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About to Bail

By Roy Clark

I heard a member of Congress complain that headline writers were partly responsible for the failure of recent economic legislation by referring to it as a "bail out" plan. He argued that it should be called a "work out" plan. Another insisted on calling it a "rescue" plan. Once again, political change is bound up in a battle of words.

Remember when opponents of an immigration bill argued that it was an "amnesty" bill? (The word, it turns out, derives from "amnesia," as if illegal immigrants would be pardoned by the government.) First, argued opponents, "secure the borders." And look at the language gulf between "illegal aliens" and "undocumented workers." It almost sounds like the basis of a George Carlin comedy routine.

The term "bail out" has been used over the last few decades to describe government efforts to save a variety of institutions on the brink of financial failure, from Chrysler to New York City to the savings and loan industry.

But what exactly does "bail out" mean in these contexts? It probably comes from this definition: "to remove water from a boat by repeatedly filling a container and emptying it over the side." The idea is that the banking industry is a sinking ship, and to save it we must expel the water. An earlier meaning referred to a "bail" as the object you use for this job: a bucket, a jar, a can, even a human skull.

There is, of course, another meaning of "bail out," and it comes not from the nautical world, but from jurisprudence: "to secure the release of a prisoner by providing money as security." This meaning, says the American Heritage Dictionary, has been extended to cover release from all kinds of difficulty, as in "I'm always bailing you out of trouble."

So which is it? Is Congress trying to keep a ship from sinking? Or is it trying to get a prisoner out of jail? Or both?

And, of course, there is yet another meaning, which has worked its way into popular culture. "I'm gonna bail," meaning "I'm getting out of here," probably comes from the use of "bail out" to mean "jump out of an airplane." Often, that airplane is about to crash.

So no wonder proponents of the bill are worried about language. There are so many negative connotations associated with "bail out" that it became the simplest and sharpest weapon available to opponents.

So, reporters, just don't follow the money. Follow the language.

Full post as published by Writing Tools on October 01, 2008 (boomark / email).