• For Careful Writers and Editors Only

    by  • December 2, 2011 • On Communications Tools and Tactics

    Some thoughts for careful writers and editors to ponder.

    Is there any good reason to say “utilize” instead of “use”?

    Does anyone know what “e.g.” and “i.e” mean?

    Why do football players always “sustain” injuries? It’s got to be a lot tougher than “suffering” them.

    Seems like it is always better to “reside” in a community than to simply “live” there.

    It also seems to be much better to “pass away” than it is to “die.”

    Remember that if “you could care less” you probably “could not care less” at the same time.

    “Currently” and “presently” are not synonyms. You can probably dump the word “currently” from almost everything you write.

    Another wasted word is “that.” See what happens when you take that out of your sentences.

    You should have axed these words a long, long time ago: “co-ed,” “businessman,” “sportsmanship” and “weatherman.”

    Can we finally retire the phrases “claims the life…” and “hammers out a contract”?

    Note you cannot put a modifier on the word “unique.” It means one of a kind.

    Always remember, it’s “acknowledgment” and “judgment.”

    Also remember, postal abbreviations have no place in your print and Web copy.

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