Charity Stripe: Not!

Quote of the day:
"Common sense and a sense of humor are the same thing, moving at different speeds. A sense of humor is just common sense, dancing.”
--William James

Syllable miscount of the day:
“Realtor” has two syllables, not three. Often it is realtors who are pronouncing it real-i-tor.

Color me annoyed at commentators and anchor people whose impulse to yak exceeds their ability to do so. Specifically, this peeve du pet addresses play-by-play people who drive cliches and metaphors into the ground.

We are in the midst of the college basketball season. To keep things interesting, play-by-play people come up with a variety of creative ways to talk about the game. Nothing wrong with that. Except when they get stuck.

For example, someone once referred to the part of the court where a basket counts three points as “beyond the arc.” Now, it seems we never hear that a shot is from 3-point range, or simply that it’s worth three points, or even that the shot came from “behind the arc.” It is ALWAYS “beyond the arc.” It’s an “if I had a nickel” situation.

Another singular non-favorite is a variation on the “foul line,” from which free throws are taken. I can’t remember the last time I heard or read the simple, descriptive term “foul line.” It is ALWAYS the “charity stripe.” It was clever the first few times it was used, but not the subsequent 5,000.

Jeez. Can I buy you a thesaurus?