We've described things as eggplant-centric, beer-centric and sausage-centric. We've noted what's New York-centric, Manhattan-centric and L.A.-centric. There's more: curly-centric, couch-centric, Harley-Davidson-centric, LeBron-centric and derrière-centric, all in our pages in recent months.
A careful reader pointed out this increasingly common device: modifiers coined by tacking “centric†on to just about every noun in sight.
By my count, we've used “-centric†almost 150 times in print stories so far this year - compared with 72 times in 2000 and just 24 in 1995. Or, in visual terms (thanks to a data tool from my colleague Alexis Lloyd):
A few more examples from recent months:
female-centric
veteran-centric
row-centric
African-American-centric
baseball-centric
hayseed-centric
Gen-X-centric
steak-centric
kindergarten-centric
fundamentals-centric
apocalypse-centric
Wi-Fi-centric
quarterback-centric
tight-end-centric
long-ball-centric
iOS-6-centric
It may have been fresh and engaging once; not anymore. Let's try to be more judicious and look for alternatives.
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Too Many Vibes
Another close reader laments that the slang vibe also seems rampant in recent months. A get-away-from-it-all vibe, a child-friendly vibe, a hockey-related vibe, a futuristic vibe, an easygoing, sunny vibe - you get the idea. Here's what it looks like when you graph it:
I say, let's give it a rest.
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In a Word
This week's grab bag of grammar, style and other missteps, compiled with help from colleagues and readers.
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Foreign, 9/21:
With His Remarks on Sexual Morality, a Surprise Pope Keeps on Surprising
“First, you have to get consensus based on the force of the vision, and then you find the men,†said the Reverend Pierangelo Sequeri, dean of the Theological Faculty of Northern Italy. “I don't think the cardinals expected him to act in that way.â€
Style is to abbreviate: “the Rev.â€
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Sports, 9/22:
Jets Overcome Their Mistakes With One Long Pass
From that brightness came a football, which left quarterback Geno Smith's right hand as if shot by an arrow. It landed on Holmes's fingertips like a bird returning to its nest, and he cradled it as he scampered into the end zone.
As a reader pointed out, it would have to be shot by a bow, not by an arrow. And the sudden switch from arrow to bird muddles the metaphor further.
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Metro, 9/23:
A Mayoral Hopeful Now, de Blasio Was Once a Young Leftist
Mr. de Blasio remained supportive of the Sandinistas, often referred to by their acronym, F.S.L.N., even after they lost power.
F.S.L.N. is an abbreviation but not an acronym, which is an abbreviation pronounced as a word.
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Dining, 9/22:
Trendy Green Mystifies France. It's a Job for the Kale Crusader!
Kristen Beddard, a 29-year-old American, has been pushing to get Parisians to embrace kale as a menu staple, much like legions of American chefs do.
Much as, not much like.
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Culture, 9/19:
Professor Says He Has Solved A Mystery Over a Slave's Novel
Professor Gates said that Professor Hecimovich's discovery answers one of the large and lingering questions that has vexed him for more than a decade about the author of the book.
Recorded announcement. Make it “questions that have vexed him.†Or, if there really is just one such question, say that: “answers a large and lingering question that has vexed him …â€
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Sports, 9/18:
Harvey Will Put Off Surgery, at Least for Now
He struck out two premier sluggers, Miguel Cabrera and Jose Bautista, swinging on filthy sliders, and Adam Jones, swinging on a 98 mile-per-hour fastball.
Let's avoid this hyped-up sports slang. (Also, we needed another hyphen in 98-mile-per-hour fastball.)
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Foreign, 9/23:
Humble Chinese Village Basks in Legacy of Three Kingdoms Era
Residents of Longmen, China, playing Mah Jong.
It's “mah-jongg,†per the stylebook.
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Opinionator blog, 9/23:
A Very Violent Gentleman
[Teaser] The life and times of Brig. Gen. Daniel W. Adams, who moved between the rarified aristocracy and the violent world of the 19th Century South.
It's “rarefied,†not rarified; it even has its own stylebook entry. Also, lowercase century and hyphenate the modifier: the 19th-century South.
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Culture, 9/23:
Met's Maestro Heading Back to His Podium
He said that surgeries and therapy had helped him not only to recover from his fall, but had also freed him of the debilitating back pain he was suffering before that, which led to many cancellations and contributed to his decision in 2011 to resign as music director of the Boston Symphony Orchestra.
Not parallel. Make it “had not only helped him recover from his fall, but also freed him of the debilitating back pain.â€
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Culture, 9/23:
A Glittering Runway, as Stars Sashay Into Top Couture Ranks
Ms. Danes proved up to the task, turning out in a Giorgio Armani tulle confection that showed off an ethereal, if slightly skeletal, frame. What Ms. Danes lacked in pulchritude, Lena Dunham of “Girls†supplied in abundance, wearing a coral-rose-patterned Prada gown that (somewhat sloppily) showed off her curves.
“Pulchritude†means beauty, which doesn't seem to be what we intended here. The contrast seems to be between curvy and skinny, not between pulchritude and a lack thereof.
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Foreign, 9/18:
Security Council Returns to Role in Syria Conflict
The diplomats, who declined to be identified, said Russia, Syria's most important ally, was resisting components of the draft, composed by the three Western permanent members - Britain, France and the United States - that discuss the threat of force to ensure Syrian compliance, whether to condemn the Syrian government for chemical weapons use and whether suspected users should be referred to the International Criminal Court for war crimes prosecutions.
Six commas and a couple of dashes are a warning sign. This overstuffed sentence is almost impossible to read.
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National, 9/16:
Newcomers Challenge Leadership in the House
Their approach has prompted backlash, like when House Republicans stripped Mr. Amash, 33, and others of plum committee assignments after they repeatedly challenged the leadership.
Make it as, not like.
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Science, 9/19:
Mars Rover Comes Up Empty in Search for Methane
And in 2003, it looked like methane was plentiful on Mars. Scientists reported seeing huge plumes of it, and their findings set off a surge of speculation and scientific interest.
It looked as if methane was plentiful, not like.
