Why doesn't my SE know how to write?

I'm not sure we can award even partial credit here, SVB.

In your original, were you trying to convey the idea that someone had become "wiser over the years"?

Or that someone had become wrinkly and old, as in "wizened"?

Perhaps your editor thought they had grown old and fat, hence "widened"?

Because "time-wisened" to describe a man is just as valid/invalid as "time-widened" to describe a river.

I'm sure your editor assumed it to be an 's' for 'd' typo, since both are rather awkward and inelegant.

Next time, consider some subjunctive clause like this:

"The old man, grown wise with time, knew better than to use a hyphenate past tense of the word 'wisen.' Unless he really meant wrinkly, in which case the word is 'wizened'. But he no longer remembered that distinction, for the wise old man had long since gone insane, after being fired from the newspaper where he had once been the lead designer."

 

Hahahahaha. K, I lose, jgmacg wins. 0 credit for me on this one. And feel free to start a "Why doesn't sirvaliantbrown know how to write?" thread.

 

wow, someone needs a hug in here

 

Attaboy. That's the attitude. What a team player. Good to know you got your colleagues' backs.

 

Next time, consider some subjunctive clause like this:

     "The old man, grown wise with time, knew better than to use a hyphenate past tense of the word 'wisen.'
I'm still waiting for a subjunctive clause. The italicized phrase certainly isn't it.

 

Now, now. There's an honest way to apply for a job.

 

wow, an intern who already knows more than the person running the show.

if so, abandon ship now and go straight to the big leagues. i hear there's a beat job open covering the steelers.

 

Oops. I shouldn't post/repost/riposte after midnight. Lost it in a self-edit. Thanks for the correction D8C.

 

OMG, it wasn't the designer's fault? I don't understand.

 

Not exactly the point of the thread, but calling one on myself, one on somebody else...

Started a brand new job at a major metro; feature story co-written by a sports writer and an education writer (it was about grades and eligibility) and the education writer happened to be the biggest dick I have ever had the displeasure of working with.

The lead referenced "a tony suburb" and unfortunately, I had never heard the word "tony" before ... so, without consulting the writers (something I ALWAYS do) I made it tiny. Ran that way. Boy, did I hear it from the education writer. Doh (but I learned, and never again).

Meanwhile, for some reason I'll never forget that Mark Whicker once wrote a column and referred to the big shot of the game as a "denouement." And his desk made it "denouncement;" that's how it ran on the wire.

 

Tom, I know I know nothing. My editor knows far more than I do in dozens of areas. And my writing is certainly imperfect. But when not-great-but-passable sentences of mine consistently become awful sentences of his, it's pretty clear that writing is not his best skill.

Not rudely, just curious: do you not find this possible? Isiah Thomas is also "running a show". I respect my superiors, but being high up on an org. chart doesn't always mean you're brilliant.

Incidentally, a guy who's been at the paper a decade told me this editor was limited to desk work by a former managing editor who was shocked by the badness of his written work.

 

That is a funny post.