"Victory" vs. "Win"?

[SixToe]

We had a guy who always would write the pitcher "struckout" the batter.
We fixed it every time. He never noticed. And he now writes for The Athletic.

Yeah, someone shoulda told him. But it was more of a curiosity to see if he ever caught on.

The joining of words that should not be joined drives me nuts.

Earlier this year I read a story about a redbrick house. We see and use backyard but never frontyard. I continue to see that "the game will kickoff at 7:00 pm" (which gives me hives and seizures) and also that "John will kick the ball off" instead of "John will kick off the ball."

We learn about someone's housecat but never a barncat. Or that someone is using a riflescope at the range or in the field.

The loss of copy editors, the good ones, along with the muddling attitudes of "Eh, just post it and you can maybe fix anything later." are a damned shame.

 

[BTExpress]

The thing I remember about "win" and "lose" in heads -- just about every headline could have "win" in it, so use something else for variety, use victory or triumph. It wasn't a hard and fast rule, but we did try to observe it.

Monday papers are the worst. A whole lot of people/teams are winning triumphing on Sundays.

 

[jr/shotglass]

I think my old boss neared the pinnacle when he wrote Team A "shillelaghed" Team B.

 

[Slacker]

We see and use backyard but never frontyard.

That one drives me nuts, too, and defies logical explanation.

 

[SixToe]

Use of both and up are two others that get me.

"We grilled up some pork chops."

Both Joe and Jim ate pork chops.

"He coached up those kids."

Both Miranda and Crystal finished the race.

"I called up" someone. Wrote up the report. Fixed up the yard. Cleaned up for the trip. Packed up for the flight. Changed up the den furniture. Drove up to the house.

I get that they're widely used and won't be eradicated. Still unnecessary in almost all instances, though.

 

[Oggiedoggie]

I think the battle against using win as a noun is one you will never victory.

 

[Slacker]

Use of both and up are two others that get me.

"We grilled up some pork chops."

Both Joe and Jim ate pork chops.

"He coached up those kids."

Both Miranda and Crystal finished the race.

"I called up" someone. Wrote up the report. Fixed up the yard. Cleaned up for the trip. Packed up for the flight. Changed up the den furniture. Drove up to the house.

I get that they're widely used and won't be eradicated. Still unnecessary in almost all instances, though.

Slapnuts, a wide receiver out of from East Podunk High ...

 

[outofplace]

Many of the things mentioned here drive me nuts, but they are part of our spoken language now. People use up to modify a verb ("coached up") annoys me. Adding ass to an adjective does it, too. Somebody makes a stupid-ass decision or they are a slow-ass driver. I do encounter people, not professional writers, who write like that. It occurs to me that they may be dumb-ass writers.

I try to remind myself that languages are not static. They are living things that change over time. Then I think, "**** those dumb-ass ****ers ****ing up English!"

 

[jr/shotglass]

Is it just me, or does the term "difference-maker" bug the hell out of you? I feel like you can make a difference, but don't be a difference-maker.

 

[Brian J Walter]

Where does everyone stand on "felt up"?

 

[Slacker]

Where does everyone stand on "felt up"?

I say it's fantastic, whether you're the felt-up-er or the felt-up-ee. Bonus points if you're both at the same time.

 

[jr/shotglass]

I say it's fantastic, whether you're the felt-up-er or the felt-up-ee. Bonus points if you're both at the same time.

There's another word for that, though.

 

[Spartan Squad]

I couldn't give two ****s over win vs victory. M-W has it as a verb first and then a noun. So use it; don't use it. I couldn't care less. What does get my goad is when people use won instead of beat or defeat. Kids do this a lot but some adults do it too because they don't correct their kids and they start saying it.

No, you didn't "won them." That means they were the prize for your victory. You defeated them.

 

[Justin Biebler]

The word verse comes to mind.
My daughters: Dad are the Browns versing the Bengals today? No, honey, they play the Bengals.
I've seen verse used in local sports copy the past few years.
My wife got ticked when I would take a red pen and remove redundant words from papers she wrote while working toward her doctorate, turning a five page paper into four.
NOTE: Upon reading my original post, I trimmed eight words non needed.

 

[Songbird]

Maybe The Athletic's new Yankees writer will use plated as a verb in his/her/pronoun's gamers.

 

[cjericho]

Can deal with changing language like 'coach up' more than people not knowing how the f to write what they say - such as could of, would of.

 

[Liut]

Teams and individuals don't lose anymore. They just fall.

 

[MNgremlin]

I use 'em interchangeably, like switching up between "Podunk HS" and "Podunkers" to not get repetitive within a story.

 

[Slacker]

Told this story once before ...

I got a hospital story on the desk one night in which the reporter called it a hospital in the lead and then called it a "facility" every single ****ing time through the rest of the story, 26 or 27 times, and yes I counted them all.

I couldn't believe it. Just sat there stunned as I watched that **** pile up.
And then I changed them all back to "hospital." Or most of them, at least.

"Facility" is such a nothing word. Almost anything and everything is a facility for something.

 

[Typist Clerk]

Told this story once before ...

I got a hospital story on the desk one night in which the reporter called it a hospital in the lead and then called it a "facility" every single ****ing time through the rest of the story, 26 or 27 times, and yes I counted them all.

I couldn't believe it. Just sat there stunned as I watched that **** pile up.
And then I changed them all back to "hospital." Or most of them, at least.

"Facility" is such a nothing word. Almost anything and everything is a facility for something.

As bad is "event" for game or tournament or competition. A birthday party is an event. Almost anything can be an event. Specificity, please.