I’m not even bothering to link to the article because it is completely unimportant for the point I want to make. Here’s the quote:

Yesterday over at Grantland, my friend Jonah Keri…

“My friend.” Those two words add nothing to the story. They don’t add clarity, they don’t add insight. All they are meant to do is remind the reader that this author circulates in a much more rarified air than do we. The author, because he knows Jonah Keri [1], is important.

I hate it when people do stuff like this. If you ever catch me doing it, please call me on it.

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[1] Whoever the hell Jonah Keri is.