Exercise:
- Halleck returned from his trip considerably the worse for wear.
- The baby whom she had promised to keep quiet proved to be a foeman worthy of her steel.
- I first saw the light of day in New Orleans. It was in the Crescent City also that my dear mother passed away.
- Americans come off second best in a vocalizing encounter with umlauted u, while Germans and Frenchmen wage sanguinary battles with our th.
- The daily scramble for dear life to get aboard a trolley was like taking arms against a sea of troubles. Even standing room was conspicuous by its absence. Sheridan began to think along the line of getting to the office in some other way.
[The Exact Word]
62. Find the exact word. Do not be content with a loose meaning. Seek the verb, the noun, the adjective, the adverb, or the phrase which expresses your thought with precision. Such words as said, proposition, and nice are often used too loosely. Observe the possible gain in definiteness by substitution.
- For said (verb): declared, related, insisted, exclaimed, added, repeated, replied, admitted, commented, corrected, protested, explained, besought, interrupted, inquired, stammered, sighed, murmured, or thundered.
- For proposition (noun): transaction, undertaking, venture, recourse, suggestion, overture, proposal, proffer, convenience, difficulty, thesis, or doctrine.
- For nice (adjective): discriminating, precise, fastidious, dainty, neat, pretty, pleasant, fragrant, delicious, well-behaved, good, or moral.
- Inexact verb: He had not sufficiently regarded the difficulties of the task [Use considered].
- Inexact noun: Promptness is an item which a manager should possess [Use quality].
- Inexact adjective: He looked awfully funny when I told him he had made a mistake [Use surprised].
- Inexact phrasing throughout: Health is first in every line of activity. A man who has it does not hold it with enough respect, and make efforts enough to keep it.
- Right: Health is indispensable to success in any work. Even those who have it do not realize its value.
Exercise:
- He was proud of the honorable record he had gained.
- He resolved that some day he would be a banker, and I shall tell you how he tried to do so.
- Isn't the sunset grand? Isn't it nice to be out of doors?
- The mystery as to which ones of the piano keys to play was hard for him to acquire.
- If the package comes by freight, you must negotiate the proposition of getting it home; but if it comes by express, the delivery is done free.
[Concreteness]
63. Concrete words are often more effective than vague, general, or abstract words.
- Not specific: She held herself aloof from her brothers' games and amusements.
- Concrete: She never played soldier or sailed paper boats with her brothers.
- No appeal to the senses: I liked to watch the servant girl as she moved about the kitchen, preparing our morning repast.
- Concrete: I liked to watch Norah as she fried our crisp breakfast bacon and browned our buckwheat cakes.
- Flat, not readily visualized: The first inhabitants overcame the barriers to settlement about a century ago.
- Concrete: Rough backwoodsmen broke through the underbrush and swamp-land a century ago.