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Strive to eliminate expressions that are flattering, disparaging, vague, clichéd, or endorsing of a particular viewpoint. The advice in this guideline is not limited to the examples provided and should not be applied rigidly. If a word can be replaced by one with less potential for misunderstanding, it should be. [1]
Circumlocution is often used by people with aphasia and people learning a new language, where simple terms can be paraphrased to aid learning or communication (for example, paraphrasing the word "grandfather" as "the father of one's father").
This does not mean using fewer words is always better; rather, when considering equivalent expressions, choose the more concise. Vigorous writing is concise. A sentence should contain no unnecessary words, a paragraph no unnecessary sentences, for the same reason that a drawing should have no unnecessary lines and a machine no unnecessary parts.
There is a danger that the avoidance of prolixity can produce writing that feels unnatural or sterile. Physicist Richard Feynman has spoken out against verbosity in scientific writing. [29] Wordiness is common in informal or playful conversation, lyrics, and comedy. People with Asperger syndrome and autism often present with verbose speech. [30]
A bilingual tautological expression is a phrase that combines words that mean the same thing in two different languages. [ 8 ] : 138 An example of a bilingual tautological expression is the Yiddish expression מים אחרונים וואַסער mayim akhroynem vaser .
Too long; didn't read (abbreviated TL;DR and tl;dr) is a shorthand to indicate that a passage is too long to invest the time to digest it. [3] Akin to Wall of text.. The label is often used to point out excessive verbosity or to signify the presence of and location of a short summary in case the page is too long and won't otherwise be read. [4]
An idiom is an expression that has a figurative meaning often related, but different from the literal meaning of the phrase. Example: You should keep your eye out for him. A pun is an expression intended for a humorous or rhetorical effect by exploiting different meanings of words. Example: I wondered why the ball was getting bigger. Then it ...
A paraphrase can be introduced with verbum dicendi—a declaratory expression to signal the transition to the paraphrase. For example, in "The author states 'The signal was red,' that is, the train was not allowed to proceed," the that is signals the paraphrase that follows. A paraphrase does not need to accompany a direct quotation. [20]