Just because they’re old…

Brian Baresch declares:

I was distressed to pick up my newspaper this morning and find two,
possibly three egregious cliches in display type, over a pretty good
story about a local woman who turned 108. (Interesting woman, actually
— she’s in a wheelchair, but only because she broke her hip two years
ago kicking a soccer ball.)


On a 1A blurb reefer was the headline “On her 108th, she’s still going
strong
.” That “still going strong” is one of the worst cliches about
an old person, in my mind. And that made it past a slot, at least one
news editor and at least one proofreader to get to my front yard. (The
story itself makes a similar stumble: “Her hearing is still good”.
C’mon, drop the “still”. Otherwise, though, it avoids most of the
pitfalls involved in writing about centenarians.)


Then on the metro cover, in what looks like 60-point type: “She’s 108
years young
.” Yech. Completing the trifecta, the deck reads “She’s
lived a full life — but it’s far from over.

One thought on “Just because they’re old…

  1. How about banning “spry,” as well? “Spry” is never used except to describe old folk who happen to still be ambulatory.