SIX DEGREES OF IRRITATION
From... wait, do I really have to write that out?

• Ellen Degeneres was involved in a six degrees of separation drunk driving accident. Maybe she'll joke less about downing whiskey and driving around the parking lot? [Access Hollywood]

Theoretically, I suppose one could stretch and use the phrase 'six degrees of separation.' That would certainly be, um, unique, in that it implies that Ellen's car was hit by someone who was the ex-wife of Ellen's former co-star Jeremy Piven's agent, or something like that.

But in keeping with the rule of writing that says that reader comprehension is best served by clarity, I think they should have gone with the tried-but-true 'chain reaction.' That way, the reader doesn't have to read the link to figure out what's going on and we can leave Jeremy Piven's agent's ex-wife out of it.