Getting 'untracked'

[Steak Snabler]

I love stories like this and I'm so glad the NYT chose to write about it. Drives me crazy every time I hear it.

http://mobile.nytimes.com/2015/12/2...con.html?smid=tw-nytsports&smtyp=cur&referer=

What are some other common sports "eggcorns" that annoy you?

 

[Michael_ Gee]

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

 

[JohnHammond]

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

 

[LongTimeListener]

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."

 

[SnarkShark]

I think the biggest one is "intensive purposes"/"intents and purposes."

 

[BDC99]

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.”

 

[Kolchak]

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.

 

[MNgremlin]

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"

 

[reformedhack]

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.

 

[BDC99]

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.

No ****. 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]

No ****. I think it was spawned from the online writers or something.

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]

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.

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.

 

[dirtybird]

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.

I always figured that was just the recruiting lingo, which became normalized. Then again, I've been in newsrooms which were emphatic about either verbal or oral commitments, both of which are jargon again, but only one of which sounds right to me.

 

[Bronco77]

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.

In a similar vein, pet peeves of mine (although many of many of my fellow deskers over the years haven't minded these) are certain nouns turned into verbs. The two that drive me most crazy are "impact" and effort" -- for example, "Injuries are impacting the Bears," and "The Cardinals are efforting a trade."

Also, I've seen certain papers use "pledge" as a noun instead of "commit" in recruiting stories -- "Smith is a TCU pledge." Not sure that's much better, but at least "pledge" does have some occasional uses as a noun in everyday language.

 

[BDC99]

In a similar vein, pet peeves of mine (although many of many of my fellow deskers over the years haven't minded these) are certain nouns turned into verbs. The two that drive me most crazy are "impact" and effort" -- for example, "Injuries are impacting the Bears," and "The Cardinals are efforting a trade."

Also, I've seen certain papers use "pledge" as a noun instead of "commit" in recruiting stories -- "Smith is a TCU pledge." Not sure that's much better, but at least "pledge" does have some occasional uses as a noun in everyday language.

Goodness. I might break something if one of our writers wrote "efforting a trade " And why even use verbal or oral (NO!). It's just a commitment. And pledge? It's worse. He/she ain't joining a fraternity/sorority!

 

[BDC99]

Sorry Bronc, the oral/verbal thing was dirtybird. But the point stands.

 

[Bronco77]

Sorry Bronc, the oral/verbal thing was dirtybird.

No problem.. In fact, this discussion has stirred unpleasant memories of a writer I worked with who, instead of "verbal commitment," would write that a prospect "verballed." Ugh!

Also reminds me that in August we'll be dealing with Olympic stories in which athletes "medalled." Double ugh!

 

[Doc Holliday]

Thanks for posting this article. Interesting read. I've always despised the phrase "untracked." I'm like most in the article. It sounds like you've already gone off the rails and need to get back on track. I never use it, and when I see it by our other staffers, I make sure to rework it.

 

[Steak Snabler]

My biggest pet peeve used to be over/more than, but I've mostly let that go.

The one that drives me nuts these days is "very unique," "most unique" or "really unique." I hear one of those variations probably five or six times a week.

 

[93Devil]

Unsure if this helps or hurts...

Getting 'untracked' - The Boston Globe