5 ms·
> “Every banker knows that if he has to prove that he is worthy of credit, however good may be his arguments, in fact his credit is gone.” Is that terribly wor
by nonethewiser 4y ago
> “Every banker knows that if he has to prove that he is worthy of credit, however good may be his arguments, in fact his credit is gone.”
Is that terribly worded or is it just me? I figure it’s supposed to be poetic but I find it tedious. I think it could be simplified like this:
“A banker who argues his creditworthiness has none.”
I realize it’s a quote but holy shit.
- ulfw 4y agoDo you realize people spoke differently 150 years ago than they speak today?
- deleted 4y ago[deleted]
- jazzyjackson 4y agoI find "creditworthiness" to be an exceptionally inelegant turn of phrase.
- nonethewiser 4y agoOk. Why? You could also use credit but creditworthiness works better for both contexts. I figure you’re just being snarky but still.
- dredmorbius 4y agoComes quite naturally if you're familiar with German word construction. That said, it doesn't seem to have emerged into widespread use until well after the 1950s, so would have been a peculiar choice for a 19th century author: <https://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=creditworthiness&year_start=1800&year_end=2000&corpus=en-2012&smoothing=3 https://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=creditworthine...>
- widdershins 4y agoIt was 1873. People spoke and wrote differently - usually more verbosely. It also depends what context the quote has been lifted from. I think your version is excellent if you're 'trying' to write a new aphorism or idiom. But perhaps this formed part of a longer passage where its clauses felt more 'necessary'.
- unmole 4y ago> Is that terribly worded or is it just me? It's just you.
- reedf1 4y agoNot exactly a concise rebuttal from you either.
- deleted 4y ago[deleted]
- jamiek88 4y agoCreditworthiness? This ugly jargonic word is superior to the poetic phrase you are ‘improving’? Ugh. Give me a break.
- synu 4y agoThe banker has none creditworthiness? For me at least, the original is much more clear.