Sunday, September 20, 2015

Craft vogue

On Weekend Edition Sunday this morning: “now the city is working on crafting a pot-club ordinance.”

When everything from poems to pot to munchies is crafted, it’s time to say vogue word and move on. The verb to craft here accomplishes nothing that to create or to develop or to draft or to work on would accomplish. The work of writing an ordinance implies a degree of care and skill.

Words I can live without
Artisan , artisanal : Bluesy , craft , &c. : Delve , -flecked , &c. : Expressed that : Pedagogy : That said : Three words never to use in a poem

[Google returns 500,000 results for craft and ordinance minus beer. With beer : 939,000 results. Crafted munchies? Yes, really.]

comments: 4

Slywy said...

This may come from PR and advertising copy writing; I can't tell you how many times I used to be told to "craft an ad" or whatever. I always wanted to say, "Howza 'bout I just write one?"

Michael Leddy said...

In English studies, some people refer to “crafted papers” and “well-crafted papers.” It’s everywhere.

Chris said...

I think "drafting an ordinance" is such a common formula that the writer must have had that in the back of his or her mind.

Michael Leddy said...

I didn’t notice the rhyme.