Monday, March 28, 2011

CRAFT: Word Usage

Well, I'm back to reading my favorite book on grammar and style ... but, I can only take it in small doses! It may take me a year to finish this little book.

I laughed so many times today while reading the section on misused words and expressions that I just had to share a few of the funniest. Tomorrow, I will share a few of the misused that caught me by surprise!

Borrowed from pages 50-57 of:

Prestigious. Often an adjective of the last resort. It's in the dictionary, but that doesn't mean you have to use it.

In terms of. A piece of padding usually best omitted.

Insightful. The word is a suspicious overstatement for "perceptive." If it is to be used at all, it should be used for instances of remarkably penetrating vision. Usually, it crops up merely to inflate the commonplace.

Thanking you in advance. This sounds as if the writer meant, "It will not be worth my while to write to you again."

...
And, a note from Margo: In terms of prestigious commentary, I thought these guidelines were very insightful. I thank you in advance for reading this post.

3 comments:

  1. Love that - sooo funny! What an insightful post for a prestigious day.

    I'm thanking you right now!

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  2. It does help every so often to work through craft books. There's no substitute for learning.

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  3. I love the line about it being in the dictionary but not having to use it. That's great.

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