Headline-ese words

Jamal · **Posted:** Fri Jul 23, 2004 5:11 pm

raps, on tap, nabs, and others...I'm at the office now, and I just saw a co-worker of mine use "on tap" in her hed.Am I the only one who HATES seeing these words being used this way? They seem like such cheesy shortcuts, and nobody that I know would actually say those words in really life."Yeah, my mom rapped me because I forgot to clean my room." Get serious...

jjmoney62 · **Posted:** Fri Jul 23, 2004 5:25 pm

A bunch of words we use in headlines aren't used commonly in everyday conversation. (Although what's so obscure about "on tap"?) People don't speak to each other in headlines. (They also usually don't sing to each other.) People also don't speak to each other in headline tense, either. Snappy words are fine in headlines. If you've ever worked at a tab, you'd appreciate them even more.

Jamal · **Posted:** Fri Jul 23, 2004 5:30 pm

When I said that most people don't use headline-ese words that some copy editors do, I didn't really mean it quite as literally as you did. I know that people don't go around speaking in headline tense, and I know there are many words that we use that many people wouldn't in ordinary conversation. What I was trying to say is I don't believe headline-ese words or phrases are as familiar with readers in general. The first time I saw "raps" in a headline, I didn't know what the hell the copy editor was trying to say. But I guess that could've just been me...And I wouldn't say "on tap" is obscure, but it's weak, as are other headline-ese words/phrases. I think copy editors should try harder to write headlines with stronger verbs instead of taking the easy way out with words like that.[ July 23, 2004: Message edited by: Jamal ][ July 23, 2004: Message edited by: Jamal ]

wirefly · **Joined:** Fri Jul 23, 2004 12:01 am **Posts:** 12

I'm with you -- those you mentioned plus "vies" are popping up all over the place. That last one seems to be on the sports page a little too often lately. I'm getting so tired of it I think I might vie.wirefly

mdid · **Joined:** Thu Mar 18, 2004 1:01 am **Posts:** 27

Ink (as in "Jones inks Disney deal") is one that I never liked.

jjmoney62 · **Posted:** Fri Jul 23, 2004 8:11 pm

<blockquote>quote:<hr>Originally posted by Jamal:
When I said that most people don't use headline-ese words that some copy editors do, I didn't really mean it quite as literally as you did. I know that people don't go around speaking in headline tense, and I know there are many words that we use that many people wouldn't in ordinary conversation. What I was trying to say is I don't believe headline-ese words or phrases are as familiar with readers in general. The first time I saw "raps" in a headline, I didn't know what the hell the copy editor was trying to say. But I guess that could've just been me...
<hr></blockquote>No, you make a good point. My point is that people may not use some of these words in conversation, but they recognize them as common in headlines, if they are regular readers.Raps, taps, vies, nix and pol are economic words that, when not overused, come in handy."Inks" is one character shorter than "signs," and once in a while that makes a difference.

Jamal · **Posted:** Fri Jul 23, 2004 8:16 pm

Unfortunately, these words are, in fact, overused...sigh...

drew4au · **Posted:** Fri Jul 23, 2004 8:36 pm

Ya know "kick off" is a phrase that really isn't headlinese, but it nonetheless bothers me to no end. No organization, it seems, can ever start something or begin it. They must, simply must, kick it off. I see this constantly and just gave up changing it. More important fish to fry. Bigger battles to lose.[ July 23, 2004: Message edited by: Drew4AU ]

juliette14 · **Posted:** Fri Jul 23, 2004 8:59 pm

I change kick off every time. I got so tired of the cliche at my college paper that I banned it. Writers used it whenever an organization began its "week," i.e. Rape Awareness Week, Indian Culture Week, Young Republicans Week, anything. Nothing ever simply began or started. Everything kicked off. It became a running joke, but I know most of those writers and editors reflexively stopped using it by the year's end.

vtuss · **Posted:** Fri Jul 23, 2004 10:03 pm

Sounds like everyone is irked.

nstockdale · **Posted:** Fri Jul 23, 2004 10:42 pm

Careful, blanp may ax this topic.

Phillip Blanchard · **Posted:** Fri Jul 23, 2004 11:32 pm

All right, all right.

Oeditpus Rex · **Posted:** Sat Jul 24, 2004 12:29 pm

A former EIC was quite fond of "eye" as a verb. It always conjures up a kind of Ed "Big Daddy" Roth cartoon image: a huge, bloodshot eyeball springing from its socket to closely examine something.

Tim Lawson · **Posted:** Tue Jul 27, 2004 1:36 pm

We had this headline -- top left of A1 -- not long ago:Bush hits Cuba
for 'sex tourism'

Matthew Grieco · **Posted:** Tue Jul 27, 2004 1:47 pm

Man, he's going down when people in Miami find out he breached the embargo.

majorbabs · **Posted:** Tue Jul 27, 2004 3:30 pm

I guess if I was a young 'un in the hed-writing business I might think "kick off" is a more active term than "begin" and use it to punch up the hed, not realizing how incredibly overused "kick off" is.So I try to give them a break. When they use it the 12th time, then it's time to talk turkey.

Peter Sibley · **Posted:** Wed Jul 28, 2004 8:03 pm

"Cite," because it's so maddeningly faithless.The pyromaniac and the firefighter can both be "cited" for the same event, one for arson and the other for bravery.

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