Ebola cliches

Jonathan Lighter wuxxmupp2000 at GMAIL.COM
Wed Oct 1 16:40:25 UTC 2014


CNN explains that "The CDC has been absolutely clear about one thing: you
cannot necessarily catch ebola through the air."

This "not necessarily" business drives me nuts.  For years it's become
extremely difficult for TV newspeople to say simply "isn't": they seem to
prefer "isn't necessarily." Even in a case like the above, where the
knee-jerk "necessarily" pretty much undercuts the intended meaning of the
sentence. (It seems to say, "It's unlikely, but you can.")

Good news: CNN also reports that the CDC "has a lot of boots on the ground"
tracking the disease.

JL

-- 
"If the truth is half as bad as I think it is, you can't handle the truth."

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



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