The Meaning of Headlines: 'worse for wear'

The UK Mirror published an article on 6 December 2016 with the headline: Kate Moss looks worse for wear as she parties after glamorous British Fashion Awards. What does ‘worse for wear’ mean? The image shows Kate Moss, the model.

The Free Dictionary by Farlex defines ‘worse for wear’ as a euphemism for ‘intoxicated’ – too much alcohol. A euphemism is an indirect word, usually used when the writer or speaker wants to be polite. The American Heritage Dictionary of Idioms defines the phrase ‘worse for wear’ as ‘in poor physical condition.’ Cambridge Dictionary defines ‘worse for wear’ as ‘tired or in poor condition because of a lot of work or use.’ Let’s read the article.

The first sentence says, ‘Kate Moss appeared a little worse for wear as she partied into the night after this year’s British Fashion Awards.’

The article adds that Kate Moss was spotted (seen) leaving a celebrity hotspot (popular nightclub) ‘after what seemed to have been a long night. ‘Although she kept up her usual sense of style, her appearance wasn’t quite matching her red carpet sizzle from earlier in the evening,’ said the article. The article adds later, ‘Kate, 42, looked ever so less classy as she appeared to stumble and baulk at the cold temperature.’

The article mentions the phrase ‘worse for wear’ only once – and once is enough. However, from the article, and image, readers can see that Moss is not her usual catwalk model elegance. The article makes no reference to alcohol consumption, only to her ‘poor physical condition.’ In this case the physical condition is the state of her clothes and her stumble. With the use of the phrase ‘a long night’ there is a suggestion of Moss being ‘tired.’

The Scorecard for the Mirror headline is 95%. Credit goes to the article for not jumping to too many conclusions about Kate Moss and her level of intoxication or tiredness or ‘worse for wear’ state. But there are sublte nuances and suggestions. The article lets readers make their own conclusions by looking at the unflattering images of the model.

Of course the headline is also a reflection of the clothes that Moss wears as a fashion model. So credit again goes to the article for its second sentence: ‘The supermodel has earned a reputation as one of the ultimate ‘party girls’ over her 28 year career in the industry, and she still looked as stylish as ever on Monday.’ So the ‘worse for wear’ is, in this article, a statement of her looking a little less glamorous than usual, but nevertheless still stylish.

http://www.mirror.co.uk/3am/celebrity-news/kate-moss-looks-worse-wear-9401275

MARTINA NICOLLS is an international aid and development consultant, and the author of:- The Shortness of Life: A Mongolian Lament (2015), Liberia’s Deadest Ends (2012), Bardot’s Comet (2011), Kashmir on a Knife-Edge (2010) and The Sudan Curse (2009).

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