Associated Press writer Paul Newberry chronicles the sexual abuse U.S. Olympic swimmer Margaret Hoelzer endured as a girl.

In the article, Newberry refers to gold-medal speedskater Chris Witty, who was also a victim of childhood abuse. “Once she went public [about the abuse],” Newberry writes, “Witty was overwhelmed by the reaction. She was bombarded with letters and e-mails, all of them praising her for taking such a bold step. Total strangers came up to reveal their own cases of abuse.”

From a linguistics perspective, this is an awful paragraph. First, we’ve got the familiar phrase “overwhelmed by the reaction.” Let’s start with overwhelmed. To overwhelm means to turn over, to overcome by superior power. You can only overwhelm something if you’re beating it. (If you’re taken aback by an outpouring of support, you’re blown away or bowled over, surprised or stunned or encouraged.)

Then there’s reaction, which is a sudden response to a stimulus, such as shrieking or fainting. Letters and e-mails written to encourage someone who has been molested are not reactions; they are responses, measured and thoughtful.

Perhaps the most irksome phrase in the paragraph is “total strangers.” A stranger, by definition, is someone you have never met. Not once. You cannot be partial strangers. You’re either a stranger or not. The same goes for the word unique, which means to be the only one, without an equal. You either have an equal or you don’t. If you don’t, you’re unique. Not very unique. Not somewhat unique. Unique.