Of the many and varied benefits of having a blog, one of the most richly satisfying is the ability to get pet peeves off one’s chest by announcing them to the world. And so, I present Blog Goliard’s inaugural Pet Peeve of the Week:

• Sportscasters’ use of the word “within”

This particular broadcasting commonplace has landed on my ears with a clang for as long as I can remember. (Which would be since round about February, but that’s not important right now.) If someone tells you that the nearest gas station is “within” five miles of here, you would expect it to be, oh, somewhere between three and five miles of here, right? But in any event, less than five miles. If someone tells you that they live “within” the city limits, you would expect their house to be inside of said limits, yes?

So when a sportscaster tells me that, say, the Edmonton Oilers have pulled to “within a goal” of the Carolina Hurricanes, my first thought is: “All right, they’re less than one goal behind now!” Followed by: “Wait a minute, it’s impossible to be behind by less than a goal.” And then: “I’ve really got to blog about this pet peeve sometime.”

So now I have.

Not only that, but I’ve set myself up nicely for next week’s pet peeve: “Pedants who object to niggling details of English usage.” Sweet.