degree-of-difficulties

[Mark Mandel]

Watching the Olympic men's synchronized platform diving about 10min ago, I
heard the athlete commentator -- a woman, don't know her name; a diver, not
a broadcaster -- say "at these degree of difficulties". "Degree of
difficulty", as a term of art in the scoring of competitive sports like
gymnastics and diving, has clearly been lexicalized for at least some of its
users, like "mother-in-law(s)".

--
Mark Mandel

------------------------------------------------------------
The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org