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Ironic that an app calling itself "Hemingway" would recommend against the word "Utilize". As a key example of "things to avoid" no less. Utilized in one of th

Ironic that an app calling itself "Hemingway" would recommend against the word "Utilize". As a key example of "things to avoid" no less. Utilized in one of the more memorable exchanges in The Sun Also Rises: "Let us rejoice in our blessings. Let us utilize the fowls of the air. Let us utilize the product of the vine. Will you utilize a little, brother?" ... and so on for nearly ten pages, utilizing wine, pubs, etc. http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=fAcAd5gFdB0C&lpg=PP1&dq=hemingway%20utilize&pg=PA126#v=onepage&q=hemingway%20utilize&f=false http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=fAcAd5gFdB0C&lpg=PP1&dq=h... I bet if you apply this tool to more of his writing, you'd find it neutered it completely, removing much of the magic that makes it so great.

louhike 12y ago
Hemingway App is a tool useful is you're not a great writer. If you want to write something original, or magic, you better not use it. I understand that you might not be criticizing the app directly, but as you are the top comment, I thought it would be useful as a reminder.
- soperj 12y ago
  I don't think that's necessarily true. I think you can use it to quickly identify passages that may need more work. As with all suggestions, take them with a grain of salt, but so far even with highly edited work, I find it can be useful.
- Bartweiss 12y ago
  I do think that attempts to create something original can be helped by this, but only if it's used carefully. After I've reworked something many times, the parts I've fiddled with the most are often too complicated and obscure. I've gotten a bit of use out of this, but only by throwing it at things which are already written and edited, and then ignoring most of it's suggestions. I end up treating it as a list of things to check, not a list of problems to fix.
ivan_ah 12y ago
So you're one of those people who like to use "utilize." I've always thought the word is used willy-nilly by people with feeble minds in order to "sound fancy," but you seem like an alright guy. Could you tell me why you'd want to use "utilize" instead of "use"? Do you intend a different meaning e.g. make-use-of-in-unexpeded-way, or do you see them as synonyms? To me, it sounds horrible---a buzzword and a French-isism (The French verb to use is utiliser).
- jaxn 12y ago
  To me, "utilize" means to use properly. It has a positive connotation that "use" does not. edit: dictionary.com seems to agree. "to put to use; turn to profitable account"
  - kevinpet 12y ago
    Utilize is "use" but focusing on the thing being used rather than what it's used for. I utilized my calculus textbook to prop up my monitor. I used my calculus textbook to prop up my monitor. In the first, I'm looking for a use for the book and that's what I could do with it. In the second, I need to raise my monitor, and the calculus book was handy.
  - genericuser 12y ago
    I also consider it to mean proper use of something. But figured it was just me ascribing extra meaning. For instance, (assuming no context is provided) if someone said they utilized a fire extinguisher I would assume they meant to put out a fire. If they said they used a fire extinguisher, I would be wondering what they used it for (to propel an office chair , kill a mouse, cool their beer). Context of course almost always exists.
  - mcguire 12y ago
    The first definiton of "use" (as a verb with an object) is very similar: "1. to employ for some purpose; put into service; make use of: to use a knife."
- makmanalp 12y ago
christudor 12y ago
I'm guessing the app is called Hemingway because it promotes simpler writing in general (a good thing, I think), not because it will make you write /exactly/ like Hemingway!
eric_bullington 12y ago
>Ironic that an app calling itself "Hemingway" would recommend against the word "Utilize". >Utilized in one of the more memorable exchanges in The Sun Also Rises: >"Let us rejoice in our blessings. Let us utilize the fowls of the air. Let us utilize the product of the vine. Will you utilize a little, brother?" First of all, that's a character speaking, not Hemingway narrating. In the same book, Hemingway also writes in the voice of a Spanish laborer and other characters with patterns of speech that we would not ascribe to him. Second, in that passage, Jake is playing off the French verb "utiliser". In essence, he's being ironic -- a favored pastime of the lost generation. So this is all dialogue, not Hemingway narrating. You'd be hard pressed to find the word "utilize" in Hemingway's narration. (awaiting someone with a counterexample...3..2..1)
- hashmymustache 12y ago
  "Does he really think big emotions come from big words? He thinks I don’t know the ten-dollar words. I know them all right. But there are older and simpler and better words, and those are the ones I use"
mcguire 12y ago
Hemingway didn't write very Hemingwayish. That is, he didn't write the way many people caricaturize him. He has a big vocabulary and can, in fact, create more than a 5-word sentence. That being said, "utilize" is one of my peeves, too. "Utilize" rather than "use" and "gift" as a verb. We hates them, we does.
- Bartweiss 12y ago
  This is the key point. He tended to use active voice, single clauses, and simple words. None of that is the same as small sentences and a limited vocabulary. His approach was as simple as possible, but unlike what this app creates, no simpler.
ErikRogneby 12y ago
Does it recommend against it if it is part of dialogue?

louhike 12y ago

Hemingway App is a tool useful is you're not a great writer. If you want to write something original, or magic, you better not use it. I understand that you might not be criticizing the app directly, but as you are the top comment, I thought it would be useful as a reminder.

soperj 12y ago
I don't think that's necessarily true. I think you can use it to quickly identify passages that may need more work. As with all suggestions, take them with a grain of salt, but so far even with highly edited work, I find it can be useful.
Bartweiss 12y ago
I do think that attempts to create something original can be helped by this, but only if it's used carefully. After I've reworked something many times, the parts I've fiddled with the most are often too complicated and obscure. I've gotten a bit of use out of this, but only by throwing it at things which are already written and edited, and then ignoring most of it's suggestions. I end up treating it as a list of things to check, not a list of problems to fix.

ivan_ah 12y ago

So you're one of those people who like to use "utilize." I've always thought the word is used willy-nilly by people with feeble minds in order to "sound fancy," but you seem like an alright guy. Could you tell me why you'd want to use "utilize" instead of "use"? Do you intend a different meaning e.g. make-use-of-in-unexpeded-way, or do you see them as synonyms? To me, it sounds horrible---a buzzword and a French-isism (The French verb to use is utiliser).

jaxn 12y ago
To me, "utilize" means to use properly. It has a positive connotation that "use" does not. edit: dictionary.com seems to agree. "to put to use; turn to profitable account"
- kevinpet 12y ago
  Utilize is "use" but focusing on the thing being used rather than what it's used for. I utilized my calculus textbook to prop up my monitor. I used my calculus textbook to prop up my monitor. In the first, I'm looking for a use for the book and that's what I could do with it. In the second, I need to raise my monitor, and the calculus book was handy.
- genericuser 12y ago
  I also consider it to mean proper use of something. But figured it was just me ascribing extra meaning. For instance, (assuming no context is provided) if someone said they utilized a fire extinguisher I would assume they meant to put out a fire. If they said they used a fire extinguisher, I would be wondering what they used it for (to propel an office chair , kill a mouse, cool their beer). Context of course almost always exists.
- mcguire 12y ago
  The first definiton of "use" (as a verb with an object) is very similar: "1. to employ for some purpose; put into service; make use of: to use a knife."
makmanalp 12y ago

christudor 12y ago

I'm guessing the app is called Hemingway because it promotes simpler writing in general (a good thing, I think), not because it will make you write /exactly/ like Hemingway!

eric_bullington 12y ago

>Ironic that an app calling itself "Hemingway" would recommend against the word "Utilize". >Utilized in one of the more memorable exchanges in The Sun Also Rises: >"Let us rejoice in our blessings. Let us utilize the fowls of the air. Let us utilize the product of the vine. Will you utilize a little, brother?" First of all, that's a character speaking, not Hemingway narrating. In the same book, Hemingway also writes in the voice of a Spanish laborer and other characters with patterns of speech that we would not ascribe to him. Second, in that passage, Jake is playing off the French verb "utiliser". In essence, he's being ironic -- a favored pastime of the lost generation. So this is all dialogue, not Hemingway narrating. You'd be hard pressed to find the word "utilize" in Hemingway's narration. (awaiting someone with a counterexample...3..2..1)

hashmymustache 12y ago
"Does he really think big emotions come from big words? He thinks I don’t know the ten-dollar words. I know them all right. But there are older and simpler and better words, and those are the ones I use"

mcguire 12y ago

Hemingway didn't write very Hemingwayish. That is, he didn't write the way many people caricaturize him. He has a big vocabulary and can, in fact, create more than a 5-word sentence. That being said, "utilize" is one of my peeves, too. "Utilize" rather than "use" and "gift" as a verb. We hates them, we does.

Bartweiss 12y ago
This is the key point. He tended to use active voice, single clauses, and simple words. None of that is the same as small sentences and a limited vocabulary. His approach was as simple as possible, but unlike what this app creates, no simpler.

ErikRogneby 12y ago

Does it recommend against it if it is part of dialogue?