The Outlook List of Things We Do Not Say: At first glance (or worse, “at first blush”) As a nation (or worse, “as a society”) Upon deeper reflection (why not reflect deeply from the start?) Observers (unless referring to people actually sitting around watching something) [Person] is not alone (from anecdote to generalization, we get it) And [someone/something] is no exception Pundits say Critics say (or “critics are quick to point out”) The American people (unless in a quote) The narrative (unless referring to a style of writing) Probe (an uncomfortable substitute for “investigation”) Opens/offers a rare window (unless it is a real window that is in fact unusual) Begs the question (unless used properly – and so rarely used properly that it’s not worth the trouble) Be that as it may If you will (actually, I won’t) A cautionary tale Cautiously optimistic (h/t @daviduberti) Needless to say (then don’t say it) Suffice it to say (if it suffices, then just say it) This is not your father’s [anything] [Anything] 2.0 (or 3.0, or 4.0…) At a crossroads (unless referring to an actual intersection) The powers that be Outside the box (describes creative thinking — with a cliche) A favorite Washington parlor game Don’t get me wrong Make no mistake Yes, Virginia, there is a [something] Christmas came early for [someone] Chock full (“full” is just fine by itself) Last-ditch effort (unless ditch-digging is involved) Midwife (as a verb, unless involving childbirth) Cue the [something] Call it [something] Pity the poor [something] It’s the [something], stupid Imagine (as the first word in your lede) Time will tell if [something] What a difference [a time period] makes (h/t @jasondhorowitz) Palpable sense of relief (unless you can truly touch it) Sigh of relief (h/t @geneweingarten) Plenty of blame to go around Rorschach test (unless it is a real one) Turned a blind eye Underscores Cycle of violence (unless referring to a particularly vicious Schwinn) Searing indictment Broken system (or, “the [anything] system is broken”) Famously (if readers know it, you don’t need to tell them it is famous; if they don’t know it, you just made them feel stupid) The Other (or “otherize,” “otherization” and other variations) Effort (as a verb) Table (as a verb, as in “table the talks”) Shutter (as a verb, as in “they shuttered the factory”) Gestalt/Zeitgeist Orwellian (unless discussing George Orwell) Machiavellian (unless discussing Niccolo Machiavelli) Gladwellian (never) What happens in [somewhere] stays in [somewhere] Oft-cited Little-noticed Closely watched Hastily convened Much ballyhooed Shrouded in secrecy Since time immemorial Tipping point Inflection point Point of no return The [anything] community If history is any guide If past is prologue The devil is in the details [Somebody] does not suffer fools gladly A ragtag army (or ragtag militia) h/t @tomricks1 A tale of two [anything] h/t @dsorbara Ignominious end Tightly knit (unless referring to actual knitting) In the final analysis (especially as beginning of a final sentence/paragraph) Ultimately (same as above) At the end of the day (same as above) For all intents and purposes Cooler heads prevailed Victim of his/her own success (h/t @gregpmiller) Who lost [insert country here]? Punditocracy Twitterati Commentariat Chattering classes Naysayers Keen observer Took to Twitter Tongues wagging (h/t afterword to paperback of “This Town”) White-shoe law firm Well-heeled lobbyists Skittish donors Byzantine rules (unless referring to the empire in the Middle Ages) Strange bedfellows A mass of contradictions A land of contradictions (please, foreign correspondents and travel writers) Rise of the 24-hour news cycle (it’s been a while) In the digital age (again, it’s been a while) Not so fast Remains to be seen Tenuous at best Woefully inadequate h/t @ParraV Or so it seems Depending on whom you ask h/t @jayrosen_nyu Burst onto the national political scene For now (especially at the end of a sentence set off by a dash; all it does is negate everything that came before) Tectonic shifts or seismic shifts (unless real ones) Optics (unless you’re discussing physics) Feeding frenzy/feeding the frenzy Double down Game-changer [Anything]-gate (especially if you’re writing in The Washington Post) In the wake of [anything] h/t @fritinancy How I learned to stop worrying and love the [anything] Love [X] or hate [X]… The [anything] we love to hate Don the mantle of [anything] Usher in an era of [anything] A portrait emerges h/t @jialynnyang In a nutshell The social fabric (or “the very fabric of our democracy/nation/society”) Hot-button issue Hotly contested Perfect storm Face-saving compromise Eye-popping The argument goes The thinking goes Contrary to popular belief Intoned The new normal The talk of the town (unless referring to the New Yorker section) It couple (or “power couple”) Paradigm shift (in journalism, all paradigms are shifting) Unlikely revolutionary (in journalism, all revolutionaries are unlikely) Unlikely reformer (in journalism, all reformers are unlikely, too) Grizzled veteran (in journalism, all veterans are either grizzled or “seasoned”) Manicured lawns (in journalism, all lawns are manicured) Wide-ranging interview (in journalism, all interviews range widely, even if they don’t) Rose from obscurity (in journalism, all rises are from obscurity) Dizzying array (in journalism, all arrays make one dizzy) Withering criticism (in journalism, all criticism is withering) Predawn raid (in journalism, all raids take place in the predawn hours) Nondescript office building (in journalism, all office buildings are nondescript) Unsung hero (in journalism, all heroes lack music) Sparked debate Raised questions Raises more questions than answers Raise the specter of [anything] More often than not hand-wringing Ironic Capitalization Implying the Unimportance of Things Others Consider Important But reality/truth is more complicated (in journalism, we oversimplify, then criticize the oversimplification) Scarred by war (unless referring to real scars) War-torn War of words (worse if followed by “is heating up”) Trading barbs Shines a spotlight on [something] (unless there is a real spotlight that is shining) [Something] is no panacea [Something] is no silver bullet Political football Political theater More than you think (how do you know what I think?) Less than you think (how do you know what I think?) Not as much as you think (how do you know what I think?) You guessed it (how do you know what I guessed?) h/t @jfdulac Shifting dynamics (code for “don’t hold me to this”) The situation is fluid (code for “I have no idea what is going on”) Partisans on both sides Charm offensive Fallen on hard times On thin ice A crisis waiting to happen Poster child Going forward Creature of Washington Official Washington A modest proposal (this was written once, very well, and has been written terribly ever since) Stinging rebuke Mr. [Anyone] goes to Washington (unless a reference to the actual movie) The proverbial [something] (Tacking this in front of a cliche doesn’t excuse it, just admits you used it knowingly) Fevered speculation Hope filled the air [Anything] is all the rage (h/t @jayrosen_nyu) Iconic How did we get here? (code for “here comes the b-matter”) But first, some background (code for “I know more than you do”) Growing body of evidence [Anything] on steroids (unless you cover professional sports) h/t @crowleyTIME Resists easy classification/categorization Increasingly (unless story proves something is in fact increasing) Tapped (as substitute for “selected” or “appointed) Any “not-un” formulation (as in “not unsurprising that you’d use that cliche”) Wait for it Wait, what? There, I said it And here’s the kicker See what I did there?
Posted on: Fri, 11 Jul 2014 22:01:11 +0000
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