# The word Across. Becoming a plague?



## erneboy (Feb 8, 2007)

Has anybody else noticed the huge and ever increasing overuse of the word across? I hear it mainly across Radio 4 but it may be in use across other media.

Across the BBC. Across the Olympics. Across the news. Across sports. 

Meaning.

On the BBC. At the Olympics. On many news outlets. Including all sports.

It's a word that is used lazily when vocabulary comes up short in much the same way as the young use ubiquitous" like". It was like ... I was like... He was like ... "


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## GMJ (Jun 24, 2014)

I haven't come across this tbh Al...


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## JanHank (Mar 29, 2015)

Alan is ‘reaching out’ to us, two words that annoy me, he/she has ‘passed on’ no, they have died or are dead, ‘you know’ or ya know’ there are many words or two words that annoy me. Here the word ‘cool’ is often used. 
I’m not often listening to the news Alan so not come ‘across’ your word.


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## EJB (Aug 25, 2007)

'So'.........every sentence must start with it on Facebook and other intellectual sites!

PS. Michael Johnson has always had an addictive 'You know'...sometimes it infects his fellow Olympic commentators.


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## raynipper (Aug 4, 2008)

Yeah but and y'know.

Ray.


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## erneboy (Feb 8, 2007)

Yes Jan. Reaching out, yuk.

Passed on annoys me to, but saying he or she has passed seems even worse to me. Did this person drive past? Were they walking or maybe on roller skates? People don't like to say dead, as if not saying it avoids it.

Just heard a sports personality say hence why on the news.


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## Pudsey_Bear (Sep 25, 2008)

Ah but not forgetting literally and like.

We old farts must stick togevver ya know like, literally.


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## GMJ (Jun 24, 2014)

I pressed the like button....


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## Pudsey_Bear (Sep 25, 2008)

Your tart tendencies are hanging out G.


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## bc109 (Sep 17, 2016)

I thought this was going to be a clue whose answer is Boris.
Bill


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## Glandwr (Jun 12, 2006)

"separate out"! why do you need the woud out? It paticularily grates when I hear the arch language pedant John Humphries use it something he does oftenly:wink2:


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## EJB (Aug 25, 2007)

Just pressed all the 'Like' buttons to get it out of my system....for a few minutes anyway!!!


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## Pudsey_Bear (Sep 25, 2008)

Pound/pounds is one I hate, one pound two pounds, not two pound, unless it's a two pound bag of something.

More bigger etc, UGH!!!

and American pronunciation creeping in on news reports.

and using Kgs instead of Kilogrammes in narration, ( we never (except in writing) would use Lbs) Clicks instead of Kilometres, and using it at all if it's UK TV program, and if it is for broadcast worldwide let the thick buggers figure it out, we have to do it with American referring to almost everything in pounds.


Stop the world I wanna gerroff.


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## Penquin (Oct 15, 2007)

erneboy said:


> Has anybody else noticed the huge and ever increasing overuse of the word across? I hear it mainly across Radio 4 but it may be in use across other media.
> 
> Across the BBC. Across the Olympics. Across the news. Across sports.
> 
> ...


But, across the BBC may also mean on all BBC outputs, so it's use is quite correct there.the misuse of the word like that you quote is simply because the person cannot think what to say and therefore use a padding word to fill in the missing space.

Like errr, ummm, aaah also frequently inserted into speech when they cannot think what to say.


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## GMJ (Jun 24, 2014)

Pudsey_Bear said:


> Pound/pounds is one I hate, one pound two pounds, not two pound, unless it's a two pound bag of something.
> 
> More bigger etc, UGH!!!
> 
> ...


I hate it when people use words like gerroff...

...oh wait a minute


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## erneboy (Feb 8, 2007)

Penquin said:


> But, across the BBC may also mean on all BBC outputs, so it's use is quite correct there.the misuse of the word like that you quote is simply because the person cannot think what to say and therefore use a padding word to fill in the missing space.
> 
> Like errr, ummm, aaah also frequently inserted into speech when they cannot think what to say.


If someone wanted to say a thing would be covered by all BBC outlets it would suffice to say it would be covered by the BBC. Saying across is superfluous.

It only becomes necessary to specify if the coverage is to be selective, for instance broadcast only on 5 Live or on a particular programme.

They conveyed their meanings perfectly well before they started using the word across .


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## raynipper (Aug 4, 2008)

Watching these homes in the sun programs I am now hating the description "Rooftop Solarium". When all it is is a flat roof. 

Ray.


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## Pudsey_Bear (Sep 25, 2008)

Miserable old bugger.


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## raynipper (Aug 4, 2008)

Oh you noticed Kev?

Ray.


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## Pudsey_Bear (Sep 25, 2008)

Ages ago, but you know me, way too polite to mention it, but today I thought stuff it, the man needs to be told for the sake of others.


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## GMJ (Jun 24, 2014)

...and they do say that it does take one to know one!


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## Pudsey_Bear (Sep 25, 2008)

There are signs which say "don't poke the bear" be warned.


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## raynipper (Aug 4, 2008)

Like this Kev.

Ray.


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## Pudsey_Bear (Sep 25, 2008)

I have to say I like the sound of a bell, used to signal food was ready or I'd reached my stop, and I do like a drop of pepper on me grub.


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## jiwawa (Jun 22, 2007)

What annoys me is not so much the words but the way they're said. I was really surprised the other night to discover the Governor of the Bank of England pronounces th as if it was an f, as does Alex Salmond.

If course it's not their fault but somebody - parent, teacher - wasn't paying attention when they were learning to speak.

Maybe I just notice because my father was totally deaf so I grew up using lipreading as part of hearing. The 2 sound the same but they don't look the same.


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## Pudsey_Bear (Sep 25, 2008)

I had a friend who couldn't pronounce his Fs or THs, so I said, you can't say fairer than that then.



Boom tish


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## JanHank (Mar 29, 2015)

jiwawa said:


> What annoys me is not so much the words but the way they're said. I was really surprised the other night to discover the Governor of the Bank of England pronounces th as if it was an f, as does Alex Salmond.
> 
> If course it's not their fault but somebody - parent, teacher - wasn't paying attention when they were learning to speak.
> 
> Maybe I just notice because my father was totally deaf so I grew up using lipreading as part of hearing. The 2 sound the same but they don't look the same.


That reminds me of a time when I was being pushed down to, the young man said several times when I asked 'where` *Feater *in the and I asked `and how do you spell feater ' it caused a laugh from the nurse and him.


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## GMJ (Jun 24, 2014)

Pudsey_Bear said:


> I had a friend who couldn't pronounce his Fs or THs, so I said, you can't say fairer than that then.
> 
> Boom tish












Very good


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## erneboy (Feb 8, 2007)

There was a bloke on the radio a while back. He couldn't pronounce the letter R. A good many can't and substitute a W instead.

The wonderful finale came when the interviewer summed up saying thanks to Robert Rodgers for that. Can't remember the actual name.

Just imagine the poor bugger having to introduce himself. Hello, my name's Wobbit Wodges.


Or

Why is there the letter D in the alphabet? Because if not Edward Woodward would be called Ewar Woowar


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## Pudsey_Bear (Sep 25, 2008)

Americans have an extra D in some of their words, like wader and dorder.


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## GMJ (Jun 24, 2014)

It reminds me of the scene in The Life of Brian...

Welease Woderick!


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## erneboy (Feb 8, 2007)

We tend to do that too. Liddle instead of little and so on. Also it's common for people when speaking about London to pronounce it Lunten. NI's version of the glottal stop I reckon.


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## Pudsey_Bear (Sep 25, 2008)

Weird innit what we find annoying, I used to live in Bradford City, they call it Bratford, I must be guilty of similar things but others still annoy me, people who mispronounce Wednesday (Wedensday) and February (Febry) etc.


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## dghr272 (Jun 14, 2012)

“Chillax” as a way of telling someone to take it easy would be my pet hate.

Terry


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## Pudsey_Bear (Sep 25, 2008)

Terry, mate, as a scribe I would have thought you would welcome a new worm to play with.

You written owt else recently?


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## jiwawa (Jun 22, 2007)

We met a lovely young lass who did the f for th thing. She was flying back to UK from Barcelona - where she was employed as a teacher of English for the British Council!

I imagine there are lots of little Spaniards with that failing in their language skills now!

How did they not notice that at interview?!


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## GMJ (Jun 24, 2014)

My wife dislikes it when we are called 'Guys'...especially by some young 'un!


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## Pudsey_Bear (Sep 25, 2008)

I'll second that emotion.


But what are they supposed to say to old farts like you.


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## Pudsey_Bear (Sep 25, 2008)

See what I did there


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## GMJ (Jun 24, 2014)

Pudsey_Bear said:


> I'll second that emotion.
> 
> But what are they supposed to say to old farts like you.












How about 'Folks' instead of guys?

It's what I use...for example when talking about old folks like you Kev. :grin2:


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## Pudsey_Bear (Sep 25, 2008)

Tart.


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## dghr272 (Jun 14, 2012)

Pudsey_Bear said:


> Terry, mate, as a scribe I would have thought you would welcome a new worm to play with.
> 
> You written owt else recently?


Well now that you mention it, that comment is quisquilious. :grin2:

Terry


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## Pudsey_Bear (Sep 25, 2008)

Nah, not going to work chuckin in words I can Google


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