Mr. Language Man Regrets
I posted previously on the depredations of language inflicted by the "Washington Times" book reviews and I have another example that I can't let pass unremarked. A "writer living in Boca Raton, Fla." named Katie Wendy had a review of a biography of the late Paul Harvey. First of all, "Katie Wendy" is not a name - it's two first names put together in an amazing simulation of an actual name. And she lives in a city that means "rat's mouth." Nuff said.
The review is most unobjectionable though demonstrable of no greater depth of insight than the average slavish member of the Oprah book club. It only comes a cropper at the penultimate sentence: "Perhaps painting a picture with a few more shades would have made for a richer veneer."
That sentence doesn't even make nonsense. It is vaguely evocative of an idea but it's so poorly phrased that parsing it becomes a waste of time. And by "waste," I mean like the Mafia. Just as I here have managed to assassinate a portion of my day and, by extension, yours. I'm willing to offer you my apologies. Will Ms. "Wendy" do the same?
I doubt it.