The latest trendy catch-phrase….

[mike_kolb]

For weeks now, I’ve been meaning to share my favorite pet peeve phrase that EVERYBODY on tv & radio news has been using recently: “reach out”.

As in, “KGW news reached-out to xxxxx for a comment”. Or, “we tried to reach-out to the suspect’s family but have not received a return call”.

What they’re really saying is “whoops, looks as though they don’t wanna talk to us”!

Plus, when they say “reach out” it makes it sound like they’re (somehow) trying to help, when in reality…. they’re just sticking their noses where they’re not wanted!

Huff-huff. OK, all better now!

[Jeffrey Kopp]

Started as an ad campaign for Ma Bell in the 1980s.

[Andy Brown]

No, it started out in 1966:

[missing_kskd]

We reached out to touch base, get on the same page and will check in later to huddle up and get focused on syncing up…

[Langston]

Still better than reach around.

[Craig_Adams]

Whatever happened to: “We rotary telephoned them” ?

[edselehr]

Mike, thanks for reaching out and sharing your concerns. I’ve reached out to some people with what you said, and they reached back, with us all agreeing that you’ve reached a valid point. The use of these kind of feel-good synonyms has reached an all-time high, so much so that broadcast news has now reached beyond mere reporting, instead attempting to reach into people’s lives as counselor and savior. I may be reaching too far in saying this, but I think this has reached crisis proportions.

[Deane Johnson]

LOL

[Amus]

Wow Edselehr, that’s really reaching!

You may have reached the limit to how many reaches you can get into a single post.

[missing_kskd]

Edselehr, you win.

[jr_tech]

While not a “catch phrase” per se, I have seen a little hand symbol used by Jan, the Toyota spokesperson in a commercial, where she says something that sounds like “tot tot” and taps the back of her arm/wrist twice with 2 fingers in a “v” formation, before uttering a short phrase. At first I thought that this gesture might have the same meaning as “air-quotes” but am unsure of that interpretation… can anybody here clarify?

[mike_kolb]

yeah, she’s saying “hashtag”, and making the (apparent) symbol for the hashtag. She speaks fast and not terribly clearly, so “hashtag” sounds like “tot tot”…

[jr_tech]

Thanks! I will listen closely next time I see the commercial.

[Author]

Posts