27. Don’t overwork the word “secure.” It is often loosely used where “get,” “obtain,” “procure,” “collect” or some other word would more exactly express the thought.
28. Don’t say “tried an experiment.” Experiments are made.
29. Don’t say “the above statement.” “Above” is an adverb; “foregoing” is the right word here. You wouldn’t write “the below statement.”
30. Don’t say “at the corner of Ninth street and Broadway.” “At Ninth street and Broadway” is sufficient unless you desire to specify one of the four corners.
31. Don’t use “suicide” as a verb. Say “he killed himself” and tell how.
32. Don’t use a foreign word or phrase when English will answer the purpose—and it nearly always will. “A dollar a day” is better than “a dollar per diem.” Don’t mix languages, as in “a dollar per day.”
33. Don’t say “fifty people were present.” Use “persons.” “People,” according to Webster’s Dictionary, means primarily “the body of persons who compose a community, tribe, nation or race; an aggregate of individuals forming a whole; a community; a nation”—as “the people of the United States.” “Persons” refers to individuals.
34. Don’t say “united in marriage” or “joined in the holy bonds of matrimony.” Say they were “married.”
35. Don’t use “depot” when you mean “station.” A depot is a storehouse for freight or supplies; railway passengers arrive at a station.
36. Don’t call a fire a “holocaust” or a “conflagration” unless circumstances warrant. Consult the dictionary.