Holiday Clichés Should Stay out of Headlines
Wednesday, November 2, 2011
The holidays are around the corner but the typical Christmas clichés in the headlines such as "'tis the season" should stay out of the headlines.
"Chestnuts roasting by an open fire are fine, but they should be kept out of copy and headlines," cautions master copy desk chief John McIntyre of the Baltimore Sun.
In his article titled The Holiday Cautions McIntyre lists off some of the typical holiday sayings that should not make it to the headlines.
"'’Twas the night before' anything: 'Twasing is no more defensible than ’tising," says McIntyre. "And if you must refer to the Rev. Mr. Moore's poem, if indeed he wrote it, the proper title is 'A Visit from St. Nicholas.'"
McIntyre also puts a halt to the Grinch stealing anything. When a house is robbed or any Christmas related items are stolen, "Grinch steals" needs to remain out of the headline.
Some of the other clichés he mentions in his article to not use are any "Yes, Virginia" allusions, and he states "Any 'Christmas came early' construction is right out."
The parodies of "The Twelve Days of Christmas" are a no go, and anything that has bah or humbug needs to be deleted.
These sayings offer what seem to be creative headlines for the holiday season, but instead they are overused or do not resonate with the reader.
