At This Hour anchor John Berman brought some British flavour to his newscast this week by repeatedly using the term “fortnight” to describe the amount of time until Election Day. Yes, we’re now significantly less than a fortnight from November 8th, but that didn’t stop producers on Friday from creating a montage showing Berman’s perhaps excessive use of the term throughout the week.
“I promise to be a champion of under-used words and phrases everywhere,” Berman told TVNewser. “Two weeks will always be a fortnight. And a fortnight is always worth celebrating.”
TVNewser also asked CNN International’s Richard Quest, a native Brit, for his reaction to Berman’s use of the term. Quest seemed pleased with his CNN colleague.
“At last, an American who is prepared to use correct English,” said Quest. “It could not be more simple. Fortnight equals two weeks. For 30 years I have not understood how my American friends and colleagues have failed to understand this straightforward definition of 14 calendar days. As we say in Britain, ‘I’ll see you in a fortnight.’ And in relation to holidays, ‘It’s been a wonderful fortnight in Florida.'”
Here’s the montage:
.@JohnBerman‘s obsession with the “F” word this week https://t.co/XRmlgmGwT2
— Eric Weisbrod (@EricWeisbrod) October 28, 2016