Go on, admit it. There's nothing wrong with the word 'said'
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Version 0 of 1. It’s funny what people admit to these days. Or at least it’s funny what newspapers report that people admit to. They admit they eat, they admit they want to win their football match on Saturday, they admit they had a childhood hero. As well as the other meaning (to let in), Oxford Dictionaries online gives several good examples of the correct use of admit: 1 [reporting verb] Confess to be true or to be the case: [with clause]: ‘the Home Office finally admitted that several prisoners had been injured’ [with direct speech]: ‘ “I am feeling pretty tired,” Jane admitted’ 1.1 [with object] Confess to (a crime or fault, or one’s responsibility for it): ‘he was sentenced to prison after admitting 47 charges of burglary’ [no object]: ‘the paramilitaries admitted to the illegal possession of arms’ 1.2 [with object] Acknowledge (a failure or fault): ‘after searching for an hour, she finally had to admit defeat’ But journalists, particularly sports journalists, too often stretch the meaning of the word to fit their own agenda. Here’s the start of a Guardian cricket article: “ ‘Part of our job is to help these lads achieve the dream of playing for their country,’ admits the Yorkshire head coach, Jason Gillespie … ” Is helping Yorkshire players to represent England something to be ashamed of? Not really, even if it does deplete the strength of the county side. The London Evening Standard fell into the same trap when it opened a story about the athlete Chijindu Ujah with this line: “They call him Spider-Man and he admits he wants to be a track superhero.” Neither of these examples really contains a confession, except perhaps Ujah acknowledging that he is ambitious. So maybe it’s time for us journalists to think twice before clutching for the word admit. The Guardian style guide already contains the following words of caution: admit Take care – as a reader put it when we referred to Tory MPs who “admitted” being gay: “Admit in modern English is almost exclusively used when conceding or confessing something negative and/or of which one is or should be ashamed. Please be more careful. Language can offend.” Quite. The former Washington Post editor Ben Bradlee urged reporters not to “hide their biases and emotions behind subtly pejorative words” such as admit. But still we, and other papers, slip up – usually because of an irrational fear of saying “said”. It is another example of what George Orwell called inelegant variation, clutching for an inexact synonym in order to avoid repeating a word. That, combined with a desire, particularly in the tabloids, to make a quote sound more dramatic than it actually is, means we end up with some bizarre confessions. A flick through the newspapers on just one day last month illustrates my point. The Evening Standard reported: “Liverpool goalkeeper Simon Mignolet admits he and his defenders were so keen to sort out their problems they started the inquiry on the journey home from Arsenal.” A Daily Mirror headline about champion jockey AP McCoy said: “Tributes as racing legend AP bows out / He admits he’d love ‘to do it all again’.” Why wouldn’t he want to do it all again? Again in the Mirror: “Jose Mourinho admits the moment of truth has arrived for his title-chasing Chelsea team. A first Premier League crown since 2010 is within touching distance for the league-leading Blues.” A letter to the Daily Express warned of the apparent dangers of filling out charity surveys. The correspondent concluded: “Do not admit that you donate to any charities unless you wish to be pestered beyond reason.” Donating to charity – what a sin, eh? The same day’s Express contained a story about “health freak” Jennifer Aniston, who “sticks religiously to a low-carbohydrate, low-calorie diet” but “admits” that “on Sundays I eat whatever I want”. Related: Dear work colleagues, let’s stop using this clumsy phrase Even the Guardian was at it, with one of our writers admitting she doesn’t wear lipstick. Why should she? Likewise, we had Rory McIlroy “admitting” that Tiger Woods was a hero of his when he was growing up. And in the Sun: “Shireen, 28, a tarot card reader, admits her habit [of eating chocolate] has seen her grow from a size zero to a size 12.” As if it’s worse to be a size 12 than a size zero. The article continues: “A poll by LighterLife found nearly a quarter of UK women admit to secretly eating.” Admitting to eating? Whatever next? Man admits to breathing? Woman admits to drinking water? I must admit I’ve had enough already, and most readers probably have too. • Toby Chasseaud is an assistant production editor at the Guardian. He tweets @TobyChasseaud |