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Getting 'untracked'

Discussion in 'Journalism topics only' started by Steak Snabler, Dec 19, 2015.

  1. Steak Snabler

    Steak Snabler Well-Known Member

    Ace and Bronco77 like this.
  2. Michael_ Gee

    Michael_ Gee Well-Known Member

    "Aging." That's the worst. Find me an athlete or anybody else who ISN'T aging, and by God you've got a Pulitzer.
     
  3. JohnHammond

    JohnHammond Well-Known Member

    Isn't "untracked" used in stories about athletes who are turning their lives around?
     
  4. LongTimeListener

    LongTimeListener Well-Known Member

    I once got a note from an English teacher saying I was the only sportswriter he had ever seen write that someone ran the "gantlet" instead of "gauntlet."

    Also: when people say "different tact." No. "Different tack."
     
    Bronco77 and reformedhack like this.
  5. SnarkShark

    SnarkShark Well-Known Member

    I think the biggest one is "intensive purposes"/"intents and purposes."
     
    Bronco77, SFIND and reformedhack like this.
  6. BDC99

    BDC99 Well-Known Member

    WTF? If you know the name of the damn song, you know damn well there's not a bathroom on the right! And ain't no bathroom I know of that's bound to take your life.

    ... mondegreen, a misheard lyric like “bathroom on the right,” instead of Creedence Clearwater Revival’s intended “bad moon on the rise.”
     
  7. Kolchak

    Kolchak Active Member

    One time when we had untracked in a headline, a reader got upset and emailed multiple times to complain about it. Even though the copy editor used the word correctly in the headline and every point the reader attempted to make was completely off the mark, our editor sided 100% with the reader.
     
  8. MNgremlin

    MNgremlin Active Member

    This probably isn't what you're looking for, but it bugs me when people say No. 1 pick when they're referring to a first round pick. Danny Shelton wasn't the No. 1 pick for the Cleveland Browns.

    Also, "____ is out with a groin" or "___ has an ankle and will miss the rest of the season"
     
    Last edited: Dec 20, 2015
  9. reformedhack

    reformedhack Well-Known Member

    Seeing how someone else has gotten this thread untracked (ahem), one piece of sports slang that's beginning to drive me crazy is the word "commit" used as a noun, as in, "The State University commit from Podunk High School ..."

    It really seems to have emerged in the past two years or so. While I can't think of better shorthand for a prep athlete who has agreed to attend a college, it just sounds lazy -- like TV or sports talk radio lingo that has crept into print.
     
    Bronco77 likes this.
  10. BDC99

    BDC99 Well-Known Member

    No shit. I think it was spawned from the online writers or something. "Podunk High School senior reformedhack, who has committed to State University ..." It ain't that tough.So tired of reworking that.
     
    reformedhack likes this.
  11. reformedhack

    reformedhack Well-Known Member

    I think you're right about the etymology. Bloggers copy broadcasters to sound breezy and hip, and print writers follow the bloggers for the same misguided reason.
     
    BDC99 likes this.
  12. BDC99

    BDC99 Well-Known Member

    I emailed all of our prep writers a couple of years ago asking them to stop when this first cropped up. Worked for about a month. Par for the course.
     
    reformedhack likes this.
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