NT
It reads as if people are rioting because their baths are dirty. Very odd, the word's just not needed.
The 'curse' of the BBC News Online headline 'quotes' strikes again:
Weird headline on this story. As with many of these types of incidents before, the 'scum' is a quote from someone involved (in this case, a government minister criticising the riots). I assume that it has been translated from Dutch, rather than being a direct quote, which makes it even odder to have a headline describing the events as 'scum riots'.
I have no opinion on the story itself one way or the other, just wondering whether it's an appropriate word to use in a headline without any real clarification. They need to get away from this 'style' of 'headline' writing. Something like "Dutch minister describes rioters as 'scum' as curfew remains" (but not that - you can see why I'm not a sub!) feels like it'd be more appropriate.
Weird headline on this story. As with many of these types of incidents before, the 'scum' is a quote from someone involved (in this case, a government minister criticising the riots). I assume that it has been translated from Dutch, rather than being a direct quote, which makes it even odder to have a headline describing the events as 'scum riots'.
I have no opinion on the story itself one way or the other, just wondering whether it's an appropriate word to use in a headline without any real clarification. They need to get away from this 'style' of 'headline' writing. Something like "Dutch minister describes rioters as 'scum' as curfew remains" (but not that - you can see why I'm not a sub!) feels like it'd be more appropriate.
It reads as if people are rioting because their baths are dirty. Very odd, the word's just not needed.