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Words which sound like they mean something cooler than they actually do mean #1
March 5th, 2008 · No Comments Yet
1. incarcerate. I don’t know to what extent Amy Winehouse writes her own lyrics, but if you’re looking for proof of her gift with words look no further than her frequent, increasingly anguished shout-outs to her “Blake Incarcerated”. For Amy knows that, of all the myriad words available to describe her addled hubby’s condition, “incarcerated” has the hardest, coolest, and just sort of bestest ring to it. “Blake imprisoned”, “Blake jailed” or even the politically-current “Black detained” just wouldn’t have the same ring to it.
The truth is that “incarcerated” is far too funky a word to signify something as mundane as imprisonment. “To incarcerate someone” really sounds like you’re going to cut them open with a rusty razor and hang them with their own duodenum. Which may or may not be a suitable fate for Mr. Fielder-Civil, I don’t know…
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