r-e-s-p-e-c-t...

it's not what you think, but it's outrageous anyway. i'm not referring to your future loss of respect for me when i reveal that i love wendy's chicken products, brownies from a box, and kraft singles (each one of these un-foodie food loves is predicated on carefully-calibrated expectations that aren't really concerned with the pretentious gourmandism).

i'm referring instead to a matter of word choice - terribly poor word choice. i was reading a review of ko prime in the boston globe when i experienced a precipitous and large loss of respect for that newspaper: my brain registered having read the word "ginormous."* not only does this word look ridiculous, it's, well, not a word. if i were on the mit network and could check in the OED for you, i am 95% sure it would not be in the OED. seeing as a newspaper is a publicly accessible document that has wide readership, it's pretty much deplorable that (a) a writer would even think of using slang like that when any other word would suffice (say, "enormous") and that (b) the copy editor would not have caught that. and take note that the same sentence that contains the offending slang in it also contains the word "redolent." that is a real word, and one that could very well be describing food of some sort. "ginormous" is a word that a high schooler who doesn't know any better might use in passing conversation. "redolent" is not. i knew there was a reason why i don't read boston globe restaurant reviews. shame on you, boston globe.

*the offending word in its context:
Vegetable options include ginormous stalks of asparagus with hollandaise, and pea greens that are far too salty (a recurring issue here) but cooked perfectly and redolent of ginger; pea risotto, however, is overcooked.