‘It was carnage’: students describe suspected mass food poisoning at New Zealand university
‘It was carnage’: students describe suspected mass food poisoning at New Zealand university
Carnage is a real word, and it's definition isn't broad enough to encompass a mass vomiting and diarrhea event.
carnage /kär′nĭj/ noun
Massive slaughter, as in war; a massacre. Corpses, especially of those killed in battle. Flesh of slain animals or men.
Corpses, especially of those killed in battle. Flesh of slain animals or men.
Flesh of slain animals or men.
I say this not to be pedantic, but because I had to read the article to confirm this wasn't a mass death event.... because words matter.
Doesn't matter that it was a quote, the editor shouldn't have run with it. Find another quote, or use your own words. JFC.
Nobody thinks people are getting literally "slammed" when it's in an article title. Have you ever used or seen "decimated" to mean something other than "Every 10th man in a roman cohort was executed"? It's hyperbole, metaphor, a play on words.
Here's an article not describing mass death, but uses "carnage," as cited by Merriam Webster in their online definition for "carnage," emphasis mine:
In practice, Argentinian Cami Nogueira did take a heavy slam that resulted in a concussion and broken nose, and doctors advised her not to keep riding while she recovered.
But some level of carnage is typical amongst the men that compete at Rampage, too. The reigning champion, Cam Zink, was evacuated by helicopter with broken ribs and a punctured lung after crashing during the men’s competition on Saturday.
https://www.outsideonline.com/outdoor-adventure/biking/redbull-rampage-recap-2024-women/
Carnage can mean any sort of chaos or harm coming to a group of people. I don't see the use in pedantically hating on colorful language or simple literary devices.
Any editor that uses the word "slammed" in it's current cliche slang context, should be immediately fired.
The fact that you're defending that overwrought example of the degeneration of our media, and moreso, citing it as why this particular butchering of the English language is actually correct, is disheartening.
You can cite all of the other poorly written articles you want, stacking wrongs upon wrongs, won't make this right.
https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/carnage
- (figurative, slang) Any chaotic situation.
It also has slang usages, but I agree that in this context it shouldn't have been used in the headline.
Would certainly agree it is an interesting use of it. Although the mentioning of food poisoning meant that I assumed it was toilet bowl carnage.
Also I have an Oxford English Dictionary subscription through the library, and it looks like this term has been misused for a hundred years. In case someone is curious:
It's a quote. Those little things around the sentence have a meaning.
'It was Carnage': Students describe...
Fr. Bro seems to have no context awareness. Lol
You do understand the importance of editors in a newspaper, and their role in crafting headlines for articles....right?
Simply because a student said it, doesn't mean it should be included in a headline, especially if use misrepresents situation i.e. a battlefield or terrorist attack, and not everyone just shitting their guts out.
Editorial discretion and competence, it has meaning. Or, at least, it should.
I know it’s a stretch, and certainly not what the author intended - but flesh of slain animals could just a way to refer to cooked meat in whatever tainted meals caused the poisoning? 🤔