The Weather Channel Makes Its Own "Impact"

Cheers to the Weather Channel which recently correctly used impacted (a past participle of the infinitive to impact).

A warmly dressed meteorologist warned motorists of poor driving conditions because of snowstorms in the Midwestern and Eastern United States:

"More roads will be impacted" said the cheerful woman speaking from a warm studio. Once more, impact means to fix firmly by packing or wedging, either literally or figuratively. In this case, the road has literally been struck by the "impacting body" of the snow forming a thick and hazardous layer.

Drive carefully!

"Impacted Global Market"? Stand Back Everyone!

Maria Bartiromo of CNBC was discussing the current pressure on credit markets, together with the collapse of housing prices and the possibility of "freeing up" capital if the Fed (Federal Reserve) were to lower interest rates. Bartiromo expanded the discussion to include other than domestic markets when putting a question to colleague Ron Insana:

"Ron, do you think we could see the global markets impacted"?

If Mr. Insana were to witness such a thing, he might prefer to stand back. Impact as a noun means: "collision, or the effect of such a force"; as a verb it means: "to press or wedge something firmly." (Oxford English Dictionary).

As a figure of speech, impact may carry the meaning: "the effective action of one person or thing upon another." (OED). Maria may be off the hook, if she were using the word figuratively, but let's see. She used the past participle form of impact, particularly as an adjective: impacted. Let's see what impacted means: "Pressed closely in, firmly fixed." A person might have an "impacted colon," ouch! or an "impacted tooth," ouch again! But even as a figure of speech, it would be difficult to imagine one market pressing in or wedging in another. In other words, by definition, we cannot suggest that America's credit crunch is an "action placed upon world markets."

Bartiromo possibly meant to say influenced. That is, America's credit crunch might influence world markets. If not "influenced," then other synonyms would work: sway, alter, bias, have an effect upon, or possibly even get away with: have an impact upon using "impact" as a noun, meaning "having a strong effect."