I'm distressed about the way we use English. We take careless-reckless-liberties that sound legitimate, but are simply wrong. If you're a writer, you weaken your message when you employ these constructions. To sound authoritative, learn to communicate without them.
Useless Syllables
Something amazing about our language is that it evolves so easily-words arise through the simple mechanism of common use. Whoops! Did your brain try to end that last sentence with the word “usage?” Here's my first observation: There is no use for the word “usage;” stop using it!
How about doing a fun exercise to get the point across? Make up any sentence where you might use the word “usage,” then say the sentence again but use the word “use” instead of “usage.” See? It always works! (OK, wise guys: Of course you can't replace the word “usage” in a sentence where you're specifically talking about the word, but we both know you're just being contrary…) You can say, “The government today released information about wheat usage in the corn belt.” Or you can say, “The government today released information about wheat use in the corn belt.” Now consider the sentence, “I think we should end usage of the word "usage".” You do the translation… careful, this one's tricky.
Before I get off the subject of “usage,” there are a few more related words to mention: “utilize” and “utilization.” Never use them. Here's a handy alternative for the word “utilize:” “use” (pronounced with z sound). And what word might you use instead of “utilization?” You're catching on if you answered, “use” (pronounced with a hard s sound).
Now
Here's a phrase that many of us say, I think, because no one has ever pointed out how pointless it is: “At this point in time.” What does it really mean? If it means “at this point” or “at this time,” then it means “now.” A good editor won't let you publish “At this point in time.” A good editor will let you publish “now.” Type fewer letters; type fewer words. Start doing it now.
How Special Is That?
There is a very special word that is dying a painful death. That word is so different from all other words that it is, in fact, unique. There is simply no other word that means what it means. The word, you might have guessed, is “unique.” Americans are killing it-and most of us don't even know we're involved.
Here's what I'm talking about: “Unique” means absolutely and irrevocably one-of-a-kind. Something is unique or it's not. Yet Americans use the word as though it's possible for something to be more or less unique than something else. According to an advertisement in a golf magazine, Tiger Woods “...plans to design a very unique golf course.” I cling to the hope that an advertising copywriter put those words in Tiger's mouth. The truth is that Tiger can design a unique course. What will make it unique? Perhaps that it's very unusual or very odd or very difficult. Nothing he does-not even referring to it as very-can make his design any more unique than unique.
The Needless Now
People must really like the word “current.” I suggest this because we use the word when we simply don't need it. You hear it a lot on the radio: The current temperature is 83 degrees. Or, Attitudes at the current time are very pessimistic… If you're telling me the temperature, I'm going to know you're referring to the temperature now. Try it: The temperature is 78 degrees. Does anyone upon hearing this think, “I wonder if they mean the temperature at 9:30 AM on June 30th, 1987?”
How Many Ways?
The word “different” also gets more exercise than it needs. You probably hear it overused several times a day. Consider: We produce six different flavors of dish soap. If you produce six flavors of dish soap, I'm going to guess that the flavors differ from each other. Why would you tell me you produce six flavors of soap that all taste the same? You don't have to tell me there are five different routes from work to the party. You don't need to say there are seven different spices in the soup. As I write this, I assume that this topic will offend at least twenty people… and I'm confident when you read it that you will understand all those people are different.
Between Each
Here's a turn of phrase that's common, but means nothing: “Plant daisies between each fence post.” You probably understand what the speaker has said, but it doesn't really make sense. Consider a scenario in which there are four fence posts in a row, hence three places where you could plant daisies between fence posts. But how would you plant daisies between each fence post? If you can't plant a daisy between one fence post, then you can't plant daisies between each one.
Could It Be Perfect?
I love to shoot pool, and I like to watch billiards matches on television… with one reservation: The announcers apparently never learned the word “perfectly.” You should learn it. When I watch, I brace myself for the first shot a player hits perfectly; I know an announcer is going to jump in with the observation: “She played that shot perfect!” I so wish there were announcer police who could shut down these annoying word-manglers.
What's Left?
I get very distracted when I watch a golf tournament on television. Why? Because nearly every commentator talks about the left-hand and right-hand sides of stuff: “He started that ball down the left-hand side of the fairway, but it's working back toward the right-hand side.” This really drives me nuts; an editor would muzzle these commentators.
I know a man who doesn't have a left hand; I shook his right hand earlier today. This man does have a left side, but it would be awkward, I think, to say he spilled baked beans on the left hand side of his shirt. It would make perfect sense to say that he spilled on the left side of his shirt. And a fairway? I've never seen a fairway that had hands. Why can't a player start the ball down the left side of the fairway? Please?
