Once again I'm noticing some new language usages that have not been standard before. I list them here just for the sake of sharing a few harmless curmudgeonly grumbles with my fellow language guardians.

busted
It has become quite common in my local newspaper and local television newscasts to find busted used in place of "broken." For example, in telling of a robbery, a reporter said that "the vehicle's window was busted out and the driver's purse taken." There's no question this usage was a no-no in the past (and frankly still is in my book). Many style manuals specify that bust is a noun, not a verb. But I've heard and seen its usage as a verb so frequently lately, I can't help but think it will eventually be acknowledged even among linguistic authorities.

locked up
Again, this is one I've observed a lot in recent local TV news. The trend may or may not be more widespread; nonetheless, I find it curious and somewhat disturbing. When a suspect is taken into custody, he is likely to be described as locked up in the newscast. Not "arrested" or "incarcerated" or "jailed pending bond" or another neutral, report-the-facts term. To my ear, the use of "locked up" implies that the suspect has been victimized somehow, yet it is used equally with minor and egregious crimes.

impactful
For sheer weirdness, this one... Click here to read the rest of this post at the Word-wise Blog.

The Word-wise Blog is authored by VAF member AnnaLisa of Admin Maven.


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