Romps, Tots and Boffins: The Strange Language of News

A funny and irreverent annotated collection of journalese--words, phrases, clichés, and sacred cows beloved by newspapers but never used by anyone else. This bumper crop of examples is sure to fuel controversy. Anyone who has picked up a paper has read journalese--words and phrases that are only found in newspapers. Without them, how would intrepid journalists be able to describe a world in which late-night revelers go on booze-fueled rampages, or where troubled stars lash out in foul-mouthed tirades? When Rob Hutton began collecting examples of journalese online, he provoked a Twitter storm, and was left reeling by the bumper crop of examples that flooded in. He realized that phrases which started as shorthand to help readers have become a dialect which is often meaningless or vacuous to non-journalese speakers. In a courageous attempt both to wean journalists off their journalese habit, and provide elucidation for the rest of us, this book catalogs the highs and lows of this strange language, celebrating the best examples (test-tube baby, mad cow disease), and condemning the worst (rant, snub, sirs). It will be a must-read page-turner that may cause a stir or even spark tough new rules in newsrooms.