Update (Sunday 8:30pm): link to article removed, since the Times modified the story (although there is no evidence that the modification was due to their having learned their lesson about word usage!)
New York Times, today:
“It was 10 minutes before its scheduled departure,” said Mr. Kelly, who could not immediately say whether Mr. Strauss-Kahn was traveling alone or how soon before the flight he had purchased a ticket.
Error: use of “soon”
“Shortly” should be used instead. “Soon” means “occurring a short while after [the reference time, e.g. the time when Strauss-Kahn purchased the ticket]”
“Shortly” means “occurring a short while either before or after [the reference time]”
This is a common error though, and the folks at the New York Times are still learning, so we should cut them some slack.
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