Question about "first ever"

[RickStain]

A former journalism professor related this story from one of his former supervisors:

"The next time I read the word UPCOMING, I will be downcoming and some writer will be outgoing. Just COMING will suffice."

I hate tin-eared rules.

 

[ondeadline]

BTExpress points out that just saying "first" doesn't properly convey the feat when a home run is the first of a player's multiple-season career. But you still shouldn't say "first ever" in that case, but rather "first career home run."

I also hate "this is State's first-ever playoff berth." Just say that it is the first State playoff berth in school history.

 

[IGotQuestions]

about "ever"

It is an adverb.

Avoid adverbs as often as possible. Generally, they are redundant words that add little, if anything, to your story.

If you feel like you need to use an adverb, chances are, you need more detail about the information you're writing in that phrase.

 

[Pencil Dick]

I was always told that "first-ever" was a TV term used by people who couldn't figure out "first" ALWAYS suffices.

I hate that term almost as much as "first annual," which turns up in our copy more than it should.

 

[mediaguy]

"First annual" is just presumptive.

I always like when the freshman forward playing in his eighth game scores a career-best 14 points. Wow, really?

 

[mustangj17]

How about free of charge? We had that one run in a column today.

I feel the word free could stand alone there.

Drives me nuts.

 

[RickStain]

How about free of charge? We had that one run in a column today.

I feel the word free could stand alone there.

Drives me nuts.

Misuse of free bothers me far more than other extra words. There's no such thing as "buy one, get one free." If I have to do something to get it, it isn't free.

 

[Ace]

First ever is unnecessary. "Ever" is being used to make a distinction when none is needed.

However, my real pet peeve use of it is crap I see all the time:

"The win gave the Podunk Plodders their first ever district title since 2006."

 

[Diego Marquez]

Even worse is when the pitcher threw his first-ever shutout, allowing just two hits ...
Just is another unnecessary word that makes print too many times.

 

[fishwrapper]

Even worse is when the pitcher threw his first-ever shutout, allowing just two hits ...
Just is another unnecessary word that makes print too many times.

"Grand slam home run" thinks "first ever" is just fine.

 

[ondeadline]

I also hate "complete-game shutout." If he didn't complete the game, he wouldn't have the chance for a shutout. It's redundant.

 

[Hank_Scorpio]

When you are talking about something like the first occurrence in school history of something, I think first ever is more concise than "first in school history." For instance: "St. Mary's clinched its first-ever playoff berth" as opposed to "St. Mary clinched the first playoff berth in school history." But I see it both ways.

"St. Mary clinched its first playoff berth," suffices.

I don't think that works because its ambiguous. It doesn't state when. First playoff berth this decade? First playoff berth this year?
First ever takes care of that.

If you're doing a story, you more than likely will have another graf in there saying when their last playoff berth was.

So first-ever is still unnecessary.

 

[Some Guy]

I also hate "complete-game shutout." If he didn't complete the game, he wouldn't have the chance for a shutout. It's redundant.

I'm less stringent on this one.

It is possible to throw "seven shutout innings" so throwing "complete-game" in there helps in terms of specificity.

 

[spnited]

I also hate "complete-game shutout." If he didn't complete the game, he wouldn't have the chance for a shutout. It's redundant.

I'm less stringent on this one.

It is possible to throw "seven shutout innings" so throwing "complete-game" in there helps in terms of specificity.

Seven shutout innings is not a shutout unless it is a seven-inning complete game.

A shutout, by definition, is a complete game

 

[Some Guy]

I also hate "complete-game shutout." If he didn't complete the game, he wouldn't have the chance for a shutout. It's redundant.

I'm less stringent on this one.

It is possible to throw "seven shutout innings" so throwing "complete-game" in there helps in terms of specificity.

Seven shutout innings is not a shutout unless it is a seven-inning complete game.

A shutout, by definition, is a complete game

Fair enough. Sometimes I think we tend to overthink these things, however.

 

[spnited]

I also hate "complete-game shutout." If he didn't complete the game, he wouldn't have the chance for a shutout. It's redundant.

I'm less stringent on this one.

It is possible to throw "seven shutout innings" so throwing "complete-game" in there helps in terms of specificity.

Seven shutout innings is not a shutout unless it is a seven-inning complete game.

A shutout, by definition, is a complete game

Fair enough. Sometimes I think we tend to overthink these things, however.

Well, if getting it right without the redundancy is ovethtinking, then yeah, we're overthinking.

 

[Some Guy]

I also hate "complete-game shutout." If he didn't complete the game, he wouldn't have the chance for a shutout. It's redundant.

I'm less stringent on this one.

It is possible to throw "seven shutout innings" so throwing "complete-game" in there helps in terms of specificity.

Seven shutout innings is not a shutout unless it is a seven-inning complete game.

A shutout, by definition, is a complete game

Fair enough. Sometimes I think we tend to overthink these things, however.

Well, if getting it right without the redundancy is ovethtinking, then yeah, we're overthinking.

I neither said nor meant that, but OK.

 

[spnited]

Then what did you mean by sometimes we tend to overthink these things?

 

[SoCalDude]

A lot of these are broadcaster's enhancements.
First ever home run.
St. Mary's led by AS MANY AS 20 points in the first half. (my personal pet peeve)
Grand slam home run.

But I have a question, came back into mind reading the guy's rewrite of the Angels story (below). I was gonna ask my daughter's English teacher recently, but I chickened out.
To me, "it's" is a contraction for "it is" not "it has." Same with "he's" meaning "he is" but not "he has."
So in the lede below, not using the contraction, it reads: "... it was the second-best catch he is ever made.."
Have I overthunk this one???


¶ ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) _ According to Torii Hunter, it was the second-best catch he's ever made.
¶ The Angels' Gold Glove center fielder made a wall-climbing, homer-stealing catch in the ninth inning to help Los Angeles hold off the Kansas City Royals 4-3 on Sunday.

 

[Some Guy]

Then what did you mean by sometimes we tend to overthink these things?

There's a guy on this thread who says there is no such thing as "buy one, get one free" -- to me, that's overthinking things.