Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ

"Remanded in custody."

In the man, Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ's war is not a war on words...but on the truth. For the past several years, I have rejected Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ as a reliable reporter of the news. Their reports are often biased, sometimes subtly and sometimes not so subtly. They have a large quiver of ammunition to choose from. This can range from instantly editorializing the news as they report it to selectively interviewing those whose opinions they agree with as though they were representative of the majority view or expert opinions. That have many others. Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ's value as a journalist has IMO been greatly diminished in the last decade or so, it now lives on a past reputation it no longer deserves.

The two chliches that really irritate me (not necessarily used by the Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ but often by the general public) are:

(1) "Way to go" e.g. :

if someone does something which is perceived as remarkable someone will shout "way to go William" !!!!!!

(2) "Happy Days"

So often used by salesmen for some strange reason.

Grrrrrr. I cringe every time I hear these.

Is "Happy Days " specific to Norn Iron ? I haven't heard used when I've visited mainland UK.

Starting with an aside, I have more than a little sympathy with what Marcus is saying - the amount of speculation included in bulletins to provide an immediacy of response to an event is utterly annoying and often totally eclipses the reporting of the facts when they are known.

To the main point - what utter tosh! Long live the cliche! If we rebranded it as a verbal topos perhaps it would gain the respect it actually deserves.

The dons with too much time on their hands have ignored the use and utility of well-known (and well-worn) phrases throughout the oral traditions from which literature sprang. These phrases, by imaginative association, label characters, arouse emotions, compress actions and connect the most diverse material. The were the staple of early epic poetry and they have survived through the centuries to feature in everyday conversation, panto and Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ news reports because they work, they facilitate the processing and organisation of ideas and experience by the human brain.

The rubbishing of the cliche is just another example of ill-thought elitism where a bunch of self-regarding pompous asses seek to denigrate unworthily those who are not "PLU".

I might as well end on another aside: the valuing of originality is very much a modern notion - for most of history excellence in the treatment or use of the well-known was considered as being of much greater merit.

The all-time worst offender has to be

"In terms of..."

It's so often used to convey absolutely no meaning whatsoever, that it really rankles my goat.

It's a very very lazy way of relating anything to anything else, or else is completely superfluous

"In terms of money, the Government is going to spend more"

I recall one-time Culture Minister Poots on Question Time get so carried away that he answered every question with "In terms of it..."

"How will Gordon Brown take to his new role as Prime Minister?"
"Well, in terms of it, I think he'll do a good job."

"What are the plans for the Maze/Long Kesh site?"
"In terms of it, we don't know."

Please ban 'wee' as in wee bill, wee cup of tea, wee minute, and so many more.

In Evangelical Church services -

"you know" "we really just wanna" "cool" "and,hey"

Atheists should stop talking about
"Brights" and "Supers" and driving around in buses to make themselves look relevant. They're starting to sound like evangelicals.
Before too long they'll be having meetings with poorly conceived dramas and electric guitars.

I am reading The Ginger Man for my book club and was pleased to find Donleavy put sentiments similar to my own in Dangerfield's mouth:

Some fine cliches there. Should be encouraged. Too many damn people trying to be different. Coining phrases when a good platitude would do and save anxiety.

What excellent company I do keep...

Fair play to you portwyne.