mr. language grumbler

[calimac]

Can't journalists for respectable newspapers come up with a better opening line than that annoying phrase, "When it comes to ..."? What is the "it" that is coming?

Surely this particular example could have just as easily begun, "Law enforcement officials vocally advocate one particular approach for protecting children on the Internet." Or any number of other ways.

And while we're at it, enough with the "second ... after" gap. Here's a good example: a headline reading "India, the second largest newspaper market after China," which immediately raises the question, "So then what's the first largest one after China?" Of course, on reading the article one finds that the headline actually means "India, the second largest newspaper market in the world (China is the first)" but that's not what it says.

Both of these annoyances were once rare, but they're now very common, and very annoying.

Comments

[emerdavid.livejournal.com]

Neither of those phrases bothers me as much as "At the end of the day..." The latter may not be grammatically/logically incorrect, but it's sooooo trite.

[kalimac.livejournal.com]

Over 20 years ago, before the Web (so this was a pioneering effort), Michael Kinsley ran a few phrase searches through Nexis, the news database, and wrote a hilarious article describing what Vital Questions were being considered by Thoughtful Observers, and expressing alarm at the sheer volume of things that Remain To Be Seen. I don't thing he considered what was happening at the end of the day, but he certainly could have.