01 November 2010

Words used only by journalists

  • Amanuensis
  • Associated with/linked to (could mean anything really, A associated/linked with B however tenuously)
  • Bandwagon
  • Blogosphere
  • Blogotariat
  • Brushed off (you can brush off a journalist, but that doesn't necessarily mean you've addressed the issue. Usually refers to the point at which a journalist gave up on getting information)
  • Bumper (meaning 'large')
  • Crashed through the barrier/Crashed out of (initially an attempt at creating excitement on normal movements of events, now a cliché you have to fight in order to make sense of the story)
  • Dearth (opp. of 'Windfall', see below)
  • Doyen(ne), n. journalist who's been in Canberra so long that they no longer understand what's going on, can't relate to anyone outside Canberra or who doesn't think parliamentary politics matters much
  • Estranged
  • Languishing (meaning being at a disadvantage, rather than relaxing)
  • Mantle (a disguise)
  • Offing, in the
  • Pooch (dog, usually preceded by 'lovable' or 'pampered')
  • Punters (not referring to people placing bets, but letting slip that you have no idea what people think other than cod extrapolation of polling stats)
  • Scourge (used to refer to torture, now any kind of annoyance)
  • Slugged (ref. to levying taxes, not to actual assault)
  • Tightlipped
  • Tome (book)
  • Windfall

Verbs:
  • To cruel (to limit one's chances)
  • To debunk
  • To don (wear; when used with 'mantle', means adopting a position, or moving to - see below)
  • To hold talks
  • To jet (maybe this would have some allure when few, wealthy people travelled by a jet-powered aeroplane, but since the 1980s it's just silly)
  • To laud (seriously, have you ever heard anyone say I laud that)
  • To move to (to act but not necessarily succeed, e.g. 'IMMIGRATION Minister Chris Bowen has moved to appease Woodside residents')
  • To pen (to use the pen to write with, or even to produce written material without a pen)
  • To re-sign (opp. of 'resign')
  • To sport (see 'to don')
  • To upbraid

More ...

9 comments:

  1. This is horrible, Andrew. This is the worst set of phrases ever collated.

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  2. Any edition of any paper will have worse.

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  3. congratulations on your Wonkley nomination, well deserved.

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  4. "To opine" used every morning in the Oz's Capital Circle email drives me fucking nuts

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  5. Thankee, Mr Shankly.

    Me too, Sandy, which is why I swear off it.

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  6. Also, "restive" as in "Thailand's restive south", and "slam" to indicate that the opposition has simply disagreed with the government.

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  7. Bravo, NWN: I forgot 'hit back' as a journosphere for 'responded'

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  8. You can add "garner" to that list. Plus, "tome" is usually preceded with "weighty".

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