Cod digits and striped equids: new book celebrates media staple ‘the second mention’
Married monographers have collated sometimes absurd word choices through which journalists avoid repetitionWhat would you do with “cod digits”? Can you identify a “monochrome mammal”? And what on earth is an “unfortunate ungulate”? They are all attempts by journalists – either elegant...
<p>Married monographers have collated sometimes absurd word choices through which journalists avoid repetition</p><p>What would you do with “cod digits”? Can you identify a “monochrome mammal”? And what on earth is an “unfortunate ungulate”? They are all attempts by journalists – either elegant or absurd, depending on your outlook – to avoid repeating a noun already featured in an article. In the cases above, they are genuine journalistic attempts to describe fish fingers, a panda and a sheep stuck in a car.</p><p>Spotting examples of eye-catching “second mentions” became a hobby for couple Juliet and Matthew Maguire. They began collecting examples after Juliet encountered them during her journalism training. Their interest grew into a social media account, which became a lively exchange of the distinctive descriptors.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/media/2025/sep/07/cod-digits-and-striped-equids-new-book-celebrates-media-staple-the-second-mention">Continue reading...</a>
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