“Former YouTube chief and Silicon Valley pioneer Susan Wojcicki died Friday at 56, after a two-year battle with non-small cell lung cancer.”
I’ve just read this in a non-frivolous newsletter put together by what I assume is non-new-to-journalism staff members.
What strikes me in this statement is the use of the adjective ‘non-small’ and my question is would the word ‘large’ not have adequately described the cell. Then I must consider whether non-small is an actual medical term.
Laziness in journalism
My gut tells me that is merely an indication of how lazy writers have become, taking the English language so for granted and butchering it for ‘descriptive’ purposes; I think not.
What is non-small? Would non-large apply just as well to illustrate that really the size of the cell is actually non-medium.
… The tale of Goldilocks and the Three Bears comes to mind, but she still made sense with not too hot, and not too cold when sampling the plates of porridge.
I despair.
Apprise or appraise: use the right word