Shot dead

I don't know - but perhaps 'shot dead' implies one bullet - 'shot to death' implies more than one?

The phrase which I loath, and heard recently regarding the CT killings, is 'wiped out'.

Lazy, lazy journalism!

Yes. I hate 'taken out' as well. Revolting language.

I get sick of hearing about wild fires, what was wrong with just plain fires. I am sure if one American says something all the media in Australia have to follow.

ooops she forgot her hat.

I find 'gunned down' annoying. Once one journalist uses it about a particular murder, they all seem to. Another time none of them does.

I can't believe that you sad people are pedantically discussing the merits of 'shot dead' and 'gunned down' at a time like this, days after the Newtown massacre of infants. You find 'gunned down' 'annoying'! What is wrong with you?! Get a grip on reality.

micmc, there is little or nothing we can do about the Newtown tragedy, and all the others like it. We can, however, talk about how language is used. This is important because language not only describes people's thoughts, but can form them as well. I suggest that many people are de-sensitised by slack use of violent language. This is part of reality.

The thread is in Pedants' Corner too, which is where we talk about the use of language. There are, elsewhere, threads about the Newtown tragedy. The one does not preclude the other.

* micmc47* I have been biting my tongue.

No I'm sorry! This thread just shouted out at me "WTF"!!!!!!!

I'm with you Bags.

I'm with JO5 and micmc47.

I was expecting, when I first saw the title to this thread, to read about some tragedy that had happened and was slightly taken aback to find it was about grammar.

When such tragedies happen such as the recent one in CT, I feel it is important that the language used in reporting them is as respectful as possible. I don't like sensationalism in journalism, nor laziness, and some of the terms I heard used about this dreadful incident was inappropriate. It matters to me that defining the words used are challenged.

Why would some news about a tragedy be in Pedants' Corner? Why visit Pedants' Corner if linguistic pedantry gets up your nose? Just wondering.... I suppose it's just to say that it gets up your nose.

As you were.

Agreed, butty.

Why visit Pedants' Corner?

I'm inclined to click on the 'Active' button and look down the list of threads and select those I am interested in. I don't usually notice the category.

So for me anyway, not just to say it gets up my nose, certainly not in this Season of Peace and Goodwill.

Well said Bags and Butty. The language of violence is easily dismissed, but culture change does not just occur because the gun lobby decides they might restrict assault rifles being sold to householders. The language of a nation can also become more measured and thoughtful.

Timing is everything

I don't think the OP was concerned with language that diminishes violence, more with elegance of expression.

Agree timing is everything.

I"m with Pettalus , Jo and MIc .

It is a terrible thing that happened in Conn. Those poor, poor parents burying their dead babies .

Heartbreaking !

Yes, you're right, petallus, the OP was about elegance of expression, and the person who was concerned about the elegance of expression had also, already, expressed concern about the heartbreaking tragedy which had led her to articles using inelegant expressions about deaths by gunshot. The thread then took a course that the OP had not intended but didn't mind about because it's a related LANGUAGE issue.

Timing is relevant because it was in the news at the time. Otherwise the OP mightn't have thought about it just then.

I don't have to think about everybody else's tendernesses about what should be talked about when and by whom! I chose carefully which forum title to put this under. People can miss that, I agree, but when the thread turns out to be about something unexpected, or to take an unexpected slant, it's not difficult to check what forum the thread is in and leave it.

Good grief! It bugs me that so few people seem to understand freedom of speech! One doesn't have to say only what other people are comfortable with. Besides which, the thread had just about stumbled out of the radar until micmc threw a spanner in just in order to moan about the thread's political correctness or otherwise.

Bugger political correctness. The fact that I object to an inelegant phrase about deaths by shooting has nothing to do with how I feel about the victims of such atrocities.

BTW, petallus, only the first sentence is actually addressed to you. The rest is general.

Of course, freedom of speech also means people can complain about my lack of political correctness. I don't have a problem with that, but I can complain about it being troublemaking silliness.

So, in short and in conclusion, I'm allowed to start a thread about elegance of expression EVEN in the wake of a tragedy.

Just to be clear: my conclusion. Everyone else can make of the thread what they will.

Do what you like yer daft old sausage