Is the expression “went missing” correct English?
Where are our wordsmith’s and is this correct? The first time I heard it was on TV– host Nancy Grace. She’s irritating. Maybe that’s why I dislike it so.
Favorite Answer
Q. In the last three or four years, I’ve noticed news media using the phrase “went missing” to describe a disappearance, as in, “A child went missing today” rather than “A child is missing today.” I have always assumed “went missing” to be informal slang or a colloquial expression, not a part of the more formal grammar generally used by the media. Have I missed a shift in “correct” grammar?
— Elaine Truver, Chicago
A. This is the most common question sent in by e-mail. A search of the LexisNexis news database suggests the use of “went missing” and “gone missing” has increased slightly but steadily over the last 10 years. But the phrase is well over a century old. In a column on “gone missing” last year, the New York Times’ William Safire quoted the BBC News Styleguide as saying, “`Go missing’ is inelegant and unpopular with many people, but its use is widespread. There are no easy synonyms.” At least not in news reporting, where the phrase is used specifically to describe a sudden and suspicious disappearance. “Is missing” doesn’t do the job. Incidentally, what about the BBC Styleguide’s seemingly redundant phrase “unpopular with many people”? So much for language fussiness! …
“went missing” is the simple past tense of sense 2. in my citation below.
