īrings to mind = recalls/suggests This story brings to mind recalls the Pussy-in-the-well incident, involving Little Johnny Flynn.īy definition = DELETE Jack's actions are, by definition, unthinking.īy the same token = DELETE OR similarly/likewiseĬame to a realization = realized/recognizedĬarefully calculated = caculated They carefully calculated the number of steps up the hill.Ĭlearly articulate = articulate Jack and Jill could not clearly articuate reasons for their downfall.Ĭlosely related to one another = closely related Jack and Jill are closely related to one another. īeing = DELETE Because of the well being deep. Īssemble/attach together = assemble/attachĪs a means to = to As a means to get the water, Jack and Jill used a pail.Īs being a = is a/was a OR DELETE Please note this as being an accident = Please note this was an accident.Īt all times = always OR DELETE At all times, watch out for uncovered wells.Īt the earliest possible date = soon OR as soon as possibleĪt this point in time = now OR DELETE At this point in time, they are presumed drowned.Īutobiography of his life = autobiography Bīasic fundamentals = basics OR fundamentalsīegin to notice = notice Once we begin to notice the pattern. How many? To check how it can be reduced to twelve words, go to the end of the list.Ībsolutely essential = essential Water is absolutely essential.Ībove all else = DELETE Above all else, fetching water is dangerous.Ī bigger/greater/higher/larger degree of = moreĪ considerable amount of = DELETE OR BE SPECIFICĪ distance of 28 kilometers = 28 kilometers The well was 28 kilometers away.Ī person who is xxx = a xxx person A hill climber who is dedicated will succeed = A dedicated hill climber will succeed.Īdvance notice/reservations = notice/reservationsĪfter all is/was said and done = DELETE After all was said and done, the trip to the well was a disaster.Īlike share = share They alike share responsibility = They share responsibililyĪll of a sudden = suddenly All of a sudden, Jack fell down and broke his crown = Jack suddenly fell down and broke his crown.Īll said = delete All said, Jack and Jill had a bad day.Īlong the lines of = like Characters Humpty Dumpty were jealous of Jack and Jill.Īppears on the surface to be = is OR appears to be This appears on the surface to be a serious accident.Īre/is such that = DELETE Jack and Jill are such that they are doomed to perish. See how much of the following sentence, all forty-six words of it, that you can cut:ĭue to the fact that access to internet resources are actually at the present time very easy to access in many places, the vast majority of users seek to have those kinds of devices that are most easy to carry around with them wherever they go. And to complete the analogy: if no one buys your yard sale stuff, you take it to the dump.īefore you go through the list, here is a challenge to put you in an anti-periphrastic mood. At first you feel a little remorse in seeing it all go, but then, with your new, uncluttered world, you feel clean and nimble. What you put into your yard sale are the useless things that have been taking up space and that you have been stumbling over. Think of your writing in the same way you think about all the stuff you own. ![]() Watch out, too, for overuse of "therefore," "indeed," "thus," "however," "moreover," "consequently," "over all," "nevertheless," "furthermore," and "hence." Save them for important turns or moments in your writing. You can also try to dump what I call " wazzle" (waffling and fuzzy) words, like "absolutely," "actually," "aspects," “basically," "definitely," "entirely," "extremely,""literally," "overall," "perfectly," "quite," "really," "situation," "truly," "ultimately," "virtually," and "very." "Could," "should," and "would" are also sometimes wazzlers. ![]() ![]() You can get a good start by trying to avoid the following: The general principle is simple: if you’ve heard a phrase more than a couple of times, and it isn’t key wording, essential in carrying meaning, or definitive in some way, get rid of it. Some quick tips: find the right word and use it when in doubt, cut it out edit your work like it was written by someone you don’t like use an active rather than passive voice. When you write, your job is to use that space carefully. The world has only so much space-even the world of rhetoric.
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