In "Time" magazine this week there is an article on the Mansour district of Baghdad and commentary on the activities of some US soldiers on patrol. One sentence read, "...Heading to the base, the soldiers are venting their fear by ticking off a litany of ordinary objects that might be hiding a bomb..."

In UK English, "ticking off" can mean either a rebuke (the teacher ticked of the pupil for his bad behaviour) or completing a check-list. My first thought was that it was the latter that was meant but then I saw that it was a litany (in UK English a recital or a prayer with responses) that they were supposed to be ticking off.

Is my understanding of the meaning of the US expression "ticking off" wrong or is it my understanding of the US meaning for "litany" that's wrong? Or was the writer simply using language carelessly? We would maybe recite a litany of ordinary objects but wouldn't tick it off.

To tick off, in this case, means 'to make angry'. I've always thought it was somehow a euphemism for to piss off which means the same thing. One of the meanings of litany is 'a sizable series or set, e.g., a litany of problems' from M-W.

quote:

ticking off a litany of ordinary objects that might be hiding a bomb..."

I disagree, Z. I think in this case "ticking off" means "to make a list of". The word "litany" in this case is, I think, carelessly used. The author should have said, simply, "a list".

A "litany" is sometimes used as "a listing" but it implies that kind of "checklist" sort of thing, and makes this author's use of both together redundant, IMHO.

think in this case "ticking off" means "to make a list of".

You're probably right, because it's hard to make a list of objects angry.

quote:

ticking off a litany of ordinary objects

a litany can become quite tedious, and if it's a long list of ordinary objects...

edit, from OneLook quick def'n for litany:
any long and tedious address or recital (Example: "The patient recited a litany of complaints")

quote:

Or was the writer simply using language carelessly?

Or figuratively? I agree that it's a mixaphor, if you take the meanings literally, but if you think of the dreariness and hopelessness being expressed, and the endless weeks and months of fear involved, I think it's quite appropriate for them to tick off a litany.

Besides, haven't you ever sat in church and at least mentally ticked off the lines of a litany as it droned on and on? Especially when you were a kid?

For every conundrum we encounter on this board--
Lord grant us clarity. (Check)

For every misunderstanding caused by different interpretations of words--
Lord grant us charity. (Check)

For every mention of the word "epicaricacy"--
Lord grant us levity (Check)

For every time we tick somebody off--
Lord grant us invisibility. (Check)

For every time we've ticked off items in a litany--
Lord cut us a little slackity! (Check)
Amen

Wordmatic

quote:

For every mention of the word "epicaricacy"--
Lord grant us levity (Check)

___________________
.
.
..
...
.....
........



___________________________

This space was intentionally left blank.

Jerry, were you ticking off a list, or listing off a tick?

You were so subtle, it was hard to tell.

Perhaps Jerry was subtly reminding us about the golden ratio/rule

.............
.....................