Manicured, sprawling, pampered

A Law of Journalese requires that all lawns of ritzy homes must be described as “manicured.” This law is faithfully upheld, and you will be certain to see it used regularly in the future when describing Donald Trump’s home and neighborhood in Palm Beach, Florida. A page one, Boston Globe story, Jan. 14, 2017, headlined “The biggest threat to Trump’s Mar-a-Lago? Climate Change” has the obligatory “manicured,” with supporting journalese of sprawling estates and pampered gardens:

“PALM BEACH, Fla. — In recent years, George and Izabela Buff have watched as more tides climb the sea walls, seep across the manicured greens, and creep toward the hedgerows, ever closer to their columned home.
“Few places are as vulnerable to the rising seas as this tony barrier island, a narrow, 16-mile strip of sprawling estates and pampered gardens between the Atlantic Ocean and Lake Worth. The advancing ocean has already cost residents here millions of dollars, and will probably exact a far greater toll in the years to come, town officials say.”