Chris Hansen’s blog

Actually, it’s a long-standing peeve, but I’ve not bothered to blog about it.

Until now.

I am constantly reading newpapers and hearing TV and radio news reporters say that “So-and-so was found on the floor” when so-and-so was actually found on the ground.

To me, except for the specialised usages of “sea floor” and “valley floor” or “crater floor”, the word “floor” implies that it is the surface of an area inside a building upon which you walk. The word “ground” means any surface outside a building on which you walk.

So someone found lying senseless outside a building would be said to be found “lying on the ground“.

However, the newspapers and other media insist on saying that they were found “lying on the floor“.

Am I old-fashioned? Should I be applying to take on Safire’s column in the New York Times? Has a “floor” become any surface, inside or outside, upon which you may walk?

Answers on a postcard, please.

This entry was posted on Thursday, April 9th, 2009 at 12:03 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.