Whenever I see a euphemism, it sets my teeth on edge — probably because as a plain speaker, I try to follow the late Roger Moore’s dictum that the essence of communication is to express your thoughts as clearly and succinctly as possible.
Here’s one that made me chuckle, however:
…you mean “sucked into”, of course. “Ingested” means taken or introduced into the mouth — one ingests the milk from a glass, or the medicine from a teaspoon, etc. Also, “ingest” is largely a transitive verb, in that it requires an agent to perform the action — turning it into the passive voice, as here, actually implies no agency — except that as we all know, jet engines “ingest” air in order to propel the aircraft body.
But the writer of the above wanted to try to avoid using the graphic word “suck”, and so resorted to a woolly euphemism.
This is not a hanging offense, of course, but a simple ball-kicking should suffice.
You could also state the headline as “Texas Airport Worker Clearly Ignored Every Safety Briefing Ever Before Decorating 200 Yards of Tarmac With Nugget-Sized Body Parts”, but maybe that’s too graphic for print.
Kinda gives a whole new meaning to the word “hoser” don’t it?
So, will the cleanup/repair costs to the plane be “extracted” from the victims estate?
Apparently the local coroner has ruled it a suicide, as in He was standing in front of a running jet engine and was supposed to know better.
https://www.al.com/news/2023/06/texas-airport-worker-ingested-into-engine-after-alabama-accident-died-by-suicide-official-says.html
…… or somebody’s already trying to avoid a massive worker’s comp claim and a fast lawyer.
The headline as it stands causes me to imagine a jet engine going ‘nom, nom, nom’.
I suppose he could have written ‘Airport Worker Imitates Syndrome From The Incredibles’.
Followed immediately by a Homer Simpsonesque belch with little airport worker bits flying out. LOLOLOL
Saw one story that stated the individual gave his keys and billfold/wallet to
a co-worker and walked directly toward the left engine intake on
the slowly turning / taxiing aircraft, so ………………..
One way to go out I suppose but certainly wouldn’t be my choice.
Prayers for the individual and family.
“Ingest” is the correct word for any foreign object pulled into a jet engine. The U.S. Navy and Marine Corps was using that word in the 1970s to refer to engine damage caused by loose objects. Usually pebbles or a stray nut or bolt, but occasionally a person who got too close to an intake.