Comments on: The Best Things I Never Wrote: Quote of the Day #8 … On Pompous Writing http://oneminutebookreviews.wordpress.com/2007/02/15/the-best-things-i-never-wrote-quote-of-the-day-8-on-pompous-writing/ Janice Harayda Reviews Fiction, Nonfiction and Poetry for Adults and Children Mon, 20 May 2013 13:35:15 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.com/ By: heehler http://oneminutebookreviews.wordpress.com/2007/02/15/the-best-things-i-never-wrote-quote-of-the-day-8-on-pompous-writing/#comment-607 Fri, 09 Mar 2007 01:56:36 +0000 http://oneminutebookreviews.wordpress.com/2007/02/15/the-best-things-i-never-wrote-quote-of-the-day-8-on-pompous-writing/#comment-607 Wunderwood. I can assure you that the word was meant sincerely, and not ironically, and I could not disagree with you more. Wearisome is a legitimate word, and without any pretension whatsoever. What I do find pretentious however, are those literary critics among us with the audacity (I’m sorry, nerve) to malign (sorry, criticize) the use of a word like wearisome.

If you are to have your way, then what are we to do with the remaining 98% of the English language? God forbid someone would attempt to raise the bar a little by going with wearisome, rather than tired. Personally, I would have used tiresome.

Me thinks you’ve been reading too much Strunk and White.

Tom

]]> By: 1minutebookreviewswordpresscom http://oneminutebookreviews.wordpress.com/2007/02/15/the-best-things-i-never-wrote-quote-of-the-day-8-on-pompous-writing/#comment-138 Fri, 16 Feb 2007 20:48:30 +0000 http://oneminutebookreviews.wordpress.com/2007/02/15/the-best-things-i-never-wrote-quote-of-the-day-8-on-pompous-writing/#comment-138 Good point about “wearisome.” I don’t care for that word and don’t think I’ve used it in this blog. I also like Vonnegut’s explanation, though I’d put the age limit a little higher. I teach writing to college students, who often confuse pomposity with erudition or, worse, think it’s what the professors want. A colleague of mine, a high-level editor at a major book publishing firm, said that he used to tell authors whose writing was pretentious: “Explain this the way you would explain it to your mother.” I’ve borrowed that line many times.

]]> By: wunderwood http://oneminutebookreviews.wordpress.com/2007/02/15/the-best-things-i-never-wrote-quote-of-the-day-8-on-pompous-writing/#comment-137 Fri, 16 Feb 2007 20:31:24 +0000 http://oneminutebookreviews.wordpress.com/2007/02/15/the-best-things-i-never-wrote-quote-of-the-day-8-on-pompous-writing/#comment-137 This would be more convincing if it ended with “is tiring to read.” I really hope that “wearisome” was intentionally pompous. It would be sad if it wasn’t.

And after all, some weathermen are not meteorologists. Some are even women. Disadvantaged is not the same thing as poor.

I prefer Kurt Vonnegut’s version, that if you can’t explain it to a ten year old, you don’t understand it. Once you can do that, you’ve proven you don’t need the fancy words, so don’t put them back in.

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