Cross about over use of the word heroic

And of course it has done his profile no harm at all!

I hope he reads it.

So nice of you to say so.

And so quickly!

I think it was very kind of Mr Walliams to swim all that way in mucky water in order to raise funds for charity.

Baggy, I think it depends on what the so called "publicity stunt" actually is.

I think if it involves courage, strength of character, and endurance of physical pain and fatigue, then it can be fairly called heroic.

There are easier ways to gain publicity than swimming the whole length of the Thames. And please don't say you weren't referring to that, because it is obvious you were.

What they mean of course is Brave (when they use heroic) but it doesn't really have a ring to it does it. Courageous too long for a headline.

However, this also happens the other way round. People use decimated – meaning destroying one out of every ten – to describe something that has been nearly or completely wiped out.

Of course, sometimes people also ascribe a meaning to a word that it does not have. Argument and criticism are called coruscating which, if they are particularly witty, they may be. But it is not sparkling or glittering that it usually meant but corrosive and bitter.

In other words maxgran I agree with you.

There are lots of words and phrases people use which are just going overboard.
My grandchildren say they are 'starving' when they feel hungry
I often hear 'exhausted' used by people who are tired,..and something mildly unpleasant being described as 'disgusting'
Also 'devastated' when disappointed.

I think words can be powerful and used more carefully !

he·ro   [heer-oh] Show IPA
noun, plural -roes; for 5 also -ros.
1.
a man of distinguished courage or ability, admired for his brave deeds and noble qualities.
2.
a person who, in the opinion of others, has heroic qualities or has performed a heroic act and is regarded as a model or ideal: He was a local hero when he saved the drowning child.

I think people can be heroic in many ways, not just military ones, but those too – from peacefully opposing the repressive regime in Burma and enduring prison without becoming embittered or revengeful to disabled servicemen walking to the North Pole to raise money for injured comrades. And yes, David Walliam's courageous, if crazy swim in the Thames sewer.

What do people feel about its use to describe people who raise money for charity? Is that heroic, or a publicity stunt to raise awareness of a good cause?

In ancient Greece a hero who someone who had superhuman abilities but was not immortal. They had one human parent and one who was one of the gods or goddesses.

So all our children must be heroes, as all of us on Gransnet are obviously goddesses (and gods)

The media love to just cause unnecessary hysteria! They use both terms way too lightly to make the articles sound exciting.

Yes I totally agree, the same goes for the term 'tragedy', very overused and in danger of being devalued.

Totally overboard. Should not be applied to sport.