Week 11

Word of the Week

The found the word "snit" in a story about how Donald Trump may be a 2012 presidential candidate and is a "birther," which means he is challenging President Obama's United States birth.  The story said that Trump has gotten into a snit with a New York Times columnist over the topic.

Yourdictionary.com defines snit as: a state of agitation or irritation; a fit of anger.  The origin is unknown, and it's hypothesized that it comes from the word "snippy."  I found the word interesting because I always pause at small, seemingly simple words that I don't know.


Catch of the Week

I found the headline "UPDATE 1-Wall St Wk Ahead:  Will corp earnings justify gains?" and I didn't know what to think of it.  I know that every publication may have its own rules for style and headlines, but I just don't like this one.  I don't like the capitalization in the first word and I don't like the abbreviations.  I read the story and tried to find a purpose for the headline being in this form, but couldn't detect one.  I know a lot of times in print, there is a space constraint that may force editors to change headlines, but I feel that with online stories there is a lot more flexibility.  This headline just looks sloppy to me.


Headline Challenge

I found the story "Pressure mounts for McIlroy in 'balmy conditions'" in Google News.  It's about the PGA Masters, and the reason why I picked it is because I don't like the word "balmy" in the headline.  I have no idea what it means.  It is used in the lead again, saying that McIlroy is feeling "the heat of balmy conditions."  When used in the lead, it is pretty much saying that he's feeling the pressure for the title and messing up.  However, I would change the headline to "Pressure mounts for McIlroy in heated conditions" because more people would get the gist of what that means.


Passage of the Week

I'm always content as a reader when I learn something completely new.  In the story "Safes, Cash Wash up on Japan Shores After Tsunami" abcnews.com talks about how police are having to separate valuables from junk in all of the rubble left after the tsunami, and then trying to identify owners.  This is a huge feat because in Japanese culture, many people still keep their cash at home in safes.  There's even a word for it, 'tansu yokin' which literally means 'wardrobe savings,' and it is estimated that $350 billion worth of yen does not get circulated because it's stashed in houses.