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Thursday, April 28, 2005

Death Sentences

Posted by on April 28 at 12:22 PM

I already love this book, by Don Watson, the subtitle of which is “How Cliches, Weasel Words, and Management-Speak Are Strangling Public Language.” Sample line: “Errors of gramar are irritating; slovenly, colloquial, or hybrid speech can be gruesome; but English also gets much of its vigor and resilience from spontaneous invention and the colonial cultural mix. Compared to the general malaise, even the language of the law is harmless and at least amuses those who practice it. These failings are to the language as a few biting insects are to the tsetse fly: as an itch is to a slow, sleeping death.”

Also, I agree that “unfuckwittable” is great.