A comment by Emily on my last post is responsible for this--in future (not this one, from the next post), I will either avoid one/more particular word(s) and/or use one/more particular word(s) in my blog. And those who wish to comment are also requested to use or avoid the same word(s) in their comments. And the word to avoid will not be 'floccipaucinihilipilification' (sorry if there's a spelling mistake), and the word to use will not be 'the'. Get the picture? The idea is to avoid words we always tend to use, and to use words we normally avoid. And yes, I will create plenty of opportunity for myself to fail the exercise. Thanks very much for inspiring this, Emily!
I read in the papers sometime last month that a survey has revealed that we have become vocabulary-challenged. We tend to use the same few words for every situation. The most annoying word, according to the survey, is 'whatever', followed by 'you know' and 'anyway'. I agree. And solemnly do swear (by the unbreakable oath of the River Styx, let's do this like the Greek Gods) NEVER EVER to use those three phrases in this blog, world without end, Amen. If I do not keep my word, please point it out to me and I shall undergo penance by abstaining from reading for 24 hours.
So what do you think about the exercise? As verbs and adjectives tend to repeat themselves in our vocabulary, I think I'll pick those for now. That should make it good. No point in picking nouns.
Words to avoid in the NEXT POST and comments to the NEXT POST: All forms of the verbs THINK, SEE and FIND.
I think that I find your post to be true. I see what you are saying. Ha ha. I have an award for you at my Writer's Butt blog.
ReplyDeleteReally can't fathom why such wonderful words must be avoided. Just teasing.
ReplyDeleteI've been trying to do that on a regular basis because it's a lot more fun to use a diverse wording on a blog than the normal short range words used most commonly.
ReplyDeleteSo far I've noticed that when I talk that way it comes across as being overly intelligent since most of the population doesn't use that much of a vocabulary when talking. I've also found that I second guess myself at the meaning of the word and then feel dumb because I can't remember if it was the right word. It's fun though!