Mano a womano

Slogging slowly through Game Change by John Heilemann and Mark Halperin, the inside story of the 2008 presidential campaign, I came upon this statement describing the aftermath of the South Carolina primary, which drove John Edwards out of the race:

". . . what had been a de facto two-horse race since Iowa was now officially mano a womano."

The authors probably know better and are just having fun with words, but the phrase mano a mano creates confusion for some readers. It means "hand to hand," but some people seem to think it means "man to man," hence the mano a womano pun.

Sunk

I heard Jim Lehrer giving the news on NPR today. He said that the South Koreans claimed that the North Koreans sunk a South Korean ship. "Sank," I shouted back at the radio, but he didn't correct himself. Doesn't anyone hire editors anymore?

Cheers!

From time to time on the financial TV shows, I hear folks refer to themselves as "bottoms up" investors. I suppose they mean "bottom up" as contrasted with "top down."

Or perhaps they get their investment advice at the local pub. That could explain a lot.

Happening

Talking with Katie Couric the other day, Secretary Clinton said "I happen to think it's appropriate that . . . we do this in a careful, thoughtful way."

What does it mean when people interject "happen to" between "I" and "think" or "believe"?

I think it averts the knee-jerk tendency to disagree with any unqualified statement. Instead, it invites listeners to agree. Yes, I believe that too. Who wouldn't?!

To be, gratuitously

Today I heard an interviewer on KQED radio say, "You're someone who has lived in the Bay Area for many years." Why not say, "You've lived in the Bay Area for many years"?

I have heard this construction in various forms quite frequently. Weak communicators seem to like the verb "to be." I don't agree with eliminating "to be" entirely, as some have suggested, but it's a good idea to think twice when you find yourself using it.

Chinas, Indias, Brazils

In describing the G-20, a financial reporter explained that, unlike the G-8, it includes "the Brazils, the Indias, the Chinas." This is synecdoche gone wild. Each of these countries has a distinct economy and is not really representative of a class of similar countries.

I hear this figure of speech in other contexts where it might be more appropriate. For example, referring to the giants of Hollywood, someone might talk about the Clark Gables, the Humphrey Bogarts, the Greta Garbos. I don't care for it in any context, but in some it's more palatable than in others.

More then 35 million

While watching a TV reporter interview a health insurance executive, I saw the following cross the bottom of the screen: "Wellpoint has more then 35 million . . ."

This is such a common error that I wonder whether it's just a typo. I suspect that a significant number of people intentionally use "then" rather than "than" for comparisons.