February 28, 2013
I've always been a fan of colorful language, especially when "choice words" are involved but there's one new - at least I think it's new - word or phrase or term or whatever that is not landing on my ear drums gracefully: Cray-Cray.
First of all, is that spelled correctly? Is it cray-cray or is it kray-kray? There's been confusion on the matter and I have yet to see an official Presidential Commission seek to identify my inquiry. Perhaps I could offer another spelling for you creative folk out there: Creigh-Creigh.
Over the years we've abbreviated words that don't need abbreviation. We even did this to newspapers. The Chicago Tribune became "The Trib." The Fort Worth Star Telegram is sometimes referred to as the "Star-T." That's fine, but if someone decided to ask for today's edition of the "Star-Star," I'm sure Bob Schieffer would be screaming.
I'm 28 going on 67. If you haven't yet noticed I'm bitter, drink too much scotch, and have what many in my generation would call a horrible taste in music. Therefore I, a member of the generation born in the early to mid 1980s, say the over-the-top-over-exaggerated abbreviations need to go. If you think it's cute, it's not. It really is, in a word, Cray-Cray.
Eric Bushman
