendously good'. But since it's the secondary definition, the first is what captures my attention.
Is the announcer trying, in a round-about way, to say the guy sucks? Or is he really trying to be complimentary? I dunno. I'll assume that because the guy is as good as he is, it's the second. It still leaves me scratching my head, though.
And it's not just sports announcers that do this. It's everywhere.
Last week I received a business letter that contained the phrase 'I would like to...' four times. It started with 'I would like to thank you for your business' and went from there. Okay. So thank me for my business. Don't pussyfoot around.
It's like saying 'I would like to say how sorry I am that Bozo died.' Better yet, 'I would like to offer you the job.'
What? Why are those hesitant or qualified? Why aren't they just stated? Seriously!
Look at that, think about it, let it soak in.
'I would like to thank you.' To me, that sounds like 'I would like to thank you, but I can't so I won't.'
Okay, fine. Get lost, buddy.
'I would like to say that I'm sorry Bozo is dead, but I can't because he was a twat and I'm glad he's gone.' Well isn't that sweet.
'I would like to offer you the job... But you're an unqualified, overblown incompetent, so we're giving it to Monty over there. Yeah, the guy with buck teeth who looks like a homeless dude.'
Why can't people come out and say what they mean?
Why can't they say, 'Thank you for your business...' or 'I/we appreciate...'? or 'I'm so sorry Bozo is dead.'
Is it really so hard?
Another is 'I could care less.' Okay. You could care less - how much less? How much caring do you have left to give away?
If you cannot care one whit less, it is 'I could not care less.' As in, 'I have nothing left to give in the way of caring.' This is contracted to 'I couldn't care less.' That means zero is left for caring. No ambiguity remaining.
Expresso and axe and further when it should be farther also make me crazy, but that's another post.
Suffice it to say that words and phrases have meaning and when they become so soft and squishy, or downright stupid sounding, they get my hackles up.
I'm sure it's more than just me, too. I'm neither special or unique, so I'm pretty confident it isn't just me.
So be decisive. Don't try to be clever or cute or soft or anything else.
Say what you want to say. Think about what you want to say and, if you do choose to try to be clever, go for it. Just make sure you don't sound like a complete idiot when you do. Maybe try it out on some other smart people you know. Perhaps on people who speak good English and know what works in the language and what doesn't.
Otherwise, you're dragging the rest of us down the language sewer with you.
Okay - enough said. Now please be careful with your words and phrasing, and have a lovely day!
Best~
Philippa
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