Catch words and phrases are precisely what you likely think they are: catch-alls for the unwary, ignorant (for the most part) common herd.

Take, for instance, a recent usage that is designed to attract an unsuspecting clientele to a particular institution, one described by the public relations people simply as a &uot;wound care center.&uot;

Correct me if I’m wrong, but if I am wrong I’ve been suffering under the delusion for the past seven decades that hospitals always have served as &uot;wound care&uot; centers.

To magnify the results of some kinds of wounds undergone by the public, it is known that many of that number have been persuaded to seek relief at a designated treatment center.

Some such centers appear to have as their prime objective reaching into the public’s pocketbook.

A wound is a wound, and the first first-aid center you should patronize is at the nearest physician’s office or a hospital emergency room.

The above is but one instance of subliminal advertising, if you will, but the practice is widespread and has many applications.

Another ploy designed to woo and bamboozle the gullible public may be found in the implied infallibility of the see-all, know-all psychics who purport to tell you what the future bodes for you.

Their main claim to unerring sagacity is boosted by the so-call celebrities and VIPs who sing the praises of those charlatans.

The most recent celeb, to our knowledge, to come under the spell of those seers was Ronald Reagan’s First Lady, Nancy. Just a whisper of her fallibility in that area very likely was aped by numerous persons (male and female) throughout this great naton. Result: megabucks for the fakers.

As Doris Day says, &uot;Que sera, sera – whatever will be, will be.&uot;

Buster MacGuire is copy editor and columnist for the Greenville Advocate.

He may be reached by calling 334.382.3111.