Words and Phrases to Avoid
4 April 2007
| Peter Klein |
More on jargon: Here are some words and phrases to avoid. Also check out Eric Rasumssen’s “Aphorisms on Writing, Speaking, and Listening” and the Economist’s style guide for many useful tips. And whatever you do, flee from egregious PowerPoint mistakes.
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Cliff Grammich | 5 April 2007 at 11:45 am
The “Speaking Freely” link is very funny.
The Economist’s style guidance on “Americanisms” is interesting. I prefer “car” to “automobile,” but note not all “cars” (e.g., rail) are “automobiles.” The Economist prefers “district” to “neighbourhood,” but I usually thnk of the former as a political term (e.g., I live in the 13th Congressional District) and the latter as an area that persons may actually know (e.g., the University of Chicago is in the Hyde Park neighborhood). I disagree–and so, I suspect, would the Navy, Marine Corps, or Air Force–that “[t]he military, used as a noun, is nearly always better put as the army.” Maybe “armed forces” would be better?
I assume the very hip readership of O&M already knows “Eats, Shoots and Leaves” by Lynne Truss . . .