3 ms·
What do you mean?
by jwilk 5y ago
What do you mean?
- meowster 5y agoI think OP meant that "driving through Chicago" was pretty large/vague area for someone just trying to buy cigarettes. It's like saying I was driving through the United States to go to my local corner store. I wouldn't have thought about the poor writing if OP didn't mention it, but it is still a bit pedantic in my opinion.
- omnicognate 5y agoMore likely "it's said" - a claim that some unspecified people said something, expressed using a phrase people often interpret to mean "it is generally believed that..." or "there is a saying that goes...". GP sarcastically said sure "it's said" that x occurred, I heard it all the time as I was growing up. It's not good journalism. If someone said something, say who said it. If it's an anonymous source say so. "It's said..." in an article like this means "I vaguely think this has been said somewhere but I can't be bothered to check or quote my sources".
- meowster 5y agoThank you everyone (including OP) who clarified that it was "it's said".
- LeonB 5y ago“It’s said” — by whom?
- aaaaaaaaaaab 5y agoWeasel words: “it’s said”
- JackFr 5y agoThe sentence I quoted makes no sense in a news article. - The use of the passive “It’s said” has no business in a news item. Who said it? - Idiomatically “It’s said” is typically used to identify a bit of folk wisdom, not a particular incident. It’s terrible writing and it should appall a decent editor. This isn’t a blog post or a comment, it’s an item in an English language professional online publication. Do better.