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CNN et al. "Fresh violence"
You've seen it too? Journalists and headliners who use the word "fresh" to describe violence more recent than what was last reported? Has the old violence gone stale to the sensation connoissuer's blood lust? No fresh meat for the news cycle? Don't worry, there's been some "fresh" violence to consume. We'll show it to you. Look!
What are they thinking? "Fresh" almost always has a positive connotation when it means something is new. It speaks to unspoiled quality, to air we like to breathe and the like.
In its negative or slang usages, "fresh" describes a cheeky attitude, or at its worst, ill-presumed mutual consent to certain affections.
But to modify "violence" with it? That's a violation of the word and if you do that enough, you steep the language in negativity, and that's not refreshing at all.
How about simply putting the new date to the violence? It would be more factual and more useful for those comparing the reports with other current events and trying to make sense of them.
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