Good Clear English

21/07/2023

No, the bruising by-election results did not happen AFTER the two losses; they WERE the two losses.

05/08/2022

It's funny how crap English drives out good, clear English.

Football commentator: "Taking the knee will be performed on an occasional basis."

What's wrong with the word "occasionally"?

18/04/2022

Have landed here, all well

Manage your Garmin Explore or inReach account. With Explore and inReach, you can communicate, map, track and share your trek from anywhere on Earth.

10/04/2022

Landed here all good

Manage your Garmin Explore or inReach account. With Explore and inReach, you can communicate, map, track and share your trek from anywhere on Earth.

02/02/2022

A classic from Roy Hodgson on his appointment as Watford manager, demonstrating that his long career has equipped him with the full panoply of footballer manager's English:

"This job was one I was never going to turn down. It was quite literally, the siren call from the mermaid as the sailor passes by on his ship.”

24/11/2021

Oh dear - the Radio 4 news has just spoken of "pre-planned hospital treatment".

08/10/2021

I am here. All well.

Manage your Garmin Explore or inReach account. With Explore and inReach, you can communicate, map, track and share your trek from anywhere on Earth.

06/11/2019

I've just heard someone on Radio 4 say "from the go-get". "From the get-go" is bad enough (a metaphorical phrase that has no literal meaning), but reversing it is truly bizarre.

09/05/2019

Good Clear English respectfully asks you to avoid these phrases on the internet:

So...
Ok, so...
This.
I'll just leave this here.
Siri, show me...
Colour me...
I think you'll find...
Mate...
Wow. Just wow.
This tells us all we need to know about...
Sorry not sorry
Why am I not surprised?
We need to talk about...
You win the internet today
Your daily reminder...

19/12/2018

A few years ago, the Daily Telegraph announced that it was going to place an emphasis on correct grammar and syntax. But all our institutions are crumbling.

04/12/2018

BBC Radio 4 news: "The train operating company Govia Thameslink has been ordered to pay for passenger improvements."

That seems harsh. It certainly ought to provide better train services, but it can hardly be held accountable for the quality of its passengers.

02/12/2018

"Bonus" is hardly ever heard now without the redundant "added" in front of it. The latest offender was Lauren Laverne, introducing Desert Island Discs.

26/07/2018

The spread of "around" to replace all other prepositions continues - I've just heard a Radio 5 Live presenter ask a guest, who moved to Spain to use medicinal cannabis: "...and was this entirely around your health needs?"

20/06/2018

X-Pyr 2018 Team GBR Wez Murch / Kevin Meynard

X-Pyr 2018 Team GBR Wez Murch / Kevin Meynard

20/06/2018

X-Pyr 2018 Team GBR Wez Murch / Kevin Meynard

X-Pyr 2018 Team GBR Wez Murch / Kevin Meynard

Chrigel who?

19/06/2018

Good Clear English is very excited to announce that it's sponsoring Wesley Murch in this year's X-Pyr. Wes will be racing by foot and paraglider along the Pyrenees from the Bay of Biscay to the Mediterranean Sea. X-Pyr 2018 Team GBR Wez Murch / Kevin Meynard

18/06/2018

Do you have an issue around ‘issues around’? | Macmillan Dictionary Blog

Please don't use "issue" to mean "problem" or "objection". And please don't use "around" to mean "about" or "concerning".

http://www.macmillandictionaryblog.com/do-you-have-an-issue-around-issues-around

Prepositions may seem small and insignificant, but developments in their meanings can be interesting, especially when a new use is typical of a particular kind

10/05/2018

Good Clear English has banged on quite often about the unthinking use of "after", as in "five people were injured after their car overturned on the M6". But BBC Radio 5 live surpassed itself the other day with this one, in an item about gun crime:

"... and a teenager was killed after he was shot dead in London."

01/02/2018

The missing verb in sports commentary has always puzzled me. Just now: "This the game we've all been waiting for." Why not "This is the game we've all been waiting for"?

Same commentator, two minutes later: "So this game significant in terms of the title..."

And: "This being billed as the decider..."

You'll often hear: "So Arsenal playing none of the team that started in the cup against Derby." Where do the verbs - often auxiliary verbs - disappear to?

16/01/2018

A lovely one from Phil Williams on BBC Radio 5 live:

"Surely that beggars the question of whether..."

08/11/2017

Oh dear! On Radio 4 just now: "...after having cut short a trip to Africa." Much better is "...after cutting short..." or "having cut short..." No need for the "after" AND the "having".