Wednesday, 4 July 2012

Too good?

It is Wimbledon 2012 and suddenly everything is "too good". That first serve was "too good", that cross court backhand was "too good", that powerful volley was "too good", etc. I can only imagine that the cucumber sandwiches in the members' lunchroom were likewise "too good", as was the enthusiasm of the fans on Henman Hill.

Now I am hardly an expert on the history and development of the English vernacular, but it strikes me that this particular phrase has only recently come into vogue. Certainly I have not heard it used as often before as I have by commentators during this year's Championships.

The problem is this: once you start zooming in on a certain phrase, because it strikes you as odd or it seems out of place, you start losing the wider meaning of what's being said. In the case of the Wimbledon commentary, it then comes down to counting the number of times the phrase "too good" is being used by the commentators, rather than benefiting from their insights into the game.

It's really too bad.