Repeat after me: SMASH AND GRAB/BAG-SNATCHING
A couple of months ago I wrote about how our newspapers are helping to feed mistakes into the language by giving them the stamp of officialdom.
I used ‘snatch and grab’ as an example, because The Times loves this so.
I don’t think the people who use this expression ever stop to think that ‘snatch’ and ‘grab’ mean the same thing.
The correct expression is SMASH AND GRAB. It’s used for the looting of the contents of shop-windows or cars: you smash the glass and you grab the stuff.
But here in Malta, The Times uses the expression to describe a very different crime: BAG-SNATCHING.
We have very few cases of ‘smash and grab’ in Malta. The term The Times needs here is ‘bag-snatching’.
‘Snatch and grab’ does not exist in idiomatic English. You either snatch or you grab. They both mean the same thing.
Here we go again.
timesofmalta.com, today
Judge highlights damage of ‘snatch and grab’ cases to tourism industry
The damage of snatch and grab cases to the tourism industry was this morning highlighted in court by Mr Justice Joseph Galea Debono, a former chairman of the Malta Tourism Authority.
Sitting in the Criminal Court of Appeal Mr Justice Galea Debono heard how Victor Buttigieg had been jailed for eight months after he was found guilty of holding two Dutch women and stealing their handbags, handling stolen property and driving without a seatbelt.
Mr Justice Galea Debono reduced the jail term by two months but said that the Court had to consider the enormous damage such snatch and grab cases did to tourism industry, neutralising the country’s efforts to promote and advertise the country at a considerable expense.
16 Comments Comment
Leave a Comment
They meant Snatch and run perhaps? However I congratulate Mr Galea Debono for the statement.
I beg to disagree. They meant Snatch and Grab. Read carefully “he was found guilty of holding two Dutch women and stealing their handbags,”…
He snatched the two Dutch women, and then grabbed their handbags…
ciicio2010, ‘snatch’ is what the SAS do, not amateur robbers.
Nope, they probably meant grab a snatch…
He was found guilty of holding two Dutch women. What’s the penalty for holding a Maltese one?
You actually get a refund…
In Australia, ‘snatch and grab’ refers to take away food. See http://www.sallybernstein.com/travel/oceania/glossary_australia.htm. here in Malta it’s a crime!
This is not an excerpt from The Times or Maltastar.com
“Who Stole Wally Wang’s Apple Farm?
“Snatch-and-Grab Laptop Thefts”
by Wally Wang
I was with a friend, sitting on the outdoor patio of a Starbucks in Tempe, Arizona, when a young black man ran over, snatched my laptop off the table, and ran off with his friend into traffic, dodging cars as they escaped with my Mac Book. As I watched him and his friend run off with my Mac Book, I immediately realized what I had done wrong, and now I’d like to share those thoughts with others so they don’t lose their laptops to a similar snatch-and-grab theft.”
‘Smash-and-grab’ is something else. Looting.
[Daphne – It would be you, Chief Parrot in the Labour Cage, to go to white trash America as your source of guidance on language.]
There is a psychological reason why you called me ‘Chief Parrot etc’ it’s an emotional outburst when you feel angry, frightened, outraged and desperate.
[Daphne – Actually I’m renowned for my patience with weirdos. And I’ve been taught to be kind to old men, even those who vote Labour, though I draw the line at Mintoff.]
“Who Stole Wally Wang’s Apple Farm?
“Snatch-and-Grab Laptop Thefts”
by Wally Wang
Who is Wally Wang? Something tells me that an American by the name of Wang is not an authority one would consult with regarding the correct use of English expressions. Americans did enough damage to the language as it is!
Instead of going into yet another controversy, why can’t someone consult with Kurt Farrugia and get a definite ruling from him?
Just for the heck of it I Googled ‘Snatch-and-Grab’ and came up with no definitions but one link which caught my eye was titled, “SNATCH AND GRAB! Gay and lesbian event!”.
Yeah, we all know what a snatch is.
And with a name like “Wally” to boot.
Today’s print issue of The Times has no mention of what they wrote online yesterday, thus Daphne’s version has been verified as correct. Cheers.
…my correction – they mention “bag snatching” and not “snatch and grab”! Well done Daphne.
Oh look Daphne… the people from the Times do get a sneak at this blog: http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20100326/local/bag-snatching-harms-tourism-judge-says
The Times is catching up quick:
“from the unused factory, Aluminium Exclusions”
Exclusions?!
Or maybe the factory was actually named that, which would explain why it is now unused.
http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20100326/local/father-and-sons-charged-with-theft