Stating the obvious

Jan Hoffman's article in the Times about suburban white people being laid-off, The Language of Loss for the Jobless , ends with a bizarre sequence of sentences that make me wonder if her reporter's notes got mistakenly posted on the website.

A PUBLIC tennis court in the suburbs reverberates with gruff thwacks, the players almost all middle-aged men and women. It is 10 a.m., on a Wednesday. “How’s it going?” “Tough.” “Yeah.”

Don’t ask? Ask? How? Three monosyllabic words — “How are you?” — take on a spectrum of inflections. Breezy (“How are ya’!”). Earnest (“How are you?” — sotto voce). Funereal (“How are you?”). And, more recently, they translate as polite code for, “Lose your job yet?”

Patty Nigro, a hairstylist in West Caldwell, N.J., whose salon chair can double as a therapist’s couch, says that these days, she doesn’t ask. “It’s a sad, sour time for people, and it’s a touchy subject,” Mrs. Nigro said. The appointment is their opportunity “to escape their worries, to have a treat.”

The hair salon as economic indicator: “The haircuts and hair color, those are the necessities because they’re looking for work,” Mrs. Nigro continued. “But all the extra feel-good things about yourself — the massages, the facials — those are being cut.”

Experts suggest that people take a gentle, open-ended approach: “ ‘Well, how are you doing, what’s new with you,’ ” recommended Ms. Baber, “Not, ‘Why are you here in the middle of the afternoon, are you taking the day off?’ ”

The replies can deflect or invite pity parties, create entree for further questions, provide cover.

The new euphemisms: “They freed me up for my future!” “I got a great severance package.” “I’m between successes!” “We’ve been a two-career family for so long that we decided one of us should stay home with the kids.” “I’ve decided to take my career in a different direction.” “I got tired of the commute so I’m working out of the house.”

Many people remain uncertain about whether a call intended to express concern will be interpreted as condescending or intrusive. But an investment banker from Manhattan who has seen many colleagues laid off recently recommended erring on the side of being helpful:

“Call! Say: ‘Hey, I have no idea what you’re going through or what you need, but I’d love to have coffee with you. Maybe there are a couple of introductions I can make,’ ” said the banker, Joshua Schwartz. “Even if you can’t be helpful or they don’t take your offer, it’s the right thing to do.”

Five colons within nine paragraphs?!

Whatever happened to integrating your quotes in with the story?