NGM Blog Central - Expressions Not on the Brink of Extinction - National Geographic Magazine

Here, from all the reading I do, are examples of overused expressions that keep popping out at me and in my curmudgeonly opinion should be given a rest.

Wildernesses and remote coral reefs are almost always pristine—or sometimes even paradises.

Endangered animals cling to their existence or are on the verge, brink, or edge of extinction.

Archaeology and anthropology stories
•    reveal secrets
•    uncover mysteries
•    shatter long-held beliefs
•    tell the real story of _______ (fill in the blank with the appropriate word).

Anything that is old is ancient, the word no longer being limited to the early period of human history, starting with first civilizations and ending with the fall of Rome in A.D. 476. Ancient is now applied to any old thing, sometimes it's younger than the Roman Empire and sometimes much older, for instance prehistoric:
•    the breaking up of ancient continents
•    an ancient butterscotch colored plain of Mars
•    ancient species lurking in ocean floor sediments

Area is too plain a word; now we must have a swath, even for decidedly nonlinear regions.

Thanks to has replaced because of, even when the cause is detrimental and not positive:
•    We know the next chapter thanks to a thunderstorm that toppled a tree at Dos Pilas six years ago, exposing a carved stairway hidden beneath its roots.
•    But thanks to the racks of stadium lights along the wall, she has lost her nights.
•    Rather than escaping malaria, the colonists brought the disease with them, thanks to the marvelously complicated life cycle of the single-celled plasmodium parasite that causes it.

And this one from radio and television more than print: You are welcome as a response to Thank you is on the brink of extinction. Instead of a polite, modest You’re welcome, we now have dueling Thank yous.

Thank you for joining us. Thank you for having me.

Illustration: Mariel Furlong

Posted by Lesley Rogers | Comments (2)
Filed Under: Rogers' Rules of Order

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