Is 'Checkered' used when you blur out someone's face?

[Mehrgan]

Hi there,

Can we use the words 'checkered' or 'checked' when someone's face is blurred out in a photo out of respect or privacy?

 

[TheParser]

***** NOT A TEACHER *****



Hello, Mehrgan:

Maybe you are looking for the verb "to pixilate." (My dictionary gives two other spellings.)

Just the other morning, I turned on my TV and saw a report of a pilot who had been shot down over ____. They showed his face, but the picture had been pixilated below the waist. I can only guess that in being shot down, the pilot had lost part of his clothing, or maybe his captors had stripped him.


James

 

[Mehrgan]

That's exactly what I meant! Unfortunately I saw the same picture...!

(And, just in case, are the the spellings 'pixelated/pixellated' common too?

 

[Jill Dorchester]

It is properly spelled "pixelation" in AmE and "pixellation" in BrE. It derives from the word pixel, which is a portmanteau of "picture" and "element", to describe the smallest single component of a digital image. To pixelate a photo (so as to "blur" the image) means to display an enlarged area of the bitmap.

The old stop-motion type of cinematography in which actors or objects were posed and photographed frame-by-frame was called "pixillation" in BrE, because the resulting film images appeared to be possessed by pixies.

 

[TheParser]

(And, just in case, are the the spellings 'pixelated/pixellated' common too?

***** NOT A TEACHER *****


Hello, Mehrgan:

I know what a serious student of English you are, so I think that you will NOT be offended if I respectfully make a comment.

In my opinion, the phrase "just in case" does not seem appropriate in your sentence.

I would feel more comfortable with "And, by the way, are the ...?"


James

 

[Mehrgan]

Thanks for the time and energy you put into this. I truly appreciate it!

(Now I realise I didn't/don't know how to appropriately use the expression. I meant to say, '...and just to make sure I've fully got your point...', and I ended up making that mistake.)

Thanks again!

 

[Rover_KE]

...are the the spellings 'pixelated/pixellated' common too?

You could just say 'The face has been obscured'.