Eschew obfuscation
The title of this entry is solid editorial advice for anyone who writes for a living. Avoid confusing the reader -- it's a good tip to keep in mind. Yet preferring words like "eschew" and "obfuscation" to "avoid" and "confusion" is an action that can be drilled into us from an early age.
My kids' school insists on referring to students who show up late as "tardy" and calls the bathroom a "lavatory." I remember when I was a kid, I'd never heard the term "lavatory" when the teachers suddenly started using it at the start of the second grade, let alone the truncation "lav." From second through third grade, I'd ask to go to the "lab" every time I had to pee, and then wonder where the bubbling beakers and tubes were.
Yet these same titans of officious vocabulary can't properly distinguish "it's" from "its" in a memo that was sent home with the kids yesterday.
Comments
It's good to know that I wasn't the only one that got excited when my third grade teacher informed the class they could go to the lavatory (laboratory to my ears) any time they wanted as long as they took the pass with them. I too had visions of beakers. They were quickly dashed when I found out that he meant the bathroom. I'm not sure I ever forgave him.
Posted by: Derik | December 21, 2004 10:37 AM
tardy is one of my favorite words of all time.
Posted by: Cameron Campbell | December 22, 2004 07:51 AM
Basically, we spend our youth either asking permission to use the toilet. Yet, we forget to celebrate our newly acquired freedom when we go to college, the freedom to use the toilet without having to ask a teacher.
Posted by: FC | December 22, 2004 10:18 AM