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Stop ‘reaching out’ in case you fall

Perhaps the term was a replacement for the equally irritating ‘touching base’

Letters to the Editor. Illustration: Paul Scott
The Irish Times - Letters to the Editor.
Fri Aug 21 2026 - 06:00 • 1 MIN READ

Sir, – In support of Michael Clarke (Letters, August 15th) and Gerry Ryan (Letters, August 18th), I too wish to stop those who are continually “reaching out”, just in case they fall.

While I can’t claim to have evidence in support of this opinion, I strongly suspect that some PR guru was requested to find a replacement for the equally irritating term, “touching base”, this having been in use for a number of years. Perhaps the users of the said term realised that it had eventually hit the bottom. – Yours etc,

VINCENT HAYES,

Dungarvan,

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