TYCOONS PROTEST INNOCENCE -- Our Munich correspondent objected to this headline, with good reason. While technically correct, in the sense that the verb "protest" means "to make a solemn or earnest declaration," or to testify in favor of something, its usual connotation carries a negative sense, as in objecting. Better choices would be claim, proclaim, or profess.
TWISTED -- When CNN was reporting on the Dallas tornadoes (not a sports team), the weather anchor noted that because the storms hit a metropolitan area, this "enhanced the damage." True enough, but typically, the term "enhance" carries a positive sense. Munchen-man called it a brain-stopper, because "it did not sound like a good combination of words." He's right. Readers and listeners should never be forced to stop and consider the meaning and intention of the message.
GLEANINGS of an Itinerant Speller -- This one bites. The faux diamond sales catalog praised its Princess Anastasia ring and wondered whether the missing heiress managed to escape her captors and "flea imperial Russia."
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