Is it "win over" or "win against"?

If AP has a style rule for "win against" instead of "win over," I can't find it.

 

OK, I am not the grammar or editing king by any measure, but we have all had those late Tuesday basketball nights where we are putting a ton of scores into a roundup. You write a quick lede for each score, but you need to be creative because how many different ways can you write "defeated?"

Since it's preps (and most times anyway), you try to stay away from drubbed, pounded, hammered, crushed etc...

So you have defeated, lost, won and the like, but how many times do you want to type "against" on a single page?


Funny how "lede" comes up as a misspelled word.

 

I once used laugher in a 7-0 prep soccer match. I was told, "never again."

Hey, the team that got beat was out of area.

 

I am wrong. It is not expressedly forbidden per the AP Stylebook, but it still sounds crappy.

From The Associated Press Stylebook:

"Mike Johnson scored 20 points in Podunk's win over BFE High" has nothing to do with a spatial relationship.

 

hahahahahahaha

damn outsiders from Shelbyville

 

The AP Stylebook on the word "over" simply says:

It generally refers to spatial relationships: The plane flew over the city.
More than is preferred with numerals: Their salaries went up more than $20 a week.

I think it's a stretch to suggest this entry is meant to preclude writers from describing a team's victory "over" another team. Words have multiple meanings. The AP entry itself says the word "generally" refers to spatial relationships. It doesn't say it always does or must. If we're going to take a hard line on "win over," there are lot of other words with multiple meanings that probably have to be eliminated because one of the meanings is not AP style "approved" for a completely different context.

 

Have we heard from a copy editor on this one yet? (Besides me, that is.)

And Terence, if you wanna be that flippant in regard to AP Style, that's opening a whole can of worms.

Why not just misuse the word outright?

 

The boxer had a strong left hand, but figured he could outright his opponent.

 

I know I am going to take a world of heat over this next comment. Maybe it's because my copy editing prof in college dropped the ball on me, but I think AP Style is very overrated.

I know. I know. There has to be form and rules to a paper.

But...

No one ever bought a paper or ended a subscription because of AP Style.

They end subscriptions because of not getting scores in, screwing up facts, lousy headline, terrible art, having your entire paper being filled with AP copy, boring writing, poor grammar, spelling errors, not giving proper coverage and cheap printing presses and ink(you know, black finger tips).

They buy the paper for the converse of what was listed above.

 

93, while I agree that readers (and most reporters, too) don't give two craps, I'm not a fan of letting anyone do anything they want, style-wise.

We need some standards as an industry, and AP has taken a lead (not lede ) on this.

 

I agree with everything you just typed.

Oh, I like lede over lead because I always read "lead" like it rhymes with "dead." It's just a quirk with me.

 

I don't see where I was being flippant about AP style. I was citing the AP rule, which says "generally." I think someone here is trying to make a rule out of a personal preference, which I see happen often.