NY Times Lists 'Journalese'

Less kerfuffle, please.

The New York Times has provided another list of “journalese,” those words and phrases often used in news reports but rarely used in real conversations. Below are a few of our favorites, followed by the Times’ take.

  • Kerfuffle. “More than a flap but less than a brouhaha? This informal Britishism seems to be trying too hard.”
  • Shots rang out. “Gunshots sound nothing like bells. They ring out only in pulp novels and newspapers.”
  • Grim-faced. “He was grim, and he sat there grimly, but in journalese people in such situations are always ‘grim-faced.'”
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