What is it with headline writers and the phrase \u2018set to\u2019? Is there something in their contracts that says they must use the two-word phrase on every possible occasion?<\/p>\n
If you Google \u2018set to\u2019 you are likely to find that the first umpteen pages of results are recent headlines from online and print publications.<\/p>\n
Prices are set to rise. Film stars are set to wed. Records are set to be broken.<\/p>\n
Singers are set to excite. Cycling is set to get safer. Commuters are set to suffer. And I am set to say: Enough is enough!<\/p>\n
Of the 18 headlines on the home page of a recent edition of a well-known news site, seven included the phrase \u2018set to\u2019. I won\u2019t name and shame the site. It wouldn\u2019t be fair. There are too many other publications that are just as bad. Or possibly worse.<\/p>\n
There was even a recent press release from the New Zealand Government with the headline \u2018High-powered air guns set to require licence\u2019.<\/p>\n
The first paragraph credited the Police Minister with announcing that \u2018high-velocity air guns are set to require a firearms licence\u2019. Difficult, I would have thought. Although by the second paragraph the Minister may have reached a similar conclusion. It was now \u2018people who own and possess\u2019 the guns who would be set to require a licence.<\/p>\n
Personally, I would like to think that sub-editors everywhere are set to stop relying quite so heavily on \u2018set to\u2019. But maybe I am just set to be disappointed. – Jack Scrivano<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" What is it with headline writers and the phrase \u2018set to\u2019? Is there something in their contracts that says they must use the two-word phrase on every possible occasion? If you Google \u2018set to\u2019 you are likely to find that … Continue reading