WHOM

stop say that

Too much and not enough, sometimes. I wonder why there’s a trend to add a word at the end of a phrase: not color but color way. That one’s innocuous, and I think color way can be about colors and color combos. Other times I think something’s going on. Not weight loss but weight loss journey (“sharing her weight loss journey in hopes of inspiring others”). Work talk is big on these softening suffixes. Not performance but performance indicators (“The salary scale was based on assessing your performance indicators”). Not pay but pay structure. Adding a cushion word.

Other times I think the statement ends too soon:

“Boys are falling behind!”

“Men are falling behind in many key areas!”

Go on then, finish the thought: Falling behind whom? What a strange way to designate a race and narrate it in terms of the not-winner. Why not “Girls are outpacing, winning, succeeding within a rigged system” or “Women are leading in terms of higher education”?

Talk about burying the lead.