The current obsession with "Gone Missing"

[Alison Murie]

On Jun 7, 2009, at 4:39 PM, Robert Hartwell Fiske wrote:

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> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       Robert Hartwell Fiske <Vocabula at AOL.COM>
> Subject:      Re: The current obsession with "Gone Missing"
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> "Gone" or "went missing" is, today, increasily heard and read (even
> the
> oleaginous among you should agree to this). More to the point, this
> idiom, like
> so many others, is -- and this was, or was meant to be, my main
> point --
> not an exacting expression. It appeals to people who apparently
> cannot bother
> with expressing themselves carefully or clearly.
>
>
>
> * The boy went missing Monday, the day after his birthday. USE
> disappeared.
>
> * In heavily Democratic Fulton County, in downtown Atlanta, 67
> memory cards
> from the voting machines went missing, delaying certification of the
> results there. USE were misplaced.
> * When a $250,000 boat went missing while docked at the foot of Grand
> Street in Alameda, police seemed lost at sea. USE was stolen.
> * A large and potentially hazardous asteroid that went missing for
> almost
> 66 years ago was re-discovered by astronomers on Wednesday morning.
> USE was
> lost.
> *  Fifteen people aboard the ship reportedly went missing. USE were
> missing.
> * Many went missing after joining the militant groups, while others
> disappeared after being picked up by security forces for
> questioning. USE deserted.
>
> *  The prisoner went missing around lunchtime, but prison staff did
> not
> notice his absence until early evening. USE absconded.
> * She's a grown woman, and reasonable people can and should understand
> that, if they are going to go missing, they are going to cause
> public outcry.
> USE disappear.
>
>
> From the Dictionary of Disagreeable English by Robert Hartwell Fiske
>
>
> Robert Hartwell Fiske
~~~~~~~~~~
Speaking of disagreeable English, what on earth is meant by "even the
oleaginous among you"?  Wax-filled ears that might have missed the
frequency of "gone missing"?
AM

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