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Keller @ Large: What's A 'Glitch' And What's Not

BOSTON (CBS) - It's been around for nearly 40 years, so maybe the manipulative, dishonest modern-day usage of the word "glitch" just snuck up on us.

But after Wednesday's glitch-fest, with United Airlines, the New York Stock Exchange, and the Wall Street Journal website all going down at around the same time, it's time to renew our understanding of what a "glitch" is – and what it isn't.

Webster's defines a glitch as simply "a mishap," which sounds about as serious as your kid spilling his tonic in the back seat. Dictionary.com is harsher; they say a glitch is "a defect or malfunction in a machine or plan."

Which definition fits what happened Wednesday? Did the IT departments at United, the Journal and the Exchange screw up, or did they just accidentally spill their tonic?

This matters, because all sorts of things get dismissed as "glitches" these days that seem a lot more serious than the term implies.

For instance, I keep hearing the repeated meltdown of the nuclear arms negotiations with Iran referred to as a "glitch in the talks," as if John Kerry and his counterparts all spilled their tonics at once. We're told the health care Connector website is still plagued by "glitches," perhaps in the hope that furious customers will realize that man-made catastrophe is actually an Act of God.

What's next, being told Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner split up because of a "glitch" in their marriage? This is so 2015, a culture-wide effort to euphemize stupidity and venality.

Too bad Dr. Seuss died in 1991.

If he were around today, he might write a book called "How the Glitch Stole Candor."

Listen to Jon's commentary:

You can listen to Keller At Large on WBZ News Radio every weekday at 7:55 a.m. You can also watch Jon on WBZ-TV News.

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