# Epitome **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [February 1, 2006, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/epitome/342520 "2006-02-01T17:00:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2006, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/epitome/342520/1 "2006-02-01T17:00:07Z")
I have CNN on, and the talking head (I think it was Daryn Kagan) used the word ‘epitome’ in her story about the Superbowl. Only she pronounced it ‘epi-tome’. Mundane and pointless, but I hate it when people making gobs of money through communication mispronounce common words. ---
**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2006, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/epitome/342520/2 "2006-02-01T17:13:34Z")
…can’t. resist… The financial status of a person is completely besides the point when it comes to the quality of their electrocution. ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2006, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/epitome/342520/3 "2006-02-01T17:22:31Z")
> [@Inigo Montoya](#): > > …can’t. resist… > > The financial status of a person is completely besides the point when it comes to the quality of their electrocution. Been swapping out light switches again without cutting off the circuit breakers?? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Man\_With\_a\_Cat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/cab0a1/32.png) [@Man\_With\_a\_Cat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Man_With_a_Cat)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2006, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/epitome/342520/4 "2006-02-01T17:27:11Z")
> [@Inigo Montoya](#): > > …can’t. resist… > > The financial status of a person is completely besides the point when it comes to the quality of their electrocution. One almost ripped right from Norm Crosby: The other day, one of the local newscasters was talking about a crowd seeing someone, somewhere (I know, I was reading at the time and listening with one ear), and said that protesters were “intercoursed” throughout the crowd. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Philster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/13edae/32.png) [@Philster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Philster)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2006, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/epitome/342520/5 "2006-02-01T17:38:32Z")
Ugh. The one I always catch goes something like this from reporters and anchors: “The former owners literally watched their homes and dreams sink into the ground”. Wow, a dream is quite an abstract thing. To actually see some sinking into the ground must be something. Ugh. Weather Idiots, including “Meterologists”: “Well, Jim, it will be unseasonably warm today. Our normal high is 37 degrees, but we’ll get above our normal high to a balmy 45.” Wow, it is normally 37?! Now that must be amazing. Maybe, just maybe, the AVERAGE is 37 on this date, which would imply that anything from 25 right on up to 48 is probably right in the ‘normal’ **range**. Gee, and what do you know…if you look at temps over the years, they are all over the place. That is what living in an area like the NE United States is all about! ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2006, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/epitome/342520/6 "2006-02-01T17:50:59Z")
> [@Johnny L.A.](#): > > Mundane and pointless, but I hate it when people making gobs of money through communication mispronounce common words. I bet she was misusing the word anyway–everyone does. (It means a _representative_ example, not the finest example.) ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2006, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/epitome/342520/7 "2006-02-01T18:23:04Z")
maybe Epi-tome means the “best, apex” of something, whereas the normally-pronounced “Epitome” merely means the best _example_ of something 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2006, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/epitome/342520/8 "2006-02-01T18:32:00Z")
Weather spouters, when explaining an animated forecast map, often say, “and the storm will be moving on off to the east.” Will it move on, or move off? Make up your mind. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2006, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/epitome/342520/9 "2006-02-01T18:35:26Z")
> [@AskNott](#): > > Weather spouters, when explaining an animated forecast map, often say, “and the storm will be moving on off to the east.” Will it move on, or move off? Make up your mind. I haven’t noticed this as a general thing. But I did notice that a weather guesser either on CNN or KIRO (Seattle) said ‘moving on off’ very frequently. It got on my nerves. I haven’t heard the phrase recently though. ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2006, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/epitome/342520/10 "2006-02-01T20:24:57Z")
> [@Biffy the Elephant Shrew](#): > > I bet she was misusing the word anyway–everyone does. (It means a _representative_ example, not the finest example.) The, even if people pronounced it correctly, it would still be erroneous to say “_the_ epitome,” instead of “_an_ epitome?” ---
**Author:** ![Lionne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Lionne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lionne)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2006, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/epitome/342520/11 "2006-02-01T22:05:17Z")
> [@QuickSilver](#): > > Been swapping out light switches again without cutting off the circuit breakers?? 😃 I know there’s a joke here somewhere about turning off the power with a potato and a left-handed monkey wrench, but I can’t find it. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Excalibre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/898d66/32.png) [@Excalibre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Excalibre)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2006, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/epitome/342520/12 "2006-02-01T23:37:43Z")
> [@Slithy Tove](#): > > The, even if people pronounced it correctly, it would still be erroneous to say “_the_ epitome,” instead of “_an_ epitome?” Of course not. Have you ever heard anyone say “an epitome”? Jesus. ---
**Author:** ![Ghanima](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Ghanima](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ghanima)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2006, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/epitome/342520/13 "2006-02-02T00:18:50Z")
> [@Philster](#): > > The one I always catch goes something like this from reporters and anchors: > > “The former owners literally watched their homes and dreams sink into the ground”. > > Wow, a dream is quite an abstract thing. To actually see some sinking into the ground must be something. Actually, that is a perfectly acceptable use of the word. The odd part is that in that sentence it is being used in BOTH senses of its meaning, which are opposite. > **[Definition of LITERALLY](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/literally)** > > in a literal sense or manner: such as; in a way that uses the ordinary or primary meaning of a term or expression; —used to emphasize the truth and accuracy of a statement or description… See the full definition And I’ve never heard anyone use “epitome” in the sense of being the best. I’ve only heard it used in the sense of being typical or a perfect example. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Scrivener](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@The\_Scrivener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Scrivener)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2006, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/epitome/342520/14 "2006-02-02T00:39:38Z")
It sounds like the newsreader was not exactly the valetudinarian of her class – or she wouldn’t have grown up to be so pneumonic. 😃 Strangely enough, that actually parses more or less, if not with the meaning it may initially seem to possess. ---
**Author:** ![amarinth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3be4f8/32.png) [@amarinth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarinth)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2006, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/epitome/342520/15 "2006-02-02T02:37:58Z")
> [@Philster](#): > > Ugh. > > The one I always catch goes something like this from reporters and anchors: > > “The former owners literally watched their homes and dreams sink into the ground”. > > Wow, a dream is quite an abstract thing. To actually see some sinking into the ground must be something. Hey, if my home started to sink into the ground, I might start ingesting substances that would allow me to watch my dreams sink, too. ---
**Author:** ![Tikki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/5daacb/32.png) [@Tikki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tikki)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2006, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/epitome/342520/16 "2006-02-02T03:04:28Z")
> [@Johnny L.A.](#): > > I haven’t noticed this as a general thing. But I did notice that a weather guesser either on CNN or KIRO (Seattle) said ‘moving on off’ very frequently. It got on my nerves. I haven’t heard the phrase recently though. Funny, I was thinking of Jeff Renner on KING (also Seattle) when I read that. Though I can’t be sure it was him. Years ago, Half-Price Books ran a series of commercials where the owner of the stores (or the actor who claimed to be the owner of the stores) would pitch various books. In one of them, he was pitching the latest one by Michael Chrichton. He pronouced the last name exactly as it is spelled. Seems someone who deals in books every day should have known better. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2006, 5:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/epitome/342520/17 "2006-02-02T05:17:56Z")
> [@Tikki](#): > > Years ago, Half-Price Books ran a series of commercials where the owner of the stores (or the actor who claimed to be the owner of the stores) would pitch various books. In one of them, he was pitching the latest one by Michael Chrichton. He pronouced the last name exactly as it is spelled. Seems someone who deals in books every day should have known better. A few years ago I was listening to KCRW during a pledge drive. Ruth What’s-Her-Name was saying that for a certain amount, the contributing person would receive the ‘Ruth Pack’ of CDs. One of the albums included was by Michelle Shocked. Ruth kept pronouncing it ‘Michelle Shock-ed’. I called the station and told the person who answered the phone to please tell Ruth that it’s ‘shocked’, not ‘shock-ed’. ‘Like shell shocked. Get it?’ Next time Ruth went on the air with her ‘Ruth Pack’ she pronounced it ‘shocked’. ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2006, 5:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/epitome/342520/18 "2006-02-02T05:52:03Z")
> [@Ghanima](#): > > Actually, that is a perfectly acceptable use of the word. The odd part is that in that sentence it is being used in BOTH senses of its meaning, which are opposite. > [http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/literally](http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/literally) I know it’s entered common usage, but i just don’t buy Merriam-Webster’s sense #2 for “literally.” If it really were intended as “hyperbole intended to gain emphasis,” there might be an argument to be made, but it seems to me that it’s too often just thrown in because the person doesn’t know what else to say. As Brian Garner says in his _Dictionary of Modern American Usage_: > [@](#): > > When used for _figuratively_, where _figuratively_ would not ordinarily be used, _literally_ is distorted beyond recognition. > [@Ghanima](#): > > And I’ve never heard anyone use “epitome” in the sense of being the best. I’ve only heard it used in the sense of being typical or a perfect example. I’ve seen it used quite often in this way, especially in the media.