The New York Times published an article on 12 November 2018 with the headline: In Florida Election Standoff, Judge Urges Parties to ‘Ramp Down the Rhetoric.’ What does ‘ramp down’ mean?
What is a ramp? The Free Dictionary defines ramp as ‘an inclined surface or roadway connecting different levels’ or a ‘mobile staircase by which passengers board and leave an aircraft.’ An inclined surface rises or falls – depending on which way a person is travelling. For example, the roadway inclined. Yet a declined surface or movement is a downward movement.
To ‘ramp down’ is definitely a downward movement, or a downward slope. The Collins Dictionary defines ‘ramp down’ as ‘to decrease or cause to decrease’ or ‘to decrease the effort involved in a process.’
What does the article say?
The seventh sentence explains that the judge, the chief circuit judge in Florida county in America, Jack Tuter, says, during the county’s recount of the 2018 mid-term election results, ‘I am urging, because of the highly public nature of this case, to ramp down the rhetoric.’ He adds, ‘We need to be careful what we say.’ This is because at least 10 lawsuits have been filed and people are ‘riled up.’
Well, what does ‘riled up’ mean and why does it have to be ‘ramped down’?
The Online Slang Dictionary defines ‘riled up’ as ‘angry.’ That’s it – just one word. Angry.
So, ramp down the riled up rhetoric means to tone down the angry rhetoric. A ramp is not a step – it is not a sudden step down. A ramp – depending upon the degree of the incline can be gradual or steep. If the incline is gradual, the ramping down will be slower than if the incline is steep.
But what is rhetoric?
The Meriam-Webster Dictionary defines rhetoric as ‘the art of speaking or writing effectively.’
So, ramp down the riled up rhetoric means to tone down the angry speaking or writing.
The article continues to describe the lawsuits and why people are angry. In one paragraph, the article states, ‘‘I don’t think you should underestimate the rhetoric,’ said Marc Elias, Mr. Nelson’s lawyer, referring to Mr. Scott’s fraud allegations’ … [it] ‘is, in fact, disruptive.’’ The article writes, ‘’Open the box!’ one woman shouted.’ Later, the article describes protesters ‘milling about’ and one using ‘expletives.’
‘Milling about’ is another phrase for ‘to move around in churning confusion’ according to the Free Dictionary, and ‘expletives’ are actually interjectory words – usually profanities. Yes, curse words, cuss words, swear words.
Scorecard for The New York Timesheadline is 99%. The article not only uses the phrase ‘ramp down the rhetoric’ but clearly builds a picture of angry protesters. Granted, there are many phrases and idioms in the one article (and I deduct 1% for that), but I think readers will definitely get the message – and know exactly what the judge was referring to.
I ignored the metaphor in the last sentence, and did not deduct further points (because it was such a great ending to the article). The concluding line is, ‘What people should be doing is, be happy that democracy happened in Bay County … regardless of a hurricane going through.’ What, a hurricane! A hurricane didn’t really go through – it was a metaphor for the turmoil and confusion. In fact, I should add 1% to the score because the person, the elections supervisor of Bay County, Mark Anderson, was indeed a wonderful example of ‘ramping down the rhetoric.’
MARTINA NICOLLSis an international aid and development consultant, and the authorof:- Similar But Different in the Animal Kingdom(2017), 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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