"Frisky" Headline
Press-Republican, front page, Thursday, April 9, 2009:
"Gas-tank frisk at border reveals marijuana stash"
I didn't know that a gas tank could be frisked. Maybe this one was wearing clothing and the marijuana was detected during a pat down.
Unlike PR editors I have a dictionary at hand when writing. I try to be accurate with my word usage and definitions.
Most dictionaries define frisk (as used in the headline) as a quick tactile inspection of a suspect's clothing for concealed weapons or stolen articles. One dictionary said the word could be broadly used as a verb to mean searching quickly. If the headline writer meant frisk in the sense of a quick search, then the term is still incorrect. I suspect the inspection by the border officers was methodical, not cursory.
Or maybe the officers were frolicking and gamboling with the tank and that's how the stash was discovered.
"Gas-tank frisk at border reveals marijuana stash"
I didn't know that a gas tank could be frisked. Maybe this one was wearing clothing and the marijuana was detected during a pat down.
Unlike PR editors I have a dictionary at hand when writing. I try to be accurate with my word usage and definitions.
Most dictionaries define frisk (as used in the headline) as a quick tactile inspection of a suspect's clothing for concealed weapons or stolen articles. One dictionary said the word could be broadly used as a verb to mean searching quickly. If the headline writer meant frisk in the sense of a quick search, then the term is still incorrect. I suspect the inspection by the border officers was methodical, not cursory.
Or maybe the officers were frolicking and gamboling with the tank and that's how the stash was discovered.
posted by Luke T. Bush | 5:25 PM
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