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Another rule: use short words. "Short words are the best and old words when short are best of all," as Winston Churchill would have it.
by danh 16y ago
Another rule: use short words.
"Short words are the best and old words when short are best of all," as Winston Churchill would have it.
- Perceval 16y agoChurchill is probably getting at the distinction between Germanic and Latinate root words in English. Hemingway used to write with a obvious preference for Germanic root words, which were short and tough and had a pleasing sound. Latinate root words are usually long ten-cent words lacking the same utilitarian grace of their Germanic root analogs. I always thought it would be a fun project to use an etymology database to make a Latinate-to-Germanic thesaurus, something you could use just like spell check on a document to suggest Germanic alternatives to Latinate words.
- jpwagner 16y agoI always thought it would be a fun project to use an etymology database to make a Latinate-to-Germanic thesaurus, something you could use just like spell check on a document to suggest Germanic alternatives to Latinate words. struck me funny that more than half of these words are 6+