Chris Pash's Blog, page 5

Cliche of the Week 90 – Dying Moments

Fiction writers, as they race to the end of a tale, twist story threads to increase the stakes and make the good guys sweat.

In the real world, reporters spot these drama peaks in the dying moments of sporting events at a rate of about 200 a month.

AFL: “(John) Worsfold again defended the brash playing style of (Beau) Waters, who leapt high for a match-saving mark in the dying moments of the match.” (The West Australian, April 30)

Soccer: “There was still time for the visitors to add a sixth in the dying moments when Halliday upended Slateford inside the box and Bodmin’s leading scorer and fellow substitute Adam Carter stepped up to net his 50th goal of the season.” (The Cornishman, April 26)

Rugby: “Robinson’s fourth penalty three minutes later moved Wasps back into the sanctuary of bonus-point range and set up the drama of the dying moments.” (The Observer, April 22)

American football: “Each game saw 14 fourth-quarter points put Pittsburgh ahead by more than a touchdown (21-10 and 35-17) before Dallas closed up in the dying moments.” (The Miami Herald, February 5)

Basketball: “Lin more than lived up to the hype, draining the winning three-point shot in the game’s dying moments.” (Canada’s The Globe and Mail, March 24)

Cliche of the Week appears in The Australian newspaper Mondays. Cliches in the media are tracked across the world using Factiva and Dow Jones Insight.

Chris Pash’s book, The Last Whale, a true story set in the 1970s, was published by Fremantle Press in 2008.

Cliche of the Week 89 – Shrouded in Secrecy

Backroom deals shrouded in secrecy suggest dark deeds in rooms with doors bolted and windows blackened.

Cliche of the Week appears in The Australian newspaper Mondays. Cliches in the media are tracked across the world using Factiva and Dow Jones Insight.

Chris Pash’s book, The Last Whale, a true story set in the 1970s, was published by Fremantle Press in 2008.

The term shrouded in secrecy appears up to 200 times a month in mainstream news reports, with newspapers in the US and Britain heavy users.

Usually, it isn’t officially secret but details are unknown or being kept back and may be revealed at a later date. If it is secret, just say so. No need for shrouds or other covers.

“On Tuesday, Planetary Resources Inc, whose mission has been shrouded in secrecy, will outline in Seattle its plan to send an unmanned spacecraft to an asteroid and mine it for valuable metals and . . .” (The Wall Street Journal, April 24).

“The case, and the . . . public manner in which it has evolved, has deeply embarrassed a party leadership obsessed with its image and whose inner workings remain shrouded in secrecy” (The Associated Press, April 25).

“Amnesty said investigations into allegations of torture and unlawful killings had been `shrouded in secrecy’ . . .” (The Scotsman, April 21).

“Staffers say the school’s operations are shrouded in secrecy, and they risk losing their jobs if they ask too many questions” (The Philadelphia Inquirer, April 19).

Cliche of the Week 88 – Make or Break

Pivotal moments in time make or break careers and determine whether sporting fields produce sparkling heroes or grey soldiers.

These events are reported up to 1500 times a month in the mainstream media, most of them in America, followed by Britain and then Australia.

Most of those caught in these moments rarely `break’ or disappear from the game.

“The March quarter consumer price index (CPI) figures, due for release on April 24, will be seen by RBA-watchers as the make-or-break event for a possible rate cut when the central bank’s board gets together on the first Tuesday of May.” (Australian Associated Press, April 17)

“But, before he can look to the future, (Lord) Coe invokes his experience as a competitor to illustrate the need to focus obsessively on the detail of 100 days that he accepts will make or break the Games.” (The Guardian, April 17)

“The win also opened the door to pent-up speculation on whether (Chris) Christie — an early and energetic supporter — would make or break a (Mitt) Romney ticket.” (The Star-Ledger, NJ, April 16)

“Unions are facing a make-or-break moment in their campaign to drive Wisconsin’s Republican governor from office.” (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, April 15)

Cliche of the Week appears in The Australian newspaper Mondays. Cliches in the media are tracked across the world using Factiva and Dow Jones Insight.

Chris Pash’s book, The Last Whale, a true story set in the 1970s, was published by Fremantle Press in 2008.

Cliche of the Week 87 – A Brave Face

Brits love putting on a brave face the most while Indians also paste one on regularly, followed by Australians, a close third.

Sports writers flip this cliche from the breathless handbook when describing reaction to a defeat or setback. Crime reporters use it to describe victims under pressure.

A brave face appears in news reports up to 500 times a month. The British tabloids like the phrase, as do news agencies such as Agence France-Presse.

“Dressed in a simple black dress and grey cardigan, her dark hair pulled back into a ponytail, the 25-year-old woman put on a brave face as she walked into Manhattan Supreme Court.” (New York Daily News, March 17)

“She (Goldie Hawn) recalls putting a brave face on single motherhood during the daytime but crying as she lay in bed alone at night, wondering what had happened to her dream of the perfect family.” (The Daily Express, March 7)

“Australian Treasurer Wayne Swan put a brave face on the meagre growth by contrasting it with economies that contracted last quarter, including Britain, Germany, Japan and Italy.” (Reuters News, March 7)

“He (England captain Andrew Strauss) made 26 and 27 in Galle, falling both times to Herath, but the left-hander put on a brave face.” (Agence France-Presse, March 30)

Cliche of the Week appears in The Australian newspaper Mondays. Cliches in the media are tracked across the world using Factiva and Dow Jones Insight.

Chris Pash’s book, The Last Whale, a true story set in the 1970s, was published by Fremantle Press in 2008.

Cliche of the Week 86 – Crushing Defeat

The annihilation of stars and political leaders is a blood sport in the news business.

Crushing defeat appears in news reports globally from 200 to 400 times a month, peaking during elections and major sporting events, and is more loved by the British press than in the US.

"Most analysts considered Mr (Newt) Gingrich to be `finished' after he was hit by a tsunami of negative attack advertisements in Iowa and a crushing defeat in New Hampshire subsequently." (The Straits Times, April 1)

"In retrospect, the key defeat for the traditional ruling class could be said to have taken place as long ago as 1945, when the Tories under Winston Churchill, grandson of a duke, suffered a crushing defeat at the hands of Clement Attlee's thoroughly egalitarian Labour Party." (The Observer, April 1)

Australians serve failure before and after elections.

"It was more than 24 hours after Anna Bligh's crushing defeat that Gillard fronted the media in Seoul to answer questions about whether the state Labor rout was a warning sign for her." (Courier-Mail, March 29)

And in sport. "Australians love (James) Horwill. He's passionate on the field, honest off it, and dignified, but never aloof, in the event of a crushing defeat." (Sydney Morning Herald, February 25)

Cliche of the Week appears in The Australian newspaper Mondays. Cliches in the media are tracked across the world using Factiva and Dow Jones Insight.

Chris Pash's book, The Last Whale, a true story set in the 1970s, was published by Fremantle Press in 2008.

Cliche of the Week 85 – New lease on Life

Buildings, sports teams, politicians, companies and the real estate market regularly renew the lease on their lives to ensure happiness and success.

More seriously, transplant patients receiving donor organs also get a new lease on life, a label used in news reports about 300 times a month.

None of these reports mentions the rent paid for this new arrangement.

"What she's after is the possibility of a second chance and a new lease on life." (The Boston Globe, March 20)

"And so began a story of an eight-pound pooch who, after a lifetime of disability and neglect, has gained a new lease on life and a slew of admirers." (Grand Forks Herald, North Dakota, March 18)

"Seemingly eliminated twice already from the playoffs, the University of Saskatchewan women's basketball team gets yet another new lease on life this weekend." (Saskatoon Star Phoenix, March 16)

Rugby: "(Tanerau) Latimer is enjoying a new lease on life with this year's Chiefs and said he was communicating with his fellow loosies better both on and off the field." (Waikato Times, March 15)

"The Surrey Public Market property, which has been sitting empty for over a decade, is getting a new lease on life." (Vancouver Sun, March 10)

Cliche of the Week appears in The Australian newspaper Mondays. Cliches in the media are tracked across the world using Factiva and Dow Jones Insight.

Chris Pash's book, The Last Whale, a true story set in the 1970s, was published by Fremantle Press in 2008.

Cliche of the Week 84 – Near Miss

More near misses are found in sport than in crowded flight paths, churning sea lanes and peak-hour rat runs.

Sports writers like the phrase to describe a good effort which didn't quite work, such as a failed shot at goal delivered with skill and style. However, a near miss is, if we are being accurate, a hit. A miss is a miss, but if it didn't miss, or nearly missed, well, it must have connected with the target. Other near misses are more like lucky escapes (another cliche).

"Johnson also wanted to clear up any misconception that the team was proud of its near miss at Duke five months ago." (Chattanooga Times/Free Press, March 16)

"And a couple of weeks ago, after yet another near miss, (Jonny) Evans said he would be too embarrassed to celebrate when his first goal eventually arrived." (Belfast Telegraph, March 20)

"Another near miss concerned the Queen Mother Champion Chase, which was merely dramatic when it might have been disastrous." (The Guardian, March 19)

"His father, Bill Pappas, was a near miss for being a guitarist for the rock band Kiss." (Washington Post, March 19)

"Two Air India commanders were grounded after a near-miss incident was reported over Kolkata." (Hindustan Times, March 16)

Cliche of the Week appears in The Australian newspaper Mondays. Cliches in the media are tracked across the world using Factiva and Dow Jones Insight.

Chris Pash's book, The Last Whale, a true story set in the 1970s, was published by Fremantle Press in 2008.

Cliche of the Week 83 – Churns out

The entertainment machine relentlessly churns out commercial films, books, music and even soccer players.

The sneer is that this success is somehow not art but more an assembly line of sameness.

The mainstream media uses the label churn out more than 400 times a month.

"The X Factor runs to an interminable annual schedule, barely a few months for the winner to pull some original songs together before they're promoted during the next series – a series destined to churn out more acts," (The Observer, March 11).

"Athlone Town soccer club is half a mile away while Buccaneers rugby club is across the bypass but the primary schools in Cornamaddy and Coosan continued to churn out quality young players," (The Sunday Times, March 11).

"After decades of being trained to follow the expectations of generic commercial fiction by publishers, our enfeebled human imaginations can do little more than churn out the same old stories," (The Guardian, March 10).

Cliche of the Week appears in The Australian newspaper Mondays. Cliches in the media are tracked across the world using Factiva and Dow Jones Insight.

Chris Pash's book, The Last Whale, a true story set in the 1970s, was published by Fremantle Press in 2008.

Cliche of the Week 82 – Out of the Woodwork

Worms are crawling out of the woodwork to drill into the worlds of sport and entertainment. The holes in the grain appear more than 300 times a month, mainly when there is a contest.

"First-time Ford driver David Reynolds and my fellow Kiwi Fabian Coulthard could be two to emerge out of the woodwork and have strong seasons" (New Zealand Herald, March 4).

"Toni' Berrios may be in for a battle against Will Guzzardi, a former journalist who has come out of the woodwork" (Chicago Sun-Times, March 4).

Cycling: "The `race to the sun' starts tomorrow: the first big event of the year, a bloody hard eight days with a real history behind it and the first time some of the Tour contenders come out of the woodwork" (The Guardian, March 3).

"Even celebrities like actor Kevin Costner came out of the woodwork to promote new clean-up systems" (The Times-Picayune, March 2).

"Perhaps next week's event will draw a Sonny and Cher or a Peaches & Herb out of the woodwork" (The Telegraph, New Hampshire, March 1).

"Watch Cornwall's ageing hippies crawl out of the woodwork for this one" (Cornish Guardian, January 12).

Cliche of the Week appears in The Australian newspaper Mondays. Cliches in the media are tracked across the world using Factiva and Dow Jones Insight.

Chris Pash's book, The Last Whale, a true story set in the 1970s, was published by Fremantle Press in 2008.

.

Cliche of the Week 81 – Cream of the Crop

Stick to sport, where writers nudge their subjects higher on the heap in the name of a good story, if you want the cream of the crop.

Sometimes the entertainment industry gets there: "Live from the Royal Opera House, it will again showcase the best of British filmmaking talent as well as the cream of the crop from around the world." (Birmingham Mail, February 11)

And the odd book may try: "There are varying opinions on the benefits of having so many literary 'competitions' in place, but at the very least, they can provide a starting point for readers looking to choose from the cream of the crop in Canadian fiction." (Sudbury Star, November 26)

And music: "The new faces, close to 100 of them in all, represent the cream of the crop bubbling up from the next generation of Canadian recording artists." (Ottawa Citizen, February 8)

But sport has most of the 300 monthly mentions. North American newspapers are the biggest creators of 'cream of the crop', followed by Australia.

"That's the cream of the crop," according to a report on basketball. (The Philadelphia Inquirer, February 26)

Cliche of the Week appears in The Australian newspaper Mondays. Cliches in the media are tracked across the world using Factiva and Dow Jones Insight.

Chris Pash's book, The Last Whale, a true story set in the 1970s, was published by Fremantle Press in 2008.