Three perfect words become four, according to this piece in The Wall Street Journal.
Is “Report” really necessary? Isn’t it implied?
But why stop there?
Three words: Pitchers and catchers
Four words: Pitchers and catchers report
Five words: Pitchers and catchers report today
Six words: Pitchers and catchers report here today (local papers only)
Seven words: Pitchers and catchers report to spring training
Eight words: Pitchers and catchers report to spring training today
Nine words: Pitchers and catchers report to spring training here today
I could go on but you get the point.
Truth is, in print edition, editors like to stretch out the headlines to fill the horizontal space (much less so for online versions). It’s an art to convey the proper message giving such limitations.
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