At some point in my life, the phrase “deploy troops” became “boots on the ground.” The media and collective consciousness started saying “boots on the ground” whenever they talked of deployed troops. I remember noting how viral the phrase had become, almost as if commentators and social debaters felt it lent an air of legitimacy to what they were saying.
Last night I listened to the news for the first time in a long time. NPR was on in the car (I don’t drive much right now). The vaccine was the topic of discussion, specifically the discrepancy between production, delivery, and administering it. The expert being questioned said “shots in arms” whenever he referred to administering the vaccine to patients. He said it three times in less than 30 seconds. The host herself repeated the phrase at least twice after that. So now I expect a viral onslaught of “shots in arms.”
