I recently read an article, the subject of which escapes me now, but what struck me was that silly phrase, "trending toward and increase." I know we like to turn nouns into verbs and make up words, but "trending towards an increase" is just plain stupid. Really. Trending is not a word. Sure, it's already wormed it's way into the vernacular and will probably join "ginormous" in the dictionary. It's not that I am against the growth of language, but the folly is definitely "trending toward an increase."
I think what it boils down to is people trying to sound more intelligent and scholarly than they obviously are! It would do them well to remember that the first rule of writing is to keep it clear, concise and accessible to your readers. Enough said!
