When these words appear on Thursday afternoon, I will have landed in Croatia and be happily ensconced in a hotel in Zagreb, awaiting tomorrow’s arrival of my group for another Smithsonian Journey’s tour—“Pearls of Croatia and Slovenia.” If I am lucky, I will be asleep (sleep being elusive for the first half of every tour).
Apparently, there’s a heat wave in Croatia, but the temperature will drop this weekend to below-average for early September. Temperature swings complicate packing. In fact, any packing is tough for me. Poor Hank regularly says to me: “Why don’t you keep a set of travel clothes and cosmetics in a suitcase, put it to the side, adjust it seasonally, and stay ready to go?”
A beautiful idea—an ideal approach, really. If you know me, you realize there is zero chance this will ever happen.
Meanwhile, in the category of random things swirling in the brain (in between packing anxiety), I’d like to take up two phrases that, frankly, are driving me nuts. The first has two words and starts with r: reach out, as in “I will reach out to you.”
This phrase once meant that an individual or agency would extend itself deliberately to meet someone else’s need. You would “reach out” to a bereaved neighbor sunken in grief. You would “reach out” to a church or community group for help with a worthy cause. And, yes, the words “Reach Out and Touch Someone” became a wildly popular jingle in the 1970s, promoting the attractiveness of more long-distance calling in a day when such calls were expensive and undertaken judiciously. Also, let us not forget Diana Ross’s gentle song “Reach Out and Touch Somebody’s Hand,” released in 1970. For all of these meanings, “reach out” worked perfectly well.
But now? Seriously, I don’t know what you hear, but in my life, this verbal construct sounds continuously as a replacement for words that once held up the English language: I will . . .
contact you
call you
get back to you
inform you
let you know
confirm
apprise you
see what I can do
be in touch
find out
report back to you
keep you posted
research
investigate
take action
take care of it
Shall I keep going?
The worst part, for me, is the quasi-saccharine tone that tends to accompany the expression “reach out.” Of course, I could be exaggerating that since I don’t like the proliferation of the phrase.
Am I being curmudgeonly? Should I not rejoice that I am talking to a real person who is willing to help (at least I think it’s a real person, as opposed to an AI conglomerate replicating a real person)?
I am glad of aid, but, still, I do not want the librarian to “reach out” when a requested book has been returned. I do not need the hairdresser to reach out if an appointment opens on Tuesday. When inquiring why I’ve been double-charged for August’s water bill, I don’t want someone to reach out and touch me. I want the reacher-outer to investigate the problem, solve it, and let me know it’s solved!
Each of the different phrases above has a different shade of meaning. Not one of them invokes a saccharine association or becomes a trite phrase that clogs up the ear. In short, there needs to be integrity in how a language is used.
A gaping suitcase is calling me (I did not write “reaching out to me”). You’ll have to wait to a future post to hear my second complaint.
Carol,
You and I must be fellow curmudgeons. I agree with the changing of phrases that work perfectly well. We used to “call”, “contact”, or all those other phrases you used.
The other phrase that has driven me nuts for a while is “moving forward”. Is it just because it is fewer words? What happened to “from now on”, or the more formal “from this day forward”?
Politicians seem to start these, perhaps using them to separate them from the herd, so to speak.
Carol, if you need me, you can count on me to reach out to you. Have a safe trip, and get some rest!
Bob LeFevre
I agree completely. That phrase has annoyed me for some time
I am glad to be the third person to say I agree with you, Carol. Here goes: I agree with you. I could list other phrases that drive me just a little bit nuts, too, but I’ll just mention this one: Would everyone please quit telling me that I’m fine? When I say to a waitress or hotel clerk, “Excuse me, could you please do x, y, or z?” I’d like him or her to say, “Certainly” or “At your service, ma’am” or “Right away,” instead of “You’re fine.” After all, how does he or she know how I’m doing anyway? Thanks for listening. I feel better already.
Unfortunately language continues to change and we could all come up with phrases, incorrect use of grammar ( the loss of adverbs really bugs me like slow for slowly), and uses of words like your example that are inappropriate and offensive to our ears as the previous connotations of the words or phrases are unknown by that user. Does it show ignorance? Perhaps, but to me it shows me how old I am and how much information and knowledge has passed through my brain which the younger person has missed out on!
Wish I was on your tour!
“reach out” A pet peeve of mine, also. I prefer call, text or email.
Happy and safe travels!