THE Dimwit's DICTIONARY - 5000 Overused Words and Phrases and Alternatives to Them [2 ed.] 2002008424, 9780785823568, 0785823565

Table of contents :
Cover
Contents
Foreword
PART 1 On Dimwitticisms
CHAPTER 1 Expressions That Dull Our Reason and Dim Our Insight
CHAPTER 2 Writing That Demands to Be Read Aloud, Speech That Calls to Be Captured in Print
PART 2 The Dimwit's Dictionary
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
I
J
K
L
M
N
O
P
Q
R
S
T
U
V
W
X, Y, Z
Back Cover

Citation preview

William Safire, The New York Times

5,000 Overused Words and Phrases and Alternatives

TH E

DIMWITS

DICTIONARY SECOND EDITION

THE

DIMWITS DICTIONARY SECOND EDITION

More Than 5,000 Overused Words and Phrases and Alternatives to Them

Castle books

This edition published in 2008 by CASTLE BOOKS ® A division of Book Sales, Inc. 114 Northfield Avenue Edison, NJ 08837 This edition published by arrangement with and permission of Marion Street Press, Inc. PO Box 2249 Oak Park, IL 60303 Copyright © 1994-2002 Robert Hartwell Fiske Cover design by Michelle Crisanti All rights reserved. No reproduction without written permission.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data: Fiske, Robert Hartwell. The dimwit’s dictionary: 5,000 overused words and phrases and alternatives to them / by Robert Hartwell Fiske. p. cm. 1. English language—Synonyms and antonyms—Dictionaries. 2. English language—Usage—Dictionaries. 3. English language—Terms and phrases 4. Cliches—Dictionaries. I. Title PE1591.F566 2002 423 M—dc2i 2002008424 ISBN-13: 978-0-7858-2356-8 ISBN-10: 0-7858-2356-5

Printed in the United States of America

A Note on the Second Edition Aside from new entries and commentary, throughout this second edition you will find quotations from classic and contemporary authors of fiction. These quotations, however well written they or their surrounding words may be, are marred, adulterated by dimwitticisms. Each dimwitticism is a failure to write clearly and compellingly, an admission that the author could not manage an original thought or a better turn of phrase, or could not be bothered to think of one. Dimwitticisms, as these examples make startlingly clear, yield only facile writing, only false sentiment.

About the Author Robert Hartwell Fiske is the editor and publisher of The Vocabula Review (www.vocabula.com), a monthly online journal about the English language.

Other Books by Robert Hartwell Fiske The Dictionary of Concise Writing (Marion Street Press, second edition, 2006) The Dictionary of Disagreeable English Deluxe Edition (Writer's Digest Books,

2006) 101 Wordy Phrases (Vocabula Books, 2005) 101 Foolish Phrases (Vocabula Books, 2005) 101 Elegant Paragraphs (Vocabula Books, 2005) Vocabula Bound: Outbursts, Insights, Explanations, and Oddities (editor) (Marion

Street Press, 2004)

6

Apologia The Dimwit's Dictionary will annoy some people and amuse others. People who

feel as though I am referring to them in some of the commentary in this book may be annoyed by what I write; those who feel as though I am refer¬ ring to others may be amused by it. This is an annoying, amusing book. If the tone of my commentary is sometimes acerbic, it's because tempered persuasion is effete, and considered argument tiresome. Few of us are able to learn well by pedantic or rote methods. But if I disturb or annoy a person, is he not more likely to remember what bothered him; is he not more likely to retain what was said; is he not more likely to learn? This pedagogy may strike some as unworkable, and perhaps its efficacy is suspect, but we surely know that other methods of tutelage are largely unsuccessful. Robert Hartwell Fiske [email protected]

7

Contents

A Note on the Second Edition About the Author Apologia

5

6

7

Foreword 13

PART l On Dimwitticisms 17 Chapter 1 Expressions That Dull Our Reason and Dim Our Insight 18

Chapter 2 Writing That Demands to Be Read Aloud, Speech That Calls

Be Captured in Print 30

PART

2

The Dimwit's Dictionary 47

To Laura Virtual officemate (VOM); purveyor of recipes and reason; and good lovely friend

,

The great enemy of clear language is insincerity. When there is a gap between one's real and one's declared aims, one turns as it were instinctively to long words and exhausted idioms, like a cuttlefish squirting out ink. George Orwell, "Politics and the English Language"

Thoughts, that breathe, and words, that burn. Thomas Gray, The Progress of Poesy

For I have neither wit, nor words, nor worth, Action, nor utterance, nor the power of speech, To stir men's blood William Shakespeare, Julius Caesar, act 3, scene 2

Watch Watch Watch Watch Watch

your your your your your

thoughts; they become words. words; they become actions. actions; they become habits. habits; they become character. character; it becomes destiny. Anonymous

Never do I ever want to hear another word. There isn't one I haven't heard. Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe, My Fair Lady

Foreword

W

hen Robert Hartwell Fiske confronts Saint Peter, I hope he remembers to tell the man that he is the founding editor of The Vocabula Review, the online magazine devoted to contem¬ porary language, its delights and its disasters. Saint Peter will immedi¬ ately understand that Mr. Fiske has been on the side of the angels and therefore been doing the Lord's work. My worry is that, in reply. Saint Peter will commit one or another of the solecisms, illogicalities, or bar¬ barisms that Mr. Fiske spends his days excoriating and that he will feel the need to correct him, causing him to lose his place on the other side of the gates. Meanwhile, on this side of the gates, to hew to this theological metaphor a bit longer, Robert Hartwell Fiske has been doing a hell of a job. Mr. Fiske has signed on, evidently for life, for that best of all losing causes, the battle to keep language clear, fresh, free from the pollution of empty jargon, idiotic euphemism, self-serving imprecision, comic redundancy, nonsense generally. He has many famous comrades from among the dead in this battle: Jonathan Swift, H. L. Mencken, George Orwell, H. W. Fowler, Sir Ernest Gowers, and others. And, as I am sure he has discovered, many unknown, still living allies in unexpected places who get quite properly worked up over politicians, advertisers, social scientists, so-called educators, and others attempting to swindle the rest of us through nicely calculated verbal fog. You are what you eat, the old food faddists used to say. As I read him, Robert Hartwell Fiske is saying that we are, or soon become, what we say and write. Use language slovenly, dully, dopily and we soon ourselves become sloppy, dull, dopey. In The Dimwit's Dictionary, he explains his reigning idea in the first paragraph of his first chapter, when he announces that "Dimwitticisms are worn-out words and phrases; they are expressions that dull our reason and dim our insight, formulas that we rely on when we are too lazy to express what we think or even to discover how we feel. The more we use them, the more we conform — in thought and feeling — to everyone else who uses them." We know soon enough what makes them "dim"; the witticism comes into play because most people who adopt such overworked words as

13

The Dimwit's Dictionary

"scenario" or such cumbersome academic locutions as "in terms of" think they are being clever, if not highly sophisticated. Language mavens come in various intensities of aggression. Some come as recent graduates of the Gestapo school of language correction; one has only to read them to feel the leather glove sting across one's cheeks, the word schweinhund ringing in one's ears. Some come on as school masters, simply unable to understand why anyone would wish to split an infinitive or end a sentence with a preposition. Some come on as pussycats passing along to us their amazement at the wild and way¬ ward curiosities of language, but always attempting to avoid seeming either formidable or forbidding. My own favorite among the great language mavens is H. W. Fowler, whose tone I should describe as superior commonsensical. Here, for example, is the great man on those damnable split infinitives: "The English-speaking world may be divided into (1) those who neither know nor care what a split infinitive is; (2) those who do not know but care very much; (3) those who know and condemn; (4) those who know and approve; and (5) those who know and distinguish." Such is Fowler's elevated superiority. Here is his commonsense: "We maintain, however, that a real split infinitive, though not desirable in itself, is preferable to either of two things, to real ambiguity and to patent artifi¬ ciality." In other words, the Fowler line is, split away before writing anything stupid. But then he adds: "We will split infinitives sooner than be ambiguous or artificial; more than that, we will freely admit that suf¬ ficient recasting will get rid of any split infinitives without involving either of those faults, and yet reserve to ourselves the right of deciding in each case whether recasting is worthwhile." Superior, as I say, with a saving commonsense. Robert Hartwell Fiske's desire — it informs his tone — is to bring us to our senses, to make us understand that "our knowledge of the world expands as our familiarity with words increases" and contracts when we fall back on the categories of ineptitude he has designated the Moribund Metaphor, the Overworked Word, the Plebeian Sentiment, all of which may be said — he, in fact, does say — "blunt our understand¬ ing and quash our creativity. They actually shield us from our thoughts and feelings, from any profound sense of ourselves." He is, au fond, a reformer who wants us to be the fully developed men and women we "were meant to be." But Mr. Fiske's reforming impulse doesn't get in the way of his scorning cliches and trite sentiments. His lists of Overworked Words and of Torpid Terms — "off-putting," "operative," "prioritize," "pur¬ suant to," qualify for the latter category — are there because they "keep us dumb and dispassionate. They elicit the least from us." He also sug¬ gests words that he thinks worthy of being revitalized — lovely words

14

Foreword

such as "bedizen," "bootless," "quondam" — while what he calls Withered Words ought, in the phrase of Paul Valery, the great French critic, to be turned over to the "numismaticians of language" to be put "away in their Cabinets, with many another verbal coin that has passed from circulation." Robert Hartwell Fiske is a verbal trainer, the linguistic equivalent of the personal trainer one sees in gyms and health clubs. He wants us to trim the fat off our mental life; to knock off those Ineffectual Phrases, Inescapable Pairs, Infantile Phrases, and Wretched Redundancies. He has the relentlessness but none of the dogmatism of the drill sergeant. Reformer, verbal trainer, drill sergeant, in the end Robert Hartwell Fiske is a fisher of souls, a catcher in the wry, a man who, through look¬ ing carefully at language, understands its potency and loathes its power, when misused, for making life more dreary than it ought to be. After noting the spread of flat and predictable language in the contem¬ porary world, he exclaims: "No wonder so many of us feel barren or inconsolable: There are few words that inspire us, few words that move us, few words that thrill or overwhelm us. Persuasion has lost much of its sway, conviction, much of its claim." Mr. Fiske is, in short, a fanatic, an extremist who apparently believes that clear language is our only hope for clear thought, that dull language deadens the mind and dampens the imagination, that a felici¬ tous phrase is good news, that a strong prose style is a gift to be culti¬ vated and cherished, that nothing, no, nothing in the world exceeds lan¬ guage in its significance to the human enterprise. As it happens, I believe in all this, too, which makes it an honor to salute a fellow fanatic and wish him and his book the great good fortune both deserve. Joseph Epstein

Joseph Epstein, former editor of The American Scholar, teaches writ¬ ing and literature at Northwestern University and is the author of many books, including Narcissus Leaves the Pool and Snobbery: The American Version.

15

Part 1

On Dim witticisms

17

Chapter i

Expressions That Dull Our Reason and Dim Our Insight Whereas a witticism is a clever remark or phrase — indeed, the height of expression — a "dimwitticism" is the converse; it is a common¬ place remark or phrase. Dimwitticisms are worn-out words and phrases; they are expressions that dull our reason and dim our insight, formulas that we rely on when we are too lazy to express what we think or even to discover how we feel. The more we use them, the more we conform — in thought and feeling — to everyone else who uses them. The Dimwit's Dictionary is a compilation of thousands of dimwitti¬ cisms (cliches, colloquialisms, idioms, and the like) that people speak and write excessively.* The Dimwit's Dictionary categorizes dimwitticisms by the following types :t Foreign phrases Grammatical gimmicks Ineffectual phrases Inescapable pairs Infantile phrases * Many of the entries in this book are followed by synonyms that may be used in place of the worn-out word or phrase; others are followed by commentary; and still others by both. But even the mere inclusion of an entry — one unaccompanied by synonyms or commen¬ tary — damns it as a dimwitticism. All dimwitticisms can be defined, but not all can be translated into one- or two-word syn¬ onyms. When this is so, the best solution may be to rewrite the sentence entirely. t Dimwitticisms, quite obviously, could be categorized by more than one of these fourteen types. Many wretched redundancies are also torpid terms, many moribund metaphors also infantile phrases, but I have sought to identify them by their principal type.

18

Chapter

Moribund metaphors Overworked words Plebeian sentiments Popular prescriptions Quack equations Suspect superlatives Torpid terms Withered words Wretched redundancies

Foreign phrases Expressions such as ad infinitum, ad nauseam, c'est la vie, creme de la creme, /zzzf accompli, m loco parentis, zze sais quoi, joie de vivre, mea culpa, mirabile dictu, modus vivendi, ne plus ultra, non compos mentis, par excellence, persona non grata, fizz'd pro gzzo, raison d'etre, sz'rzo z^zzzz nozz, fres, verboten, and ozoe /a difference, though perfectly good foreign words and phrases, are, when used by English-speaking people, simply wearisome.

Grammatical gimmicks Quite simply, zzzzzf everything is a babbler's way of describing what he was unable to. This phrase and so many others like it — zzzzd everything like that; and stuff (things); and (or) stuff (things) like that; and this and that; any¬ way; I mean; (and that) kind of stuff (thing); or something or other; or whatev¬ er; this, that, and the other (thing); you had to be there — are grammatical gimmicks that we use to make up for the misfashioned words that pre¬ cede them. These are devices that we resort to whenever we are unable to ade¬ quately explain our thoughts or feelings. Grammatical gimmicks attest to just how dull and dimwitted we have become.

Ineffectual phrases Ineffectual phrases are the expressions people use to delay or obstruct, to bewilder or make weary. The intent of those who use ineffec¬ tual phrases is to make it appear as though their sentences are more sub¬ stantial than they actually are, but not one sentence is made more mean¬ ingful by their inclusion: (please) be advised that; I'll tell you (something); it has come to (my) attention; it is important to realize (that); it is interesting to note (that); make no mistake (about it); (to) take this opportunity (to); the fact of the matter is; the fact remains; the thing about it is; what happened (is). How a person speaks often reveals how he thinks. And how he thinks determines how he behaves. A person who speaks ineffectually may 19

1

The Dimwit's Dictionary

think ineffectually, and a person who thinks ineffectually may behave ineffectually — perhaps badly. Ineffectual phrases add only to our being ineffectual people.

Inescapable pairs In an inescapable pair, the first word means much the same as the second or so often accompanies the second that any distinction between them is, in effect, forfeited. Only occasionally, that is, do we see the word allied without the word closely; asset without valuable; baby without beautiful; balance without deli¬ cate; distinction without dubious; error without egregious; tied without inex¬ tricably; missed without sorely; poverty without abject; principle without basic. And only occasionally do we see the word aid without the word abet; alive without well; effective without efficient; hope without pray; hue without cry; pure without simple. When two words are treated as though they were one — the plight of every inescapable pair — our keenness is compromised, our discernment endangered. No longer does every word tell; the words themselves have become witless.

Infantile phrases Any thought or feeling in which these expressions are found is likely to be made instantly laughable: absolutely, positively; all of the above; because (that's why); because why?; (as) compared to what?; going on (19); I'll bet you any amount of money; in no way, shape, or form; intestinal fortitude; it takes one to know one; me, myself, and I; mission accomplished; mutual admiration socie¬ ty; never (not) in a million years; real, live; really and truly; (you) started it; (I) take it back; the feeling's mutual; the (L)-word.; (my) whole, entire life; with a capital (A); without further ado; (62) years young; (a) zillion(s) (of). Also included among these phrases that strike all but the dimwitted as derisory are notorious advertising slogans (inquiring minds want to know; where's the beef), song and film titles (a funny thing happened to me on the way to; I can't get no satisfaction), and alliterative or rhymed phrases (a bevy of beauties; chrome dome). Other infantile phrases are more disturbing, for they reveal an ado¬ lescent, unformed reasoning. Explanations like in the wrong place at the wrong time, it just happened, it's a free country, and everything's (it's all) rela¬ tive are as farcical as they are possibly fallacious.

20

Chapter

Moribund metaphors* Metaphors, like similes, should have the briefest of lives. Their vital¬ ity depends on their evanescence. Yet must we ever endure the dimwitted (it's) a jungle (out there), an emotional roller coaster, amstroll (walk) in the park, (like) being run over (getting hit) by a (Mack) truck, (as) cool as a cucumber, everything but the kitchen sink, (as) hungry as a horse, leak like a sieve, light at the end of the tunnel, out to lunch, over the hill, pass like ships in the night, (as) phony as a three-dollar bill, (a) piece of cake, rule the roost, window of opportunity, (every parent's) worst nightmare, and countless other metaphors that characterize people as dull, everyday speakers and writers, indeed, as platitudinarians? Nothing new do they tell us. Nothing more do they show us. Moreover, if it weren't for our plethora of metaphors, especially, sports images — above par, a new ballgame, batting a thousand, do (make) an end run around, down for the count, hit a home run, off base, pull no punches, stand on the sidelines, step up to the plate, took the ball and ran with it — and war images — a call to arms, an uphill battle, battle lines are drawn, draw fire, earn his stripes, first line of defense, in the trenches, on the firing line, take by storm — men and, even, women would be far less able to articulate their thoughts. We would speak and write more haltingly than we already do; our thoughts and feelings more misshapen than they already are. Moribund metaphors interfere with our understanding not only when we use them singly but also, and especially, when we use them simultaneously, that is, when we use them together, metaphor on metaphor. Frequently incongruous, these metaphors disfigure any sen¬ tence in which they are found. ■ Putting yourself under pressure to churn out work for the cream of the crop at the beginning of your writing career may put the brakes on your cre¬ ativity. ■ They want to get all their ducks in a row and make sure they’re all singing from the same hymn sheet. ■ And by last Christmas, for any defense contractor, the dwindling Soviet threat had evolved from meal ticket into writing on the wall. ■ Our restaurant cost me and my wife an arm and a leg, but we didn't build it without planning and we certainly wouldn't let it go down the drain. ■ Right now, USAir's problem is trying to determine whether this is a soft *Rather than have a separate section on "insipid similes," I include them here. Since a metaphor can be thought of as a condensed simile (which often uses the word as or like) and a simile usually can be converted into a metaphor, this does not strike me as taking too much license.

21

1

The Dimwit's Dictionary

landing for the economy or a recession, and the jury is still out. ■ For 20 years she was a rising star in the business, but by last year her success had gone to the dogs. ■ In the face of mounting pressure to gut or eliminate the IRS, it contin¬ ues to shoot itself in the foot by biting the hands that feed them. ■ Looking at those things, it didn't take a rocket scientist to see there was

something rotten in Denmark. ■ Thanks to Clinton, Lewinsky, & Co., Fm off the hook and it's on the table. ■ We expect them to cast their net as far and wide as possible because any stone that's not unturned will be questioned. We rely on metaphors not because we feel they make our speech and writing more vivid and inviting but because we fail to learn hove to express ourselves otherwise; we know not the words. In truth, the more of these metaphors that we use, the less effective is our speech and writing. Neither interesting nor persuasive, their expres¬ sion fatigues us where we thought it would inform us, annoys us where we believed it would amuse us, and benumbs us where we hoped it would inspire us.

Overworked words The broader your knowledge of words, the greater your ability to express yourself precisely and persuasively. So many speakers and writ¬ ers, however, rely on certain words — overworked words like action,

actively, amazing, appreciate, approach, attitude, awesome, basically, crisis, def¬ initely, devastate, effect, excellence, great, impact, implement, incredible, inter¬ esting, lasting, major, meaningful, mindset, natural, nice, ongoing, parameter, pretty, really, scenario, significant, situation, strange, thing, unbelievable, very, weird. Words, when overworked, diminish the meaning of all that they are used to describe. Our remarks and questions both are enfeebled by these tired terms. Nothing that we express with these overworked words has the force or effectiveness of less habitually spoken, less repeatedly writ¬ ten words. Moreover, since a person understands little more than what the words he is knowledgeable of convey — a word means only so much — to rely on so few words reveals just how limited a person's understand¬ ing of himself, and those about him, is. Our knowledge of the world increases as our familiarity with words does.

22

Chapter

Plebeian sentiments Plebeian sentiments reflect the views and values of the least thought¬ ful among us: be nice; (I) gave (him) the best years of (my) life; (it) gives (me) something to do; (these things) happen to other people, not to (me); I (just) don't

think about it; I just work here; I'm bored (he's boring); (it) keeps (me) busy; (it's) something to look forward to; there are no words to describe (express); you think too much; what can you do; why me? What's more, these expressions, base as they are, blunt our under¬ standing and quash our creativity. They actually shield us from our thoughts and feelings, from any profound sense of ourselves. People who use these expressions have not become who they were meant to be.

Popular prescriptions Powerless to repeat an author's epigram, unfit to recite a poet's verse, more than many of us are utterly able to echo a society's slogans and cliches: absence makes the heart grow fonder; actions speak louder than words;

a picture is worth a thousand words; beauty is in the eye of the beholder; better late than never; do as I say, not as I do; forgive and forget; hope for the best but expect the worst; it takes two; keep (your) nose to the grindstone; live and learn; misery loves company; money isn't everything; neither a borrower nor a lender be; take it one day (step) at a time; the best things in life are free; the meek shall inherit the earth; the sooner the better; time flies when you're having fun; two wrongs don't make a right; what goes around, comes around; you can't be all things to all people; you can't have everything. Popular prescriptions are the platitudes and proverbs by which peo¬ ple live their lives. It is these dicta that determine who we are and how we act; they define our intellectual and moral makeup. Dull-witted speakers and writers depend on prescriptions like these to guide them through life. For this poor populace, life is, we may sur¬ mise, laid out. From the popular or proper course, there is scant devia¬ tion; a stray thought is, for them, a gray thought. Popular prescriptions endure not for their sincerity but for their sim¬ plicity. We embrace them because they make all they profess to explain and all they profess to prescribe seem plain and uncomplicated. Inexorably, we become as simple as they — we people, we platitudes.

Quack equations This is the sort of simplicity much favored by mountebanks and pre¬ tenders, by businesspeople and politicians: a deal is a deal; a politician is a

politician; a promise is a promise; a rule is a rule; bald is beautiful; bigger is bet¬ ter; enough is enough; ethics is ethics; fair is fair; God is love; it is what it is; less 23

1

The Dimwit's Dictionary

is more; more is better; perception is reality; (what's) right is right; seeing is believing; talk is cheap; the law is the law is the lava; what happened happened; what's done is done. Quack equations too readily explain behavior that the undiscerning may otherwise find inexplicable and justify attitudes other¬ wise unjustifiable. No remedies for shoddy reasoning, no restoratives for suspect thinking, these palliatives soothe only our simple-mindedness. Equally distressing is that there is no end to these quack equations: alcohol is alcohol; he is who he is; math is math; money is money is money; peo¬ ple are people; plastic is plastic; prejudice is prejudice; their reasoning is their reasoning; the past is the past; wrong is wrong. Forever being fabricated and continually being merchandized, shoddy thinking is far more easily dis¬ pensed than sound thinking.

Suspect superlatives In dimwitted usage, superlatives are suspect. That which seems most laudable is often least, that which seems topmost, bottommost, that which seems best, worst: an amazing person; (I'm) a perfectionist; area of expertise; celebrity; class; gentleman; great; personal friend; pursuit of excel¬ lence; the best and (the) brightest; the rich and famous.

Torpid terms Torpid terms are vapid words and phrases that we use in place of vital ones: a majority of; a moving experience; a number of; a step (forward) in the right direction; cautiously optimistic; (take) corrective action; degree; effectu¬ ate; extent; (a) factor; incumbent upon; indicate; input; leaves a little (a lot; much; something) to be desired; move forward; negative feelings; off-putting; operative; prioritize; proactive; pursuant to; remedy the situation; represent(s); send a message; shocked (surprised) and saddened (dismayed); significant other; subsequent to; utilize; weight in proportion (proportionate) to height. Formulas as flat as these keep us dumb and dispassionate. They elic¬ it the least from us. With these unsound formulas, little can be communicated and still less can be accomplished. Torpid terms interfere with our understanding and with our taking action; they thwart our thinking and frustrate our feeling.

Withered words There are many rare and wonderful words that we would do well to become familiar with — words that would revitalize us for our revitaliz¬ ing them — words like bedizen; bootless; caliginous; compleat; cotquean; heb¬ domadal; helpmeet; logorrhea; quondam; wont. Withered words, however — words like albeit; amidst; amongst; 24

Chapter

behoove; betwixt; ergo; forsooth; perchance; said; sans; save; thence; unbe¬ knownst; verily; whence; wherein; whereon; wherewith; whilst — are archaic and deserve only to be forgotten. People who use them say little that is memorable.

Wretched redundancies* Reckless writers and slipshod speakers use many words where few would do: advance planning; at this time; consensus of opinion; dead body; due to the fact that; first and foremost; free gift; just recently; in advance of; in and of itself; in spite of the fact that; in terms of; make a determination; on a ... basis; on the part of; past experience; period of time; (the) reason (why) is because; refer back; the single best (most); until such time as. Yet for all the words, their expression is but impoverished; more words do not necessarily signify more meaning. Life is measured by its meaning, and a good deal of that meaning is inherent in the words we use. If so many of our words are superfluous — and thus do not signify — so much of our life is, ineluctably, meaningless. In the end, we are no more superfluous than are the words we use. In themselves, dimwitticisms are as innocuous as any other single word or phrase might be, but within sentences, among thoughts strug¬ gling to be expressed and ideas seeking to be understood, dimwitticisms ravage the writer's efforts as much as they do the reader's, the speaker's as much as the listener's. Dimwitticisms give rise to ineloquence, and it is precisely this that marks so much of our speech and writing. Whatever the occasion, whether celebratory or funereal, quotidian or uncommon, people speak and write the same dimwitted words and phrases. No wonder so many of us feel barren or inconsolable: there are few words that inspire us, few words that move us, few words that thrill or overwhelm us. Persuasion has lost much of its sway, conviction, much of its claim. Consider these further examples of dimwitted usage. 1. From a dialogue between a television correspondent and a school superintendent: So you feel like you were left holding the bag? Yes, it's fair to say we were left out in the cold.

*For a more complete listing of redundancies, see my Dictionary of Concise Writing (also pub¬ lished by Marion Street Press).

25

1

The Dimwit's Dictionary

Left holding the bag and left out in the cold are both moribund metaphors. 2. From the spoken words of a high school "genius": It was like her worst nightmare or something.

Like is an infantile phrase, her worst nightmare is a moribund metaphor, and or something is a grammatical gimmick. 3. From the words of a computer scientist: The encryption technology used today is the same as that used twen¬ ty years ago by military establishments and that type of stuff.

And that type of stuff is a grammatical gimmick. 4. From a business consultant's economic forecast:

Basically, it's a pretty nice forecast. Basically, pretty, and nice are all overworked words. 5. From a political lobbyist's analysis: If we could level the playing field, it would be better than having them

stick out like a sore thumb. Level the playing field and stick out like a sore thumb are both moribund metaphors. 6. From the author of a college textbook: In the beginning, and certainly before democratic forms of govern¬ ment arrived on the scene, tribal chieftains used their armies to main¬ tain order.

Arrive on the scene is an infantile phrase. 7. From a news program's report on the death of a woman: The company released a statement saying she was an outstanding employee and her colleagues are shocked and saddened by her death.

Shocked and saddened is a torpid term.

26

Chapter 1

8. From an article by a health-care professional:

It is interesting to note the impressive array of distinguished mental health professionals who have assumed a derogatoiy stance on pre¬ vention.

It is interesting to note is an ineffectual phrase. 9. From a meteorologist's weather forecast:

Averagewise, around November 10, we see the first snowflakes of the season fall.

Averagewise is a grammatical gimmick. 10. From a police report on the death of a vagrant: This could have happened to anyone; he happened to be in the wrong

place at the wrong time. In the wrong place at the wrong time is an infantile phrase. 11. From a man speaking before a congressional committee:

There are no words to describe how devastating this experience has been. There are no words to describe is a plebeian sentiment, and devastating is an overworked word. 12. From a questionnaire soliciting opinions about a business service:

Thank you in advance for your time and assistance; your answers can make a difference. Thank you in advance is a plebeian sentiment, and make a difference is a sus¬ pect superlative. 13. From the CEO of a multimillion-dollar company: A mensch is a man with a capital M.

With a capital M is an infantile phrase.

27

The Dimwit's Dictionary

14. From an elementary school principal's letter to parents:

Please be advised that Mr. Kline will no longer be your child's fifthgrade teacher as of Monday, November 22.

Please be advised that is an ineffectual phrase. 15. From an interview with a local government official:

The fact of the matter is these are tolls that should have been removed long ago.

The fact of the matter is is an ineffectual phrase. 16. From a newspaper article: But few couples even bother to discuss the "F" word — finances — before they tie the knot. The "F" word is an infantile phrase, and tie the knot is a moribund metaphor. 17. From a U.S. government official: We will take corrective action to the extent that we can; we're not going to be caught asleep at the switch. Both take corrective action and to the extent that are torpid terms, and caught asleep at the switch is a moribund metaphor. 18. From a television news correspondent:

At the end of the day, the bottom line is, no matter how powerful Karl Rove is, defending their guy here does mean protecting the presi¬ dent, period.

At the end of the day and the bottom line are moribund metaphors, and peri¬ od is an infantile phrase. 19. From a high school counselor's letter of recommendation: If he continues to get support in college, with his incredible effort to overcome his difficulties, he can definitely succeed.

28

Chapter 1

Both incredible and definitely are overworked words. 20. From a letter written by a lawyer: The $325 is an ounce of prevention that will alleviate you having to play expensive catch up later on down the road.

An ounce of prevention is a moribund metaphor, play catch up is a mori¬ bund metaphor, and later on down the road is a wretched redundancy. People who rely on dimwitticisms like these appear to express them¬ selves more fluently and articulately than those few who do not. But this is a sham articulateness, for without the use of phrases like left holding the bag, left out in the cold, her worst nightmare, and that type of stuff, basically, level the playing field, stick out like a sore thumb, arrive on the scene, shocked and saddened, it is interesting to note, in the wrong place at the wrong time, with a capital M, a breath of fresh air, incredible, and definitely, most people would stammer helplessly. As unsettling and dissatisfying as it can be to read a sentence in which a single dimwitticism occurs, more than one in a sentence height¬ ens our perturbation. Moreover, to mix dimwitticisms, as in some of the preceding examples, compounds our distress. To mix metaphors, as in example 5 (and even example 1), has long been frowned upon by gram¬ marians and careful users of the language. But equally disheartening is it to mix one of these categories with another. Joining a plebeian sentiment with an overworked word, as in example 11, or with a suspect superla¬ tive, as in example 12, makes a sentence, let us say, less convincing. Joining an infantile phrase with a moribund metaphor, as in example 18, surely makes a sentence less clever. What's more, to join not two but three or more categories, as in example 2, makes a sentence altogether comical and inconsiderable. No less than mixed metaphors are these combina¬ tions worthy of our derision. Dimwitticisms are ubiquitous, and we cannot easily escape them. Few of us can express a thought without them. We learn them unknow¬ ingly; insidiously do they become part of our wording unless we recog¬ nize what they are and withstand their onslaught. Genuine articulateness is writing and speech that scarcely makes use of dimwitticisms, and it is achieved only with much effort. Certainly, it is the least effective speakers and writers who use the most dimwitticisms. A person's ability to express himself well is inverse¬ ly proportional to the number of dimwitticisms he uses. A person who expresses himself with genuineness instead of in jar¬ gon, with feeling instead of in formulas is capable as few have been, as few are, and as few will be; this is a person to heed.

29

Chapter 2

Writing That Demands to Be Read Aloud, Speech That Calls to Be Captured in Print

T

he Dimwit's Dictionary would be incomplete without a brief discus¬ sion of what it means to express oneself well and wittily.

Though some dictionaries divide usage into standard English and nonstandard English — and others into standard, nonstandard, and substandard — today, our understanding of the English language would be best served if we were to recognize more exacting labels. Let us then consider the adoption of four categories of usage. Egregious English Uneducated English Everyday English Elegant English This scheme is largely an attempt to give recognition to speech and writing that is beyond standard, or everyday, English — to elegant English. Without such a listing, people may not understand that they can speak and write elegantly. Certainly, as the superfluity of dimwitticisms makes plain, elegant English is English rarely heard, English seldom seen. Here, first, are some examples of egregious English, uneducated English, and everyday English.

30

Chapter 2

Egregious English About egregious English there is little to say — other than it is a life¬ less, indeed, death-inducing, dialect that ought not to be said. Here, though, are a few examples. ■ He knew they was out there for 10 to 15 minutes before he done any¬ thing. ■ I seen things out there in the world that I never thought I would see. ■ My mom is the one that brung me up. ■ Don't you have family members that you could of went to? ■ Men have treated me terrible. ■ I took everything literate. ■ She wasn't being abused about nothing. ■ We don't go to parties no more; we don't go no where. ■ That don't matter. I'm still there with you, ain't I? ■ I shouldn't have did it. ■ I shot me a burglar. ■ Let's start over here with the two of yous. ■ I gots a lot of thinking to do.

Uneducated English Abuses of language abound, especially among those who speak and write uneducated English. Whereas people who aspire to write and speak the language well still maintain standards of speech and observe distinctions between words, the uneducated, like some juggernaut, massacre and obliterate. They slay nearly all that they say.

3i

The Dimwit's Dictionary

afeard (ascared). ■ He says he's afeard of being alone in the dark. Use afraid or scared. alls. ■ Alls I can say is he was a good cop. Use All. ■ Alls you hear them talk about is their baby. Use All. ■ Alls I wanted to say is that I forgive him. Use All. anyways. ■ Anyways, I have to go now. Use Anyway or Delete. ■ You shouldn't be sleeping around when you're married anyways. Use anyway or Delete.

anywheres. ■ He hasn't got anywheres to go. Use anywhere. a (long) ways. ■ I think magazines can go a long ways to effecting that. Use a long way. ■ Is it a long ways? Use a long way. being as. ■ Being as he's such a great dad, I thought he wouldn't mind. Use Because, Considering (that), In that, or Since. being as how. ■ That's not so bad, being as how we didn't even know we would be on the ballot. Use because, considering (that), in that, or since. being that. ■ Being that we seem to be getting along so well, I thought we might go to dinner. Use Because, Considering (that), In that, or Since. better had. ■ You better had do as your father says. Use had better, ought to, or should. complected. ■ I'm 5'2", 110 lbs., and very light-complected. Use light-complexioned. could of ■ I could of it I wanted to. Use could have. don't let's (let's don't). ■ Don't let's get upset about it. Use Let's not. drownded. ■ Two men drownded when their boat capsized. Use drowned. drug. ■ He drug up the past and complained about the argument we had that time. Use dragged. ■ What I've done is drug all the chapters into one folder. Use drag. good. ■ He did good last night. Use well. ■ He helps me to do good in school. Use well.

32

Chapter 2

had(n't) ought. ■ I had ought to go. Use ought or should. ■ You hadn't ought tell him what she said. Use ought not to or shoidd not. heighth. ■ She's over 6 feet in heighth. Use height. ■ I am the same size as you in heighth. Use height. hisself. ■ I heard it from Walter hisself. Use himself. ■ I was afraid he was going to hurt hisself. Use himself. in regards to. ■ The system has failed me in regards to disciplining my kids. Use in regard to. ■ In regards to your question, the most important thing is that we don't have a father figure in our lives. Use Concerning. irregardless (of). ■ Remember to treat all patients with respect and com¬ passion irregardless of their health status. Use despite, irrespective of no mat¬ ter what, regardless of or whatever. irregardless of the fact that. ■ Irregardless of the fact that she was raised by someone else, she is still our daughter. Use Although, Even though, or Though. leastways. ■ There's no sense of accomplishment, leastways not for me. Use at least. leave us. ■ Leave us go now before it starts to pour. Use Let us. like. ■ It's like deja vu all over again. Delete like. ■ And she's like, "Like, he wasn't like anyone I've, like, ever met." Delete like. ■ And I'm like I just couldn't believe it. Delete like. may of. ■ I may of met him once before. Use may have. might of. ■ It might of been me; I might of been sitting in the back seat. Use might have; might have. more -(i)er. ■ You're probably more busier than I am. Use busier or more busy. ■ I've gotten a lot more braver. Use braver or more brave. ■ At Christmas time, people are a little more friendlier. Use friendlier or more friendly. most -(i)est. ■ We want to take this opportunity to humbly express to you our most sincerest appreciation for the many expressions of sympathy you have shown us. Use most sincere or sincerest. ■ The panel consisted of some of the town's most lustiest women. Use most lusty or lustiest. 33

The Dimwit's Dictionary

muchly. ■ Thank you muchly. Use very much. not hardly. M Is she plump? Not hardly. Use Hardly. ■ I couldn’t hardly breathe because he had broken my ribs. Use could hardly. not scarcely. ■ I can't scarcely hear you. Use can scarcely. nowheres. ■ He was nowheres near their house. Use nowhere. seeing as. ■ Seeing as you're a woman, does the audience respond to you differently? Use Because, Considering (that), In that, or Since. seeing as how. H Quite possibly it is my fault seeing as how I did not respond the way I thought I would. Use because, considering (that), in that, or since. seeing that. ■ Seeing that this isn't a programming book, you should have little trouble. Use Because, Considering (that), In that, or Since. (my)self. ■ How about yourself? Use you. ■ She told my sister and myself that she was pregnant by him. Use me. ■ Richard and myself are going to lunch. Use I. M Very large people like yourselves can eat tiny amounts of food and not lose an ounce. Use you. ■ Let's hope someone comes along, like myself, to take his place. Use me. ■ We feel Mr. Roedler's comments do an injustice to collectors like ourselves who currently pay $1,500 to $2,000 for radios of this type. Use us.

should of. ■ I should of known. Use should have. somewheres. ■ I left it somewheres. Use somewhere. that there (those there). ■ That there man was the one who hit her. Delete there. ■ That way there, I can get my degree a few months sooner. Delete there. theirself (theirselves). ■ Irish people I know don't think of theirselves as Irish. Use themselves. this here (these here). ■ This is my little brother here. Delete here. ■ These shirts here are lighter than those. Delete here. thusly. ■ Thusly, I feel he was irresponsible and I feel I should tell him. 34

Chapter 2

Use Thus. ■ Because this was described as school shootings and thusly presented as gender neutral, the gendered nature of the killing and shoot¬ ing was ignored. Use thus.

went and. 9 We went and called 911. Delete went and. ■ He went and left me. Delete went and. what all. ■ She can't seem to find anyone who understands what all she has been through. Delete all. 9 I don't know what all the deal was with her, but she rejected me. Delete all. where at. 9 Nobody knows where the $100 is at. Delete at. 9 I know where she is at. Delete at. 9 I know where he works at. Delete at. with regards to. 9 Customers are looking for standard-based applications with regards to networking. Use with regard to. 9 With regards to the paper you gave out recently, I don't want to read about what you have against your opponent but what you are going to do for the city. Use With regard

to. would have. 9 What I am sure of is if we would have never confronted them, these white kids would have never given in to us. Use had. 9 If I would have been Paula, I would not have started a sexual harassment law¬ suit. Use had. 9 I wish none of this would have ever happened. Use had. would of. 9 I asked myself what I would of could of and should of done. Use would have, could have, and should have. Indeed, much uneducated English is everyday English. The language pullulates with people who hover between the uneducated and the everyday.

Everyday English j

Though there are many gauges of it, everyday English is certainly marked, as well as marred, by an ignorance of the meanings of words and the distinctions between words. Everyday speakers and writers are apt to confuse the meaning of one word for that of another. Half-conscious of the words they use and the meanings of them, these people speak and write words as if they scarce¬ ly mattered. Everyday speakers and writers often confuse the first of the follow-

35

The Dimwit's Dictionary

ing expressions (no more than a few of the many hundreds that are con¬ fused) with the second:

amount is confused with number. ■ Buy a qualifying amount of books and save 10% on all your subsequent purchases of non-discounted books. Use number. ■ All these methods will get you a minuscule amount of terrorists and a maximum amount of drug dealers instead. Use number.

breech is confused with broach. ■ I really respect that kind of honesty, and have breeched the subject at times to encourage fellow pioneers to bring some integrity to the table in such matters. Use broached. M When dis¬ cussing changes in the current severance package, breech the topic within the context of changes of other benefit plans. Use broach. ■ Since we've breeched the subject, I have to say the Associated Press poll shows John Kerry doing better with women by 1 percentage point than A1 Gore did with women. Use broached.

collaborate is confused with corroborate. ■ As our feedback reflects, we applaud some comments that collaborate our views on the proposals for further enhancement of relay services across the nation. Use corroborate. ■ At this point, we really only have Daniel's word and to back it up, it would be necessary to find Aerojet employees or White Sands people who could collaborate his statement. Use corroborate.

flaunt is confused with flout. ■ Why is Ted Kennedy a "pseudo-Catholic" — he claims to be a Catholic but flaunts the rules of the church he belongs to. Use flouts. ■ Companies regularly flaunt the laws, collecting and dis¬ seminating personal information. Use flout. ■ North Korea continues to flaunt international law by speeding ahead with their nuclear program with no consequences whatsoever. Use flout. irrelevant is confused with irreverent. ■ It was full of irrelevant fun almost to the point of Marx Brothers-style of antics, with a small dose of the hor¬ rors of war thrown in. Use irreverent. ■ His irrelevant style of humour is both witty and makes us think of how we see ourselves. Use irreverent.

it's is confused with its. ■ By now, even the most out of touch among you must realize that the government of the United States is at war against it's own people. Use its. ■ Freemasonry requires that it's members confess a belief in a supreme being. Use its. medias is confused with media. ■ When suicide bombers attack schools, bus stations, marketplaces, or other highly populated civilian areas, the 36

Chapter 2

biased liberal medias of the world all turn a blind eye. Use media. ■ Her art covers many aspects and medias, but today she is most widely noted for her sport action figures, portraits and pet portraits, but also does seascapes, landscapes, or still life should a client request them. Use media. ■ I want extra batteries for the remotes, an extra bulb for the projector, two backup copies of the presentation (naturally, in two different medias). Use media.

meretricious is confused with meritorious. ■ I informed her that that was a meretricious plan except for the fact that it involves lying. Use meritorious. ■ They serve the public interest by reminding readers not to believe a message simply because it is widely distributed, and carries the meretri¬ cious authority of the published word. Use meritorious.

palatable is confused with palpable. ■ If only we could only capture that palatable feeling in a bottle so that it can touch us on a more regular basis, it would do so much good. Use palpable. ■ About six months later I remember thinking that we were headed for a full-fledged recession, there was an almost palatable uneasiness in the air. Use palpable.

proscribe is confused with prescribe. ■ We are on record to abide by the 1949 Geneva Conventions and their relevant sections that proscribe the rules of war. Use prescribe. ■ They often proscribe rules of behavior which we must follow to attain rewards or avoid punishment in this or the after world. Use prescribe.

respectively is confused with respectfully. ■ Graduates of St. Clare School will act respectively towards self and others. Use respectfully. ■ Behave respectively to adults and each other. Use respectfully. straight-laced is confused with strait-laced. ■ He's as healthy and straightlaced a guy as you'll meet, and in today's society, that is amazing. Use strait-laced. ■ Anyone who's worked in advertising knows it's not exact¬ ly a straight-laced environment. Use strait-laced. vociferous is confused with voracious. ■ No, he wasn't a vociferous reader or running a recycling business. Use voracious. ■ At the age of 18 she opened her own studio and began to teach; a vociferous reader, she read everything she could about dance and took master classes from all the recognized leaders. Use voracious.

where is confused with that. ■ I saw on TV where he was awarded a prize. Use that. ■ I read where your neighbor was sentenced for soliciting sex. 37

The Dimwit's Dictionary

Use that. ■ It is wonderful, although I can see where they might have thought it went on too long. Use that.

who is confused with whom. ■ You all know exactly who I am talking about — which is odd considering that we don't have princes. Use whom. ■ This is a man who even Republican cohorts sometimes find disturbing, for the way he uses almost anything to his advantage. Use whom. Soon, it is clear, we will be a society unable to distinguish one word from another, sense from nonsense, truth from falsehood, good from evil. We will soon utter only mono- and disyllabic words, be entertained only by what pleases our peers, and adore whatever is easy or effortless. Unfamiliar wording and original phrasing will soon sound incoherent or cacophonic to us, while well-known inanities like have a nice day, what goes around comes around, and hope for the best but expect the worst will serve as our mantra, our maxim, our motto.

Elegant English We all know far too well how to write everyday English, but few of us apparently know how to write elegant English — English that is expressed with music as well as meaning, style as well as substance. The point of this category is to show that the language can, indeed, be spoken or written with grace and polish — qualities that much contemporary English is bereft of and could benefit from. So prevalent is everyday English that the person who speaks correct¬ ly and uses words deliberately is often thought less well of than the per¬ son who speaks solecistically and uses slang unreservedly. Today, fluen¬ cy is in disfavor. Neither everyday nor even uneducated English seems to offend people quite as much as does elegant English. People neither fume nor flinch when they hear sentences like those illustrated earlier; but let them listen to someone who speaks, or read someone who writes, ele¬ gantly, and they may be instantly repelled. Doubtless, well-turned phras¬ es and orotund tones suggest to them a soul unslain. Even so, it is not classism but clarity, not snobbery but sensibility that users of elegant English prize and wish to promote. Nothing so patently accessible as usage could ever be justly called invidious. As long as we recognize the categories of usage available to us, we can decide whether to speak and write the language well or badly. And we might more read¬ ily decide that elegant English is indeed vital were it more widely spoken by our public figures and more often written in our better books. Countless occasions where elegant English might have been used — indeed, ought to have been used — by a president or politician, a lumi¬ nary or other notable, have passed with uninspired, if not bumbling, 38

Chapter 2

speech or writing. Further, elegant English needs to be reliably compiled in a new type of dictionary — one that does indeed pay more attention to the phrases and rhetorical figures we use or might use, one that can accommodate the category of elegant English. Such a dictionary would be as new as it is old, for it would also need to note and, more than that, endorse the dis¬ tinctions between words. It would even prescribe distinctions between words where, perhaps, there have been none. Here are some examples of elegant English. The grammatically correct It is I is elegant, and the grammatically incor¬ rect It is me is not. ■ It was her who spoke to me that way. Use It was she. ■ He knew it was her, but she didn't know it was him. Use she; he. The ubiquitous like is everyday, whereas as, as if, and as though are elegant. ■ He felt like he had been cheated by the system. Use as though. ■ Like I was saying, he didn't know what the circumstances were. Use As. Elegant is graduated from or was graduated from; everyday is graduated. ■ Even before graduating college, Hughes had published two books of poet¬ ry. Use graduating from or he was graduated from. ■ I graduated one of the finest medical schools in the country. Use graduated from or was graduated

from. How come is everyday English, and how has it come about that or how is it that is elegant. ■ How come everyone else is wrong and you are right? Use How is it that. Me neither, that makes two of us, and you're not the only one are everyday; neither do I, no more do I, and nor do I elegant. ■ I no longer trust her. You're not the only one. Use Neither do I, Nor do I, or No more do I. MI myself know nothing about the subject. Me neither. Use Neither do I, Nor do I, or No more do I. Likewise or likewise, I'm sure in the following examples is everyday, even uneducated; the alternatives are not. ■ I'm so happy to have met you.

Likewise, I'm sure. Use And I, to have met you, or And I, you. ■ I enjoy meet¬ ing intelligent people. Likewise. Use As I do. A lot, very, and very much are hopelessly everyday expressions; enormous¬ ly, hugely, immensely, mightily, monstrously, and prodigiously are not. ■ We are very proud of her. Use enormously. All right, O.K., and whatever are everyday, but (just) as you like, (just) as you please, and very well are elegant. ■ I think I'll stay here for the night. O.K. 39

The Dimwit's Dictionary

Use Just as you please. ■ I'm supposed to say that, not you. Whatever. Use

Very well. Phrases like aren't I? aren't you? and wasn't I? are everyday, but am I not? are you not? and was I not? are elegant. ■ Aren't I going with you next week? Use Am I not. ■ He was right, wasn't he? Use was he not. Everyday are words like awful, bad, horrible, and terrible. Elegant are words like abominable, dreadful, frightful, ghastly, hideous, insufferable, intol¬ erable, monstrous, unspeakable, and unutterable. ■ What a terrible place this city of yours is. Use monstrous. ■ This peach pie looks horrible. Use fright¬

ful. The fact that is everyday, and the largely forgotten that elegant. ■ The fact that they declared bankruptcy means little to me if not to you. Use That. ■ Yes, the fact that she behaved like an imbecile did influence any interest we might have had in befriending her. Use that. Similarly, in order that and so that are everyday; that is elegant. ■ We spoke to her sternly in order that she might learn from her mistakes. Use that. ■ In order that we might profit from our experience, he had us write an essay on what we learned from it. Use That. Words like absolutely, definitely, and totally are everyday; itself is elegant. ■ She is definitely lovely. Use loveliness itself. ■ Throughout the whole affair, he was absolutely kind. Use kindness itself.

Extremely, so, terribly, and very are everyday; in the extreme and too are not. ■ It's very lovely. Use too. ■ I found his book extremely confusing. Use con¬ fusing in the extreme. I don't believe so, I don't think so, and no (I don't) are everyday; I think not is elegant. ■ Would you like to walk along with us? Thanks, but I don't think so. Use I think not. ■ Do you have any other questions for our guest? No. Use I think not. Phrases such as am I to are elegant, but shall I or will I is everyday. ■ What will I do with her? Use am I to. Everyday are (that's) correct, (most) definitely, I agree, (you're) right, sure; ele¬ gant are exactly so, just so, precisely so, quite right, quite so, and yes. ■ August is hardly the time to visit Paris. That's right. Use Quite right. ■ She is the wisest person I know. Most definitely. Use Exactly so. 40

Chapter 2

Expressions like that's correct, you're right, and yes, s/re has are everyday. Expressions like / am and s/re has are elegant. ■ Is it really your birthday today? That's right. Use It is. ■ Are we there already? Yes. Use We are. A phrase such as do you have is everyday next to the elegant have you. ■ Do I have time to take a shower? Use Have I. ■ Do you have anything to drink? Use Have you. An understood you is decidedly everyday; the plainly stated do is not. ■ We had a little adventure last night. Oh, tell me all about it. Use do tell. M Leave me alone. Use Do leave. Although the first three categories of usage, egregious, uneducated, and everyday English, comprise rudimentary structures — a single word, sometimes two or three words — elegant English, a more developed style, generally requires at least a few, and often many, words, as these further examples illustrate. 1. Those who profess to favor freedom, and yet deprecate agitation, are men who want crops without plowing up the ground. They want rain without thunder and lightning. They want the ocean without the awful roar of its waters. Frederick Douglass, Speech 2.1 confess I love littleness almost in all things. A little convenient estate, a little cheerful house, a little company, and a very little feast; and, if I were to fall in love again (which is a great passion, and therefore, I hope, I have done with it), it would be, I think, with prettiness, rather than with majestical beauty. Abraham Cowley, Of Greatness 3. Take away but the pomps of death, the disguises and solemn bugbears, the tinsel, and the actings by candle-light, and proper and fantastic cere¬ monies, the ministrels and the noise-makers, the women and the weep¬ ers, the swoonings and the shriekings, the nurses and the physicians, the dark room and the ministers, the kindred and the watchers; and then to die is easy, ready, and quitted from its troublesome circumstances. Jeremy Taylor, The Rule and Exercises of Holy Dying 4. Let me wither and wear out mine age in a discomfortable, in an unwholesome, in a penurious prison, and so pay my debts with my bones, and recompense the wastefulness of my youth, with the beggary of mine age; Let me wither in a spittle under sharp, and foul, and infa4i

The Dimwit's Dictionary

mous diseases, and so recompense the wantonness of my youth, with that loathsomeness in mine age. John Donne, Let Me Wither 5. A poor relation — is the most irrelevant thing in nature, — a piece of impertinent correspondency, — an odious approximation, — a haunting conscience, — a preposterous shadow, lengthening in the noontide of your prosperity, — an unwelcome remembrancer, — a perpetually recur¬ ring mortification, — a drain on your purse, — a more intolerable dun upon your pride, — a drawback upon success, — a rebuke to your rising, — a stain in your blood, — a blot on your scutcheon, — a rent in your gar¬ ment, — a death's head at your banquet, — Agathocles' pot, —- a Mordecai in your gate, — a Lazarus at your door, — a lion in your path, — a frog in your chamber, — a fly in your ointment, — a mote in your eye, — a triumph to your enemy, an apology to your friends, — the one thing not needful, — the hail in harvest, — the ounce of sour in a pound of sweet. Charles Lamb, Poor Relations 6. Somewhere, I knew not where — somehow, I knew not how — by some beings, I knew not whom — a battle, a strife, an agony, was con¬ ducting, — was evolving like a great drama, or piece of music; with which my sympathy was the more insupportable from my confusion as to its place, its cause, its nature, and its possible issue. I, as is usual in dreams (where, of necessity, we make ourselves central to every move¬ ment), had the power, and yet had not the power, to decide it. I had the power, if I could raise myself, to will it; and yet again had not the power, for the weight of twenty Atlantics was upon me, or the oppression of inexpiable guilt. "Deeper than ever plummet sounded," I lay inactive. Then, like a chorus, the passion deepened. Some greater interest was at stake; some mightier cause than ever yet the sword had pleaded, or trum¬ pet had proclaimed. Then came sudden alarms; hurryings to and fro; trepidations of innumerable fugitives. I knew not whether from the good cause or the bad; darkness and lights; tempest and human faces; and at last, with the sense that all was lost, female forms, and the features that were worth all the world to me, and but a moment allowed — and clasped hands, and heart-breaking partings, and then — everlasting farewells! and, with a sigh, such as the caves of hell sighed when the incestuous mother uttered the abhorred name of death, the sound was reverberated — everlasting farewells! and again, and yet again reverber¬ ated — everlasting farewells! Thomas de Quincey, Confessions of an Opium Eater

42

Chapter 2

7. Great is all townsmen's dread of the Beduw, as if they were the demons of this wild waste earth, ever ready to assail the Haj passengers; and there is no Beduwy durst chop logic in the dark with these often ferocious shooters, that might answer him with lead and who are heard, from time to time, firing backward into the desert all night. Charles M. Doughty, Travels in Arabia Deserta 8. Listen! for if you are not totally callous, if your consciences are not seared, I will speak daggers to your souls, and awake you to all the hor¬ rors of guilty recollection. I will follow you with whips and stings through every maze of your unexampled turpitude, and plant thorns under the rose of ministerial approbation. Edmund Burke, Speech 9. As to my old opinions, I am heartily sick of them. I have reason, for they have deceived me sadly. I was taught to think, and I was willing to believe, that genius was not a bawd, that virtue was not a mask, that lib¬ erty was not a name, that love had its seat in the human heart. Now I would care little if these words were struck out of the dictionary, or if I had never heard them. They are become to my ears a mockery and a dream. Instead of patriots and friends of freedom, I see nothing but the tyrant and the slave, the people linked with kings to rivet on the chains of despotism and superstition. I see folly join with knavery, and together make up public spirit and public opinions. I see the insolent Tory, the blind Reformer, the coward Whig! If mankind had wished for what is right, they might have had it long ago. William Hazlitt, On the Pleasure of Hating 10. Poor Cromwell, — great Cromwell! The inarticulate Prophet; Prophet who could not speak. Rude, confused, struggling to utter himself, with his savage depth, with his wild sincerity; and he looked so strange, among the elegant Euphemisms, dainty little Falklands, didactic Chillingworths, diplomatic Clarendons! Consider him. An outer hull of chaotic confusion, visions of the Devil, nervous dreams, almost semi¬ madness; and yet such a clear determinate man's-energy working in the heart of that. A kind of chaotic man. The ray as of pure starlight and fire, working in such an element of boundless hypochondria, unformed black of darkness! And yet withal this hypochondria, what was it but the very greatness of the man? The depth and tenderness of his wild affections: the quantity of sympathy he had with things, — the quantity of insight he would yet get into the heart of things, the mastery he would yet get over things: this was his hypochondria. The man's misery, as man's misery always does, came of his greatness. Samuel Johnson too is that kind of man. Sorrow-stricken, half-distracted; the wide element of mournful 43

The Dimwit's Dictionary

black enveloping him, — wide as the world. It is the character of a prophetic man; a man with his whole soul seeing, and struggling to see. Thomas Carlyle, Heroes and Hero Worship 11. The character of the Italian statesman seems, at first sight, a collection of contradictions, a phantom as monstrous as the portress of hell in Milton, half divinity, half snake, majestic and beautiful above, grovelling and poisonous below. We see a man whose thoughts and words have no connection with each other, who never hesitates at an oath when he wish¬ es to seduce, who never wants a pretext when he is inclined to betray. His cruelties spring, not from the heat of blood, or the insanity of uncon¬ trolled power, but from deep and cool meditation. His passions, like welltrained troops, are impetuous by rule, and in their most headstrong fury never forget the discipline to which they have been accustomed. His whole soul is occupied with vast and complicated schemes of ambition, yet his aspect and language exhibit nothing but philosophical modera¬ tion. Hatred and revenge eat into his heart; yet every look is a cordial smile, every gesture a familiar caress. He never excites the suspicion of his adversaries by petty provocations. His purpose is disclosed, only when it is accomplished. His face is unruffled, his speech is courteous, till vigilance is laid asleep, till a vital point is exposed, till a sure aim is taken; and then he strikes for the first and last time. Military courage, the boast of the sottish German, of the frivolous and prating Frenchman, of the romantic and arrogant Spaniard, he neither possesses nor values. He shuns danger, not because he is insensible to shame, but because, in the society in which he lives, timidity has ceased to be shameful. To do an injury openly is, in his estimation, as wicked as to do it secretly, and far less profitable. With him the most honorable means are those which are the surest, the speediest, and the darkest. He cannot comprehend how a man should scruple to deceive those whom he does not scruple to destroy. He would think it madness to declare open hostilities against rivals whom he might stab in a friendly embrace, or poison in a conse¬ crated wafer. Thomas Babington Macaulay, Machiavelli 12. Animated by this important object, I shall disdain to cull my phrases or polish my style; — I aim at being useful, and sincerity will render me unaffected; for, wishing rather to persuade by the force of my arguments, than dazzle by the elegance of my language, I shall not waste my time in rounding periods, nor in fabricating the turgid bombast of artificial feel¬ ings, which, coming from the head, never reach the heart. — I shall be employed about things, not words! — and, anxious to render my sex more respectable members of society, I shall try to avoid that flowery dic¬ tion which has slided from essays into novels, and from novels into famil44

Chapter 2

iar letters and conversation. These pretty nothings — these caricatures of the real beauty of sensi¬ bility, dropping glibly from the tongue, vitiate the taste, and create a kind of sickly delicacy that turns away from simple unadorned truth; and a deluge of false sentiments and overstretched feelings, stifling the natural emotions of the heart, render the domestic pleasures insipid, that ought to sweeten the exercise of those severe duties, which educate a rational and immortal being for a nobler field of action. Mary Wollstonecraft, A Vindication of the Rights of Woman Elegant English, as these examples show, is exhilarating; it stirs our thoughts and feelings as ably as dimwitted English blurs them.

The Dimwit's Dictionary will aid us in our quest for elegant, for witti¬ er, speech and writing. The goal is to promote understanding and rouse people to action. The goal is to express ourselves as never before — in writing that demands to be read aloud, in speech that calls to be captured in print.

45

THE

DIMWIT’S HCTIONARY SECOND EDITION

47

accidents will happen

absolutely,

A

positively An

infantile

phrase (see page 20). ■ A programmer must absolutely, positively keep a finger on the formats pulse. DELETE absolute¬ ly, positively. ■ On a wide range of top¬ ics, he is the go-to guy — when you absolutely, positively have to know what

abandon all hope, ye who enter here

happened. DELETE absolutely, positively.

An infantile phrase (see page 20).

Here’s a variation that the writer may have prided himself on: ■ But what you

(the) ABCs of A moribund metaphor

positively, absolutely do not want is to get

(see page 21). basics; basis; elements;

hurt in a stupid exhibition game.

essentials; foundation; fundamentals;

DELETE positively, absolutely.

principles; rudiments. ■ The program will discuss the ABCs of eating right.

absurd An overworked word (see page

Replace with fundamentals.

22). comical; extravagant; farcical; fool¬ hardy; foolish; idiotic; illogical; imbecilic;

abject poverty An inescapable pair (see

impractical; inane; incongruous; irra¬

page 20).

tional; laughable; ludicrous; moronic; nonsensical;

abortive

attempt

(effort)

An

preposterous;

ridiculous;

senseless; silly; unreasonable.

inescapable pair (see page 20). break¬ down; failure; malfunction.

accentuate the positive An infantile phrase (see page 20). be confident; be

above and beyond the call of duty A

encouraged; be heartened; be hopeful; be

moribund metaphor (see page 21).

optimistic; be positive; be rosy; be san¬ guine.

above par A moribund metaphor (see page 21). excellent; exceptional;first-class;

(an) accident waiting to happen A

first-rate; outstanding; remarkable; supe¬

moribund metaphor (see page 21). ■

rior; superlative.

Any network that does not have a stan¬ dardized backup procedure in place is

absence makes the heart grow fonder

an accident waiting to happen. ■ The fire

A popular prescription (see page 23).

at the InterRoyal mill was a tragic acci¬ dent waiting to happen.

absence of A torpid term (see page 24).

An accident waiting to happen twists

See ALSO lack of; less than (enthusiastic).

seriousness into silliness. The signifi¬ cance of what we say, the danger, per¬

absolutely An overworked word (see

haps, in what we do, we seldom see

page 22). altogether; categorically; com¬

when we think with such frivolous

pletely; entirely; fully; perfectly; positively;

phrases. Our understanding may be dis¬

quite; roundly; thoroughly; totally; uncon¬

torted, our responses dulled.

ditionally; unreservedly; utterly; wholly. See ALSO definitely; most assuredly; most

accidents will happen A popular pre¬

(very) definitely.

scription (see page 23). 49

according to Hoyle

according to Hoyle An infantile phrase

ing treatment, rehabilitation, and inter¬

(see page 20). accurately; by the rules;

diction. Replace with strategy.

conventionally;

correctly;

customarily; actions speak louder than words A

properly; regularly; rightly; traditionally.

popular prescription (see page 23).

ace in the hole A moribund metaphor active An overworked word (see page

(see page 21).

22).

Only thoughtless speakers and

Achilles’ heel (tendon) A moribund

writers, apes and jackanapes, use the

metaphor (see page 21). defect; deficien¬

adjective active to modify a noun. In

cy; disadvantage; failing; fault; flaw;

doing so, they emasculate the meaning

foible; fragility; frailness; frailty; handi¬

of these words. So common is the adjec¬

cap; imperfection; liability; limitation;

tival active, we might easily wonder if

shortcoming; susceptibility; susceptibleness;

anything is possible or achievable, seri¬

vulnerability; vulnerableness; weakness. II

ous or sincere that does not have this

If the Bruins had an Achilles heel last

word preceding it. ■ Please believe me

season, it was that they were a tad over¬

when I tell you that the only thing that

sized. Replace with weakness.

stands between you and a better, more responsive government is your active

acid test A moribund metaphor (see

participation in the process. Delete

page 21). assay; crucible; ordeal; proof;

active. ■ Nor did the president demon¬

test; trial.

strate active interest in the issue. Delete

active. ■ Some practitioners think that across

the

board

moribund

active movement might be the key to a

metaphor (see page 21). (for) all; all

cure. Delete active. ■ An active search is

over; (for) everyone; everyplace; every¬

on for the shooter. DELETE active. See

where; throughout (the land); universally.

ALSO actively.

A

■ There is increased consumer confi¬ dence — not just here but across the

actively An overworked word (see page

board. REPLACE WITH everywhere.

22). The popular use of actively suggests that any verb not affixed to it is feckless. We cannot simply consider an idea

The war was over, things looked

lest we be accused of not thinking; we

robust across the board, and Big

cannot simply engage in a pursuit lest we

Don was living the charmed life

be accused of not trying; we cannot sim¬

at the age of thirty-three. —

ply participate in a conversation lest we

Kevin Brennan, Parts Unknown

be accused of not speaking. ■ Another

'

if

\' '

- T '

'■ W 11111111 H

pWrTA

possibility is actively being considered by the administration: the use of force.

action plan A torpid term (see page

Delete actively. ■ The core group of

24). action; course; direction; intention;

ASC founders worried that the mem¬

method; move; plan; policy; procedure;

bership was restricted too narrowly to

route; scheme; strategy. ■ The UN is

policing, so they actively encouraged oth¬

expected to produce a global action plan

ers to participate. DELETE actively. ■ I

aimed at reducing demand and improv¬

have no intention of mailing a second

50

afraid (frightened; scared) of (his) own shadow

letter to anyone who does not actively

revive; rouse; shake up; stimulate; stir up;

show an interest in becoming part of my

vitalize; worsen.

collectors

club.

DELETE

actively.

■

Police are actively searching for the killer,

add insult to injury A moribund

actively looking in all areas, and actively

metaphor

examining all the evidence. DELETE

arouse; enkindle; enliven; exacerbate;

actively. ■ Not only do many people not

excite; feed; foment; heighten; ignite;

enjoy speaking in public, they actively

impassion; incite; increase; inflame; inten¬

dislike and even fear it. DELETE actively.

sify; invigorate; make worse; nourish;

■ Seek them out actively. Delete active¬

prod; provoke; rouse; shake up; stimulate;

ly. ■ Right now were not actively aware

stir up; what's worse; worsen.

of what

her

true

motivation

(see

page

21).

aggravate;

was.

DELETE actively. ■ Reporters get mired

ad infinitum A foreign phrase (see page

in routine like everyone and need, from

19). ceaselessly; endlessly; evermore; forev¬

actively work on

er; forevermore; to infinity; without limit.

time

to

time,

to

expanding the number of places they go

ad nauseam A foreign phrase (see page

and the variety of people with whom

19).

they talk. Delete actively. Here is an example of just how

advance planning A wretched redun¬

absurd our fixation on actively has

dancy (see page 25). planning. ■ This

become: ■ Among the new features of

project will require a lot of advance

WSF2 R3.3 that he is actively looking

planning. DELETE advance.

forward to is the statistical information that can be provided through SMF records.

DELETE

actively.

advance warning A wretched redun¬

SEE ALSO

dancy

active.

(see

page

25).

warning.

■

Although the bank’s 17,000 employees have known for more than a month that

acutely aware An inescapable pair (see

the ax was about to fall, the advance

page 20). ■ Fans have become acutely

warning did little to blunt the effect.

aware that player strikes and lockouts

DELETE advance.

are battles over who gets the biggest

warn in advance.

piece of what the fan provides.

advice is cheap A quack equation (see

adamantly oppose An inescapable pair

page 23).

(see page 20).

afraid (frightened; scared) of (his)

add fuel to the fire A moribund

own shadow A moribund metaphor

metaphor (see page 21). activate; aggra¬

(see page 21). afraid; alarmed; apprehen¬

vate; agitate; animate; arouse; awaken;

sive; cowardly; craven; diffident; faint¬

encourage; enkindle; enliven; exacerbate;

hearted; fearful; frightened; pavid; pusil¬

excite; feed; foment; heighten; ignite;

lanimous; recreant; scared; terror-striken;

impassion; incite; increase; inflame; inten¬

timid; timorous; tremulous.

sify; invigorate; make worse; nourish; prod; provoke;

SEE also forewarn;

rejuvenate;

revitalize; 51

after (once; when) all is said and done

after (once; when) all is said and done

ahead of (his)

time A moribund

A wretched redundancy (see page 25).

metaphor

all in all; all told; altogether; eventually;

ground-breaking; innovative; inventive;

finally; in all; in the end; on the whole;

new; original; pioneering; progressive;

overall; ultimately. ■ After all is said and

radical; revolutionary; unconventional.

(see page 21).

advanced;

done, it truly was an exceptional decade. Replace with On the whole. ■ When all

aid and abet An inescapable pair (see

is said and done, we humans are a curi¬

page 20). abet; aid; assist; encourage;

ous species. REPLACE WITH All told.

help; support. ■ One of the best-known detectives comes from literature in the person of Sherlock Holmes, a private investigator aided and abetted by his friend

Dr.

Watson.

REPLACE WITH

assisted. The two women were simply aid¬ ing and abetting each other to disband the Seraglio. — Penelope Fitzgerald, Human Voices ' ’*

'

‘eVVi

' _._

•

"_

N

x

v

... v

_ _

after the fact A torpid term (see page

airtight alibi An inescapable pair (see

24). afterward; later. ■ We don’t have a

page 20).

choice, after the fact. REPLACE WITH

a la A foreign phrase (see page 19) (see

afierward.

page 19). according to; in the manner of;

age before beauty A popular prescrip¬

like. ■ I don’t want to put myself in a

tion (see page 23).

bad position and get beat a la this man. Replace with like. ■ The media may

(the) agony and the ecstasy A mori¬

be engaged in a witch hunt a la the late

bund metaphor (see page 21).

U.S. Senator Joe McCarthy and per¬ haps should cut back on their coverage.

agree to disagree An infantile phrase

Replace with in the manner of.

(see page 20).

alas A withered word (see page 24). ahead

of the

game A moribund

regrettably; sadly; sorrowfully; unfortu¬

metaphor (see page 21). advantageous;

nately; unhappily. ■ Alas, the program

auspicious; blessed; charmed; enchanted;

checks only the first two directory

favored; felicitous; flourishing; fortuitous;

entries. REPLACE WITH Unfortunately.

fortunate; golden; happy; in luck; lucky; propitious; prosperous; successful; thriving.

alas and alack An infantile phrase (see page 20). regrettably; sadly; sorrowfully;

unfortunately; unhappily. albatross around (my) neck A mori¬ bund metaphor (see page 21). affliction;

52

alive and kicking

burden; charge; cross; difficulty; encum¬

there is mover and shaper; along with

brance; hardship; hindrance; impediment;

neck of the woods, there is the noisome

load; obstacle; obstruction; onus; oppres¬

portion of the earth; along with needs and

sion; ordeal; problem; trial; trouble;

wants, there is needs and desires; along

weight. ■ Then came that unspeakable

with in no way, there is in no way, shape,

song, “Begin the Beguine,” which is still

or form and the preposterous in no way,

an albatross around my neck. REPLACE

shape, form, or fashion; along with reme¬

WITH a burden.

dy the situation, there is rectify the situa¬ tion; along with out the window, there is

albeit A withered word (see page 24).

out the door; and along with nothing

although; even if; even though; though.

could be further from the truth, there is,

Like other withered words, albeit strikes

incomprehensibly, nothing could be fur¬

some people as more exquisite sounding

ther from the actual facts.

— and therefore,

apparently,

more

Would that it ended here, but there

intellectual sounding — than any of its

are also far too many people who begin

synonyms. But this is perceived by only

with a hackneyed phrase and then trans¬

the deaf and the dimwitted. ■ Albeit

mogrify it into an ever-so-silly, garish

somewhat dated,

one.

a study performed

Thus, between a rock and a hard place

eight years ago is attracting attention

(See) becomes: ■ In the past decade,

once again. REPLACE WITH Although.

newspaper

alive

and

kicking

publishers

have

been

moribund

squeezed between the Net and a hard

metaphor (see page 21). alive; blooming;

place. ■ The A1 Queda fighters are

doing well; energetic; existent; existing;

between an anvil and a hammer.

A

extant; fit; flourishing; growing; hale;

A needle in a haystack (See) becomes:

hardy; healthful; healthy; hearty; live;

■ Her friend wrote back and said this

lively; living; prospering; robust; sound;

was impossible, like looking for a needle

still exists; strong; surviving; thriving; vig¬

on the bottom of the ocean.

orous; vital; well; well-off. One of the

From bad to worse (See) becomes: ■

consequences of endlessly saying and

Moscow now has about 90 days to try to

hearing and writing and reading formu¬

keep a bad situation from collapsing into

laic phrases is that, eventually, people do

something infinitely worse. Doesn't have a snowball's chance in hell

become weary of them. But instead of expressing themselves

(See) becomes: ■ There is nobody on

differently — more eloquently or more

Russia’s political horizon who embraces

inventively, perhaps — people will sim¬

Mr. Yeltsin’s westernized brand of eco¬

ply substitute one word in these self¬

nomic policy and has a Siberian snow¬

same formulas for another.

ball's chance of winning a presidential election.

Thus, along with alive and kicking, there is, for instance, alive and well (See)

An accident waiting to happen (See)

and even alive and thriving, along with a

becomes: ■ The holidays are a cornu¬

thing of the past, there is a phenomenon of

copia of awkward moments waiting to

the past, along with business as usual,

happen. ■ Expectations are resentments

there is politics as usual (See) and life as

waiting to happen. Not with a bang but with a whimper

usual; along with mover and shaker, 53

alive and well

(See) becomes: ■ This week started out

energetic; existent; existing; extant; fit;

with a bang and ended with a whimper

flourishing; growing; hale; hardy; health¬

for bank stocks. S Hurricane Bonnie hit

ful; healthy; hearty; live; lively; living;

New England with a whimper, not a

prospering; robust; sound; still exists;

bang ■ After beginning my career there

strong; surviving; thriving; vigorous; vital;

with a bang, I cannot end with a whim¬

well; well-off. ■ Scholarship and reader-

per. H It could end with a whimper or a

ship are alive and well and will outlast

wallop.

the publishing binge of the commercial

Walk softly and carry a big stick (See)

houses.

Replace with flourishing. ■

becomes: B The guiding principle in

The work ethic of American workers is

foreign policy of this administration

unquestionably alive and well. REPLACE

seems to be speak loudly and carry a twig.

WITH sound.

Snatch victory from the jaws oft defeat end,

all and sundry A wretched redundancy

Republicans will simply snatch defeat

(see page 25). all; everybody; everyone;

from the jaws of victory if they successful¬

everything. See ALSO various and sundry.

(See)

becomes:

£

In

the

ly oust a president they loathe but lose their

majorities

in

both

houses

of

Congress as a result.

From morning till night you saw her sitting on a low chair in the

Light at the end of the tunnel (See)

kitchen, surrounded by a Chinese

becomes: ■ Is it possible that were actu¬

cook and two or three native girls,

ally seeing a light at the end ofStar Trek s

giving her orders, chatting socia¬

TV continuum?.

bly with ail and sundry, and tast¬

Not worth the paper it’s written (print¬

ing

the

savoury

messes

she

ed) on (See) becomes: ■ Consumers can

devised.

put their trust in a few of these Web site

Maugham, The Moon and Sixpence

—

W.

Somerset

seals, but in many cases they aren’t worth

the pixels that they’re painted with. Going to hell in a hand basket (See)

all dressed up and no place to go An infantile phrase (see page 20).

becomes: ■ The good news, culturally speaking, is that if were going to Hell in

all ears A moribund metaphor (see page

a Saks shopping bag, at least we are going

21). attentive; heedful; listening; paying

there slowly.

attention; paying heed.

People propagate these monstrosi¬ ties. Equally distressing is that, in doing

(as) all get-out A moribund metaphor

so, they think they are being clever and

(see page 21).

inventive. Among pedestrian people,

sumedly;

this is what it means to be thoughtful,

extremely; greatly; hugely; immensely;

this is what it means to be creative.

intensely; mightily; prodigiously; severely;

Is it any wonder that speech is so often soporific, writing so often weari¬

acutely; awfully; con-

exceedingly;

extraordinarily;

terribly; very. ■ He was funny as all getout. REPLACE WITH extremely funny.

some?

all hell broke loose A moribund alive and well An infantile phrase (see page 20). alive; blooming; doing well;

metaphor (see page 21).

all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy

all mouth A moribund metaphor (see

all (good) things must end A popular

page 21). boastful; vainglorious.

prescription (see page 23).

all of the above An infantile phrase (see

all thumbs A moribund metaphor (see

page 20). ■ Are you just looking for a

page 21). ambisinister; awkward; blun¬

companion or are you looking for a sex¬

dering;

ual partner? All of the above. See ALSO

gawky; gauche;

none of the above.

handed; inapt; inept; lubberly; lumbering;

bumbling;

maladroit;

bungling;

clumsy;

ham-handed;

uncoordinated;

heavy-

uncouth;

all over the lot (map) A moribund

ungainly; ungraceful; unhandy; unskillful;

metaphor (see page 21). diffuse; dis¬

unwieldy.

persed; disseminated; scattered; strewn; all-time record A wretched redundancy

unfocused.

(see page 25). record. ■ If anyone spent

all roads lead to Rome A moribund

time skiing here this past winter, they’d

metaphor (see page 21).

be happy to find the boycott has result¬ ed in an all-time record number of skiers.

all

one A

moribund

DELETE all-time. See also record-break¬

(see page 21).

admixture;

ing; record-high.

rolled

metaphor

into

amalgam; blend; combination; mix; mix¬ all to the good A moribund metaphor

ture.

(see page 21). adequate; advantageous;

beneficial; satisfactory; sufficient.

all’s fair in love and war A popular pre¬ scription (see page 23).

(from) all walks of life A moribund metaphor (see page 21).

all’s well that ends well A popular pre¬ scription (see page 23).

all wet A moribund metaphor (see page all systems

(are)

21).

go A moribund

amiss; astray; deceived; deluded;

erring; erroneous; fallacious; false; faulty;

metaphor (see page 21).

inaccurate; incorrect; in error; misguided; misinformed; mislead; mistaken; not cor¬

all that glitters isn’t gold A popular

rect; not right; wrong. ■ Whoever told

prescription (see page 23).

you that alcohol is less of a problem

(and) all that jazz A grammatical gim¬

than drugs is all wet. REPLACE WITH mis¬

mick (see page 19) (see page 19). ■ He

taken.

tells me what to do and all that jazz.

all wool and a yard wide A moribund

Delete and all that jazz.

metaphor (see page 21). actual; authen¬

tic; earnest; genuine; heartfelt; honest;

all the world’s a stage A moribund

legitimate; pure; real; sincere; sterling;

metaphor (see page 21).

true; unadulterated; unalloyed; veritable. all things

considered A wretched

redundancy (see page 25). all in all; all

all work and no play makes Jack a

told; altogether; in all; on the whole; over¬

dull boy A popular prescription (see

all.

page 23).

55

(the) almighty dollar

(the) almighty dollar A moribund

(9:00) a.m. ... (in the) morning A

metaphor (see page 21).

wretched redundancy (see page 25).

(9:00)

a.m.;

(in

the)

morning.

G

along the lines of A wretched redun¬

Monday’s events can be defined to occur

dancy (see page 25). akin to; close to;

from 8 a. m. Monday morning to 8 a. m.

like; resembling; similar to; such as. ■ It’s

Tuesday morning. DELETE morning. G

generally safe to ask people in the field if

This morning at 9:35 a.m. a violent

they’ve ever heard of anything along the

clash took place between prisoners.

lines of yo u r idea. REPLACE WITH similar

Delete a.m..

to. amongst A withered word (see page It turned out that Agent Samson

24). among. Amongst, among the poten¬

was something along the lines of a

tially bright, is preferable to among, but

circuit-court speech therapist. -—

only because their potential has yet to

David Sedaris, Me Talk Pretty One

be realized. ■ If there is a lack of confi¬

Day

dence amongst those concerned,

the

strictly political element will be more

(the) alpha and omega of A moribund

obvious.

metaphor (see page 21).

Someday, perhaps, you’ll be able to find

Replace

with

among.

G

it amongst the software programs at the

amazing An overworked word (see page

store, next to SimCity: the ultimate

22). astonishing; astounding; extraordi¬

Language Architect simulator game.

nary; marvelous; outstanding; remark¬

REPLACE WITH among. G I’m sorry to say

able; spectacular; startling; stunning;

that after passing this amongst some col¬

wonderful; wondrous.

leagues, we’ve agreed that it is not thor¬ ough enough to be a reference book.

(an) amazing person A suspect superla¬

Replace with among.

tive (see page 24). An amazing person is so only in the eyes of another who, we

a (absolute) must An infantile phrase

can be confident, is not.

(see page 20). compulsory; critical; essen¬

tial; imperative; important; indispensable; (as) American as apple pie An insipid

mandatory; necessary; needed; obligatory;

simile. all-American; decent; good; honor¬

required; requisite; vital. G Prior experi¬

able; moral; proper; pure; right; straight;

ence writing user and technical docu¬

upright; virtuous; wholesome.

mentation in the computer field is a

must. Replace with necessary. G It is (the)

American

dream A suspect ■

not an absolute must to read this part in

The

order to use the second half of the book.

American dream has become a night¬

Replace with essential. See also (a)

mare.

must have; (a) must see; a (definite) plus.

amidst A withered word (see page 24).

analyze

amid; among. ■ Amidst all of life’s dis¬

metaphor (see page 21). analyze; anato¬

tractions, what is it that keeps us going?

mize; dissect; examine; inspect; investi¬

Replace with Amid.

gate; scrutinize; study. SEE ALSO to death.

superlative

(see

page

24).

56

to

death

A

moribund

and (or) stuff (things) like that

(that’s) ancient history A moribund

and everything like that A grammati¬

metaphor (see page 21). aged; ancient;

cal gimmick (see page

antediluvian; antique; archaic; elderly;

adopted that way of speaking and every-

history; hoary; old; past; prehistoric; sea¬

thmg like that. Delete and everything

soned; superannuated.

like that. ■ Don’t you feel cheap and

19). ■ They

used and everything like that? DELETE He knew that it had something to

and everything like that. See ALSO and

do with the scandal, but that was

all; and all like that; and everything (else);

ancient

and stuff (things); and (or) stuff (things)

history.

—

Frederick

Buechner, The Storm

like that.

and all A grammatical gimmick (see

and/or A wretched redundancy (see

page 19) (see page 19). — Were going

page 25). and; or. ■ Implant dentistry

to look at all these nice buildings and

can be an effective alternative to den¬

all. Delete and all. See also and all like

tures and/or missing teeth.

that; and everything (else); and everything

WITH or. ■ But computers may make

like that; and stuff (things); and (or) stuff

both more attractive than the alterna¬

(things) like that.

tives adopted by those who have aban¬

REPLACE

doned wives and/or children by failing

and all like that A grammatical gim¬

to

mick (see page 19). ■ We went to differ¬

Replace with and.

meet their financial obligations.

ent agencies for help and all like that. DELETE and all like that. ■ He caught

and so on, and so forth A grammatical

me off guard by asking for my name and

gimmick (see page 19). and so forth; and

address and all like that. Delete and all

so on; and the like; etc. ■ I’m more inter¬

like that. See ALSO and all; and every¬

ested in films about human relation¬

thing (else); and everything like that; and

ships and so on, and so forth. DELETE and

stuff (things); and (or) stuff (things) like

so on, and so forth. See ALSO blah, blah,

that.

blah; et cetera, et cetera.

and etc. (et cetera) A wretched redun¬

and stuff (things) A grammatical gim¬

dancy (see page 25). and so forth; and so

mick (see page 19). ■ His legs had black

on; and the like; etc. ■ We bought the

bruises on them and stuff. DELETE and

generic-brand products and et cetera.

stuff. ■ The customers are really nice

Replace with and the like.

people; they’re friends and stuff. DELETE

and stuff. ■ They wanted him to go for and everything (else) A grammatical

a bike ride and things.

DELETE and

gimmick (see page 19). ■ Were respon¬

things. ■ We got invited to a lot of

sible for this baby and everything else.

Hollywood parties and things. DELETE

DELETE and everything else. ■ You guys

and things. See ALSO and all; and all like

fight and everything, but she really does

that; and everything (else); and everything

love you. DELETE and everything. SEE

like that; and (or) stuff (things) like that.

ALSO and all; and all like that; and every¬

thing like that; and stuff (things); and (or)

and (or) stuff (things) like that A

stuff (things) like that.

grammatical gimmick (see page 19). ■ I

57

and that kind of stuff (thing)

love women — the way they look and

and this, that, and the other (thing) A

stuff like that. DELETE and stuff like that.

grammatical gimmick (see page 19). ■

■ People shouldn’t shoot others over

She would say to me, you’ve got the best

money or things like that. ■ I was upset

of both worlds, you’re special, you’re

because my mother went through two

loved, and this, that, and the other thing.

divorces and stuff like that. DELETE and

DELETE and this, that, and the other

stuff like that. ■ As a big man, they look

thing. See ALSO and this and that.

at you as big and healthy and things like

that. DELETE and things like that. See

an embarrassment of riches A mori¬

ALSO and all; and all like that; and every¬

bund metaphor (see page 21). ■ It’s a

thing (else); and everything like that; and

city with an embarrassment of riches.

stuff (things); and (or) stuff (things) like anent A withered word (see page 24).

that.

about; concerning. and that kind of stuff (thing) A gram¬ matical gimmick (see page 19). ■ He’s a

angel of mercy A suspect superlative

changed man; he’s learned to read and

(see page 24). liberator; redeemer; rescuer;

write and that kind of thing. DELETE and

savior.

that kind of thing. 9 I was working on getting the house settled and that kind of

anon A withered word (see page 24). 1.

stuff. Delete and that kind of stuff. See

at another time; later. 2. shortly; soon. 3.

ALSO (and that) sort of stuff (thing); (and

at once; immediately.

that) type of stuff (thing). another day, another dollar A popular and that sort of stuff (thing) A gram¬ matical gimmick (see page

prescription (see page 23).

19). ■ I

enjoy walking in the park and that sort of

ants

in

(his)

pants A moribund

thing. Delete and that sort of thing. See

metaphor (see page 21). aflame; agitat¬

ALSO (and that) kind of stuff (thing); (and

ed; animated; anxious; eager; ebullient;

that) type of stuff (thing).

effervescent; enthusiastic; excitable; excit¬ ed; fervent; fervid; fidgety; frantic; fren¬

and that type of stuff (thing) A gram¬

zied; impassioned; impatient; jittery;

matical gimmick (see page 19). ■ I like

jumpy; lively; nervous; restive; restless;

interesting conversation and interacting

skittish; spirited.

and that type of thing. Delete and that type of thing. See ALSO (and that) kind of

a ... number (of) A torpid term (see

stuff (thing); (and that) sort of stuff

page 24). ■ You can use the computer to

(thing).

disc6ver students who are making a

large number ^/mistakes. REPLACE WITH and this and that A grammatical gim¬

many. ■ A good number of troops have

mick (see page 19). ■ He told me how

arrived

much he cared for me and this and that.

Hundreds. U An overwhelming number of

Delete and this and that. See also and

the participatory lenders have

this, that, and the other (thing).

joined the major banks in supporting

in

Moscow.

REPLACE WITH now

our plan. Replace WITH Almost all. ■

58

(first) appear (arrive; come) on the horizon (scene)

They are dependent upon the teacher’s pension, which is fully given at the age

Maybe from the old habit of doing

of 62 after a large number of teaching

everything as one man;

maybe

years. REPLACE WITH years of teaching.

hen you have lived for four years

See ALSO a (the) ... majority (of); a suffi¬

a world ordered completely by

cient number (of).

men’s doings, even when it is dan¬ ger and fighting, you don’t want to

any and ail A wretched redundancy (see

quit that world: maybe the danger

page 25). all; any. WAny and all acciden¬

and the fighting are the reasons,

tal needle sticks must be reported to the

because men have been pacifists

physician at once. REPLACE WITH All. ■

for every reason under the si

We welcome any and all comments and

except to avoid danger and fight

suggestions

regarding

this

project.

William Faulkner,

Tk

Replace with any.

anyhow A grammatical gimmick (see

anyway A grammatical gimmick (see

page 19). ■ Anyhow, we got the divorce

page 19). ■ But anyway, I’ll talk to you

in 1992. Delete Anyhow. See ALSO any¬

later in the week. Delete anyway. ■ So

way.

anyway, I just wanted to verify that with you. Delete anyway. SEE also anyhow.

any port in a storm A moribund appearances can be deceiving A popu¬

metaphor (see page 21).

lar prescription (see page 23).

anything and everything A wretched anything;

(first) appear (arrive; come) on the

everything. ■ A deadbeat is generally

horizon (scene) An infantile phrase (see

defined as a person dedicated to getting

page 20). appear; arise; become available;

anything and everything possible for

begin; be introduced; come forth; develop;

REPLACE WITH anything or

emerge; occur; originate; present itself; rise;

redundancy (see page 25).

nothing.

spring; start; surface; turn up. ■ TTAPS

everything.

first appeared on the scene in 1983 with a

anything (everything) is possible A

paper in Science on the global atmos¬

popular prescription (see page 23).

pheric consequences of nuclear war. Replace WITH emerged. HI It is at the

any (every) (reason) under the sun A

time of William the Conqueror and the

moribund metaphor (see page 21). any;

Norman conquest of England that the

anything; every; everything. ■ Americans

office of shire reeve first appears on the

sue each other for almost every reason

scene. REPLACE WITH appears. ■ Clearly,

under the sun. REPLACE WITH every rea¬

oil used in the internal combustion

son. ■ Our catering staff has designed a

engine presented such a change when it

menu and planned a party for almost

came on the scene in the early part of the

every reason under the sun.

twentieth

REPLACE

century.

REPLACE

WITH

WITH every reason. ■ Capricorns have

became available. ■ The Component

the ability to write about any subject

Object Model (COM) has caused more

under the sun. REPLACE WITH anything.

confusion since its inception than any

59

(an) apple a day keeps the doctor away

other programming technology that has

and uninspired acts may result, which is

ever appeared on the horizon. REPLACE

quite likely all that the user of it,

WITH been introduced.

bureaucrat he routinely is, either wishes for or can imagine. ■ If there’s enough

(an) apple a day keeps the doctor

public pressure, they may rethink their

away A popular prescription (see page

defensiveness and begin to take correc¬

23).

tive action. REPLACE WITH behave differ¬ ently. ■ The bus driver was not exercis¬

(the) apple doesn’t fall far from the

ing caution in this instance, and correc¬

tree A popular prescription (see page

tive action has been taken. REPLACE WITH

23).

he was fired. ■ By the time someone decides to take corrective action, the cus¬

(the) apple of (my) eye A moribund

tomer may be in too deep. REPLACE

metaphor (see page 21). hero; idol; star.

WITH act. ■ The district will take appro¬

priate action to ensure such occurrences apple polisher A moribund metaphor

do not continue. REPLACE WITH do what

(see page 21). apparatchik; bootlicker;

it must.

fawner; flatterer; flunky; follower; lackey; minion; stooge; sycophant; toady; yes-man.

April showers bring May flowers A popular prescription (see page 23).

(like comparing) apples and oranges A moribund metaphor (see page 21).

area of expertise A suspect superlative

different; discordant; discrepant; dissimi¬

(see page 24). area; business; calling;

lar; dissonant; divergent; incommensu¬

craft; field; forte; job; line; metier; occupa¬

rable; incommensurate; incomparable;

tion; profession; specialty; strength; trade;

incompatible; incongruent; incongruous;

vocation.

inconsistent; inconsonant; inharmonious; unlike.

(we) aren’t going to take it anymore A popular prescription (see page 23).

(I) appreciate (it) An overworked word (see page 22). 1. grateful for; thankful

(cost an) arm and a leg A moribund

for; thank you. 2. admire; cherish; esteem;

metaphor (see page 21). 1. a big (brobd-

prize; relish; treasure; value; welcome. ■

ingnagian; colossal; enormous; gargantu¬

We appreciate your help. REPLACE WITH

an; giant; gigantic; grand; great; huge;

are grateful for. ■ We appreciate you

immense;

being here. REPLACE WITH thank you for.

prodigious; tremendous; vast) amount; a

■ I appreciate every letter that I have

great deal; a lot. 2. costly; dear; expensive;

received. REPLACE WITH treasure. SEE

high-priced; precious; priceless; valuable.

large;

massive;

monstrous;

ALSO common courtesy.

armed and dangerous An inescapable (take) appropriate (corrective) action

pair (see page 20).

A torpid term (see page 24). This pon¬ derous phrase will stem one persons

armed (themselves) to the teeth A

drive while it saps another’s desire. From

moribund metaphor (see page 21).

such a phrase, only dull-minded deeds

as far as ... (goes; is concerned)

(an) army of A moribund metaphor

As a matter of fact, children get disap¬

(see page 21). SEE ALSO a barrage of.

pointed when they grow up to find the adult’s prescription didn’t match the real

paround about A wretched redundancy

world. Replace with In truth.

(see page 25). about; around. ■ Let’s meet around about noon. Replace with

as a result of A wretched redundancy

about or around.

(see page 25). after; because of; by; due to;

following; for; from; in; out of; owing to; (work) around the clock A moribund

through; with. ■ As a result of this letter,

metaphor (see page 21). always; ceaseless¬

ten of us did not attend the wedding.

ly; constantly; continually; continuously;

Replace with Because of.

endlessly; eternally; everlastingly; ever¬ more; forever; forevermore; frequently;

as defined in (the dictionary) An

interminably; nonstop; permanently; per¬

infantile phrase (see page 20). This is a

petually; persistently; recurrently; regular¬

device that only abecedarian writers

ly; repeatedly; unceasingly; unremittingly.

would ever use; even so, it should always be xd. ■ As defined in the dictionary,

(just; right)

“Health is the absence of disease.” ■

around the corner A (see page 21).

Creationism, as defined in Webster's New

approaching; at hand; close; close by; com¬

Universal Dictionary, is the doctrine that

ing; forthcoming; imminent; impending;

matter and all things were created, sub¬

near; nearby; nearing; pending; vicinal. ■

stantially as they now exist,

Deregulation of the utility industry was

omnipotent creator, and not gradually

just around the corner, and several other

evolved or developed. SEE ALSO (the)

companies were prepared to enter the

dictionary defines.

moribund metaphor

by an

market. REPLACE WITH at hand.

as far as ... (goes; is concerned) A arrow

in

the

heart A

wretched redundancy (see page 25).

moribund

about; as for; as to; concerning; for; in; of;

metaphor (see page 21). injury; wound.

on; over; regarding; respecting; to; toward; (another) arrow in the quiver A mori¬

with. ■ As far as improvements go, you’d

bund metaphor (see page 21). device;

have a battle. REPLACE WITH As for. ■ As

gambit; maneuver; means; plan; ploy;

far as those bargains are concerned,

ruse; scheme; stratagem; strategy; tactic;

attempts to place measures on the table

tool; trick.

would be regressive and an illegal act. Replace with

Concerning. See ALSO

where ... is concerned.

art is long, and life is short A popular prescription (see page 23).

as a man sows so shall he reap A pop¬ ular prescription (see page 23).

as a matter of fact A wretched redun¬ dancy (see page 25). actually; indeed; in

fact; in faith; in reality; in truth; truly. ■ 61

as far as the eye can see

as far as the eye can see An insipid sim¬

(as)

(vain) as the day is long An

ile. all around; all over; all through;

insipid simile,

broadly; everyplace; everywhere; extensive¬

sumedly; enormously; exceedingly; extraor¬

ly; panoramically; panoptically; through¬

dinarily;

out; ubiquitously; universally; widely.

immensely; intensely; mightily; prodi¬

acutely; awfully; con-

extremely;

greatly;

hugely;

giously; severely; terribly; very. ■ She’s as like

neurotic as the day is long. REPLACE WITH

something in a nightmare, one

prodigiously neurotic. M Celeste is as

could hardly see from one end of

bright as the day is long. REPLACE WITH

it to the other, and as far as the eye

enormously bright.

The room was enormous,

could see was dotted with tables which were all full. — Barbara

as the saying goes (is) An infantile

Pvm, Excellent Women

phrase

(see

page

20).

This

phrase

reminds us of our ordinariness. As the

ashes to ashes (dust to dust) A mori¬

saying goes (is) announces our having

bund metaphor (see page 21).

spoken, and thought, words that count¬ less others have spoken and thought.

(like) asking for the moon An insipid

What thoughts are we missing, what

simile.

images are unavailable to us because we use the same damn words and phrases

ask me no questions and I’ll tell you

again and again? Let us strive for better

no lies A popular prescription (see page

than banality.

23).

as to A torpid term (see page 24). about; asleep at the switch (wheel) A mori¬

for; from; in; of on; to; with. Except

forget¬

when used to begin a sentence, as to is if

ful; careless; heedless; inattentive; lethean;

not solecistic then certainly sloppy for a

neglectful; negligent; oblivious; remiss;

more precise about or of for or with,

slack;

from or to, on or in. This phrase, mid¬

bund metaphor (see page 21).

thoughtless;

unmindful;

unthinking. 2. asleep; daydreaming.

sentence, identifies a philistine, a person who, though he writes, doesn’t much

(as) (wholesome) as mom and apple

care to. ■ One hint as to his possibly

pie An insipid simile, decent; ethical;

altered standing comes from the latest

exemplary; good; honest; honorable; just;

version of the Encyclopaedia Britannica,

moral; pure; righteous; straight; upright;

which, although Roget was an editor of

virtuous; wholesome.

the seventh edition and a contributor of more than 300,000 words to it, gives

as (you) sow, so shall (you) reap A

him somewhat short shrift today, with

popular prescription (see page 23).

an

entry

of a

mere

twenty

lines.

Replace WITH of. ■ Suddenly expecta¬

as the crow flies A moribund metaphor

tions and preconceptions as to how

(see page 21). by air; directly; lineally;

things should be done and what steps

linearly; straight.

could be taken disappear, often leaving the displaced family members feeling confused, resentful and, perhaps most

62

(hold) at arms distance (length)

importantly, alone. REPLACE WITH of. ■

as you make your bed, so you must lie

For example,

on it A popular prescription (see page

library will

testing of a graphics

require a very different

23).

approach as to that of a calendar manag¬ er. REPLACE with from. ■ Depending

at a crossroad A moribund metaphor

on the night, the meal and the energy of

(see page 21).

the evening, I also made distinctions as

to the drink best suited to the occasion.

at a fast (good) clip A moribund

Replace with in.

metaphor (see page 21). apace; briskly;

As to the phrase as to whether (A

expeditiously; fast; hastily; hurriedly;

wretched redundancy (see page 25)),

posthaste; quickly; rapidly; speedily; swift¬

delete as to. ■ If your browser is not

ly; wingedly.

secure, or there is any question as to

whether or not it is, please download

at a loss A moribund metaphor (see

Netscape Navigator, Microsoft Internet

page 21). bajfled; befuddled; bewildered;

Explorer,

or an equivalent browser.

confounded; confused; disconcerted; flum¬

DELETE as to. ■ Yet there has been some

moxed; mixed up; muddled; nonplused;

question as to whether their hearts can

perplexed; puzzled.

take it. DELETE as to.

at a loss for what to say (words) A (even) as we speak An infantile phrase

moribund metaphor

(see page 20). at present; currently; (just;

dumb; mute; quiet; reserved; restrained;

rightj now; presently. Whenever some¬

reticent; silent; speechless; still; taciturn;

one says as we speak, we should hear as

tongue-tied; uncommunicative; voiceless;

we misspeak, for the person who uses

withdrawn; wordless.

(see page 21).

this sad phrase instead of, say, now or even at this moment, speaks unhappily. ■

Gen, in his genius for languages,

The team is having a pep rally on cam¬

was often at a loss for what to say

pus as we speak. REPLACE WITH now. ■

when

Are your forces, even as we speak, look¬

words. — Ann Patchett, Bel Canto

left with

only his

own

mm m $ mm W&m Wm mm8m

ing for him in a military way? REPLACE

at a low ebb A moribund metaphor (see

WITH currently.

page 21).

Most often, though, as we speak, as well as its synonyms, should be unspo¬ ken. ■ But how can we not be afraid

(hold) at arms distance (length) A

with weapons of mass destruction loom¬

moribund metaphor (see page 21).

ing over our lives even as we speak. DELETE even as we speak. ■ The Reno

She had always felt that he wanted

police are holding a news conference

to keep her at arm’s length, and

right now as we speak. DELETE as we

she thought that by showing sym¬

speak. ■ The hostage situation is still

pathy she might make him like her

unfolding now as we speak. DELETE as

more.

we speak.

Heart

63

—

Luanne

Rice,

Stone

at a snails pace

at a snails pace A moribund metaphor

undecided; unfixed; unresolved; unsettled;

(see page 21). deliberately;gradually; lag-

unsteady; unsure; vacillating; wavering;

gardly; languidly; lazily; leisurely; slothful-

wobbly. 2. bored; idle; inactive; unem¬

ly; slowly; sluggishly; snail-paced; unhur¬

ployed; unoccupied.

riedly. ■ We have been working day after day with him, but he is improving

at (in) one fell swoop A moribund

at a snails pace. REPLACE WITH unhur¬

metaphor (see page 21).

riedly. “I was talking,” he said through at (my) beck and call A moribund

his teeth, and his arm flew in one

metaphor

fell swoop.

(see

page

21).

accepting;

— Kate Manning,

White Girl

accommodating; acquiescent; complacent; complaisant; compliant; cowed; deferen¬ tial; docile; dutiful; obedient; passive;

(all) at sea A moribund metaphor (see

prostrate;

page 21). baffled; befuddled; bewildered;

resigned;

submissive;

sub¬

confounded; confused; disconcerted; flum¬

servient; tolerant; tractable; yielding.

moxed; lost; mixed up; muddled; non¬ at death’s door A moribund metaphor

plused; perplexed; puzzled.

(see page 21). decaying; declining; deteri¬ orating; disintegrating; dying; ebbing;

at

sixes

and

sevens

A

moribund

expiring; fading; failing; near death; sink¬

metaphor (see page 21).

1. baffled;

ing; waning.

bewildered; confused; flummoxed; mud¬ dled; perplexed; uncertain. 2. disarranged;

at each other’s throats A moribund

disorganized; entangled; jumbled; in dis¬

metaphor (see page 21). arguing; bat¬

array; in disorder; tangled.

tling; bickering; brawling; clashing; dis¬ agreeing; fighting; quarreling; squabbling;

at that time A wretched redundancy

wrangling.

(see page 25). This phrase and several others like it, including at that juncture

at

(my)

fingertips

A

moribund

in life, at that moment in our national

metaphor (see page 21). 1. recall; recol¬

life, at that point in time, at that stage in

lect; remember; think of. 2. accessible; at

the history of my life, at that time in our

hand; close; close by; handy; near; nearby;

history, mean no more than then. ■ I

neighboring; vicinal.

wasn’t happy with what I was doing at that juncture in life. REPLACE WITH then.

at loggerheads A moribund metaphor

■ DFSMS did not include any cost

(see page 21). arguing; battling; bicker¬

input parameters at that point in time.

ing; brawling; clashing; disagreeing; dis¬

Replace with then. See also at this

puting; fighting; quarreling; squabbling;

time.

wrangling. at the breaking point A moribund at loose ends A moribund metaphor

metaphor (see page 21). «

(see page 21). 1. confused; disorganized; drifting; faltering; in between; irresolute;

at the crack of dawn A moribund

loose; shaky; swaying; tottering; uncertain;

metaphor (see page 21). very early.

64

at this time

(stand) at the crossroads of history A

ent place. Reason might even prevail.

moribund metaphor (see page 21).

In most instances, at the end of the

day is unnecessary and can, without for¬ at the drop of a hat A moribund

feiting any meaning, be deleted from a

metaphor (see page 21). at once; directly;

sentence. ■ We simply have to acknowl¬

fast; forthwith; hurriedly; immediately;

edge the fact that the better side won at

instantly; momentarily; promptly; quickly;

the end of the day. DELETE at the end of

rapidly; right away; speedily; straight¬

the day. ■ He wants each library, old or

away; summarily; swiftly; without delay.

new, to be a place people want to come

■ You can get additional information to

to, think is enjoyable, get a lot out of

reporters at the drop of a hat if you make

and have fun at, because at the end of the

up a press kit in advance. REPLACE WITH

day, it’ll just make their lives better.

speedily.

DELETE at the end of the day ■ Like every other relationship you have per¬

She also said there was a commu¬

sonally

or

professionally yom don’t

nity of radicals who considered

always agree on things, but at the end of

her a heroine and would help her

the day he was the manager so even if I

at the drop of a hat. — Danzy

didn’t like something what could I do

Senna, Caucasia

about it? DELETE at the end of the day. ■ That is a step in the right direction; I

at the

just do hope that the alliance will work

eleventh hour A moribund

at the end of the day. Delete at the end

metaphor (see page 21). belatedly; late.

of the day. at the end of (my) rope (tether) A moribund metaphor

at the helm A moribund metaphor (see

(see page 21).

page 21). in charge; in control.

dejected; despairing; desperate; despon¬ dent; disconsolate; distressed; forlorn; fran¬ tic; frenetic; frenzied; hopeless; in despair;

at the top of (his) game A moribund

woebegone; woeful; wretched.

metaphor (see page 21).

at the end of the day A moribund

at the top of (my) lungs A moribund

metaphor (see page 21). 1. eventually;

metaphor (see page 21). blaringly; bois¬

finally; in the end; in time; ultimately. 2.

terously; boomingly; deafeningly; earsplit-

all in all; all told; altogether; in all; on the

tingly; loudly;

whole; overall.

resoundingly;

noisily; obstreperously; roaringly;

stentorianly;

thunderingly; thunderously; tumultuously;

The popular phrase was once the

vociferously.

equally silly in the final (or last) analysis. More sensible phrases include eventual¬

ly, finally, in the end, in time, ultimately

at (behind) the wheel A moribund

(or, perhaps, all in all, all told, overall0,

metaphor (see page 21). in charge; in

but people, unsure of who they are, imi¬

control.

tate one another; people today say at the

end of the day. If we were less inclined to

at this time A wretched redundancy

say what others say (and do what others

(see page 25). This phrase and several

do), the world might be a wholly differ¬

others like it, including at the present

65

attitude

time, at this juncture in life, at this

(an)

avalanche

of

A

moribund

moment in our national life, at this point

metaphor (see page 21). ■ His antics on

in time, at this point in time right now, at

the court spawned an avalanche ^imi¬

this stage in the history of my life, at this

tators. See ALSO a barrage of.

time in our history, mean no more than (your)

at present, now, today, or yet. ■ We don’t

average

Joe

A

moribund

metaphor (see page 21). average; com¬

see any significant breakthroughs at this

mon; commonplace; conventional; cus¬ tomary; everyday; familiar; mediocre; middling; normal; ordinary; quotidian; regular; standard; typical; unexceptional; unremarkable; usual.

juncture. REPLACE WITH now. ■ What can she do to help you at this stage of the

game? REPLACE WITH now. U At this point in time, the conditions for an agreement have not been met. REPLACE WITH The conditions for an agreement

avid reader A suspect superlative (see

have not yet been met. See ALSO at that

page 24). Am avid reader suggests some¬

time. .

one who reads little more than myster¬ ies, gothic novels, and self-help books.

attitude An overworked word (see page

These are people whose avidity is

22). For example: attitude problem; holi¬

more for how many books they read

er-than-thou attitude; patronizing atti¬

than it is for any meaning in books —

tude; superior attitude; wait-and-see atti¬

people, that is, who prefer counting to

tude.

reading. ■ I am an avid reader and my advanced education includes writing

attributable

to

the

fact

that

courses and an intensive two-year writ¬

A

ing course.

wretched redundancy (see page 25).

because; considering; for; in that; since. ■ avoid (it) like the plague An insipid

This is attributable to the fact that people

simile. 1. abhor; abominate; detest; hate;

at Pan Am have done such a good job.

loathe. 2. avoid; dodge; elude; eschew; evade; recoil from; shirk; shrink from; shun; spurn. ■ Your clients will probably either love Los Angeles or avoid it like the plague. REPLACE WITH loathe it.

Replace with because. See also due to

the fact that; owing to the fact that. at

(his)

wit’s

end

A

moribund

metaphor (see page 21). baffled; befud¬

dled; bewildered; confounded; confused;

The clientele were mostly busi¬

disconcerted; flummoxed; mixed up; mud¬

nessmen

dled; nonplused; perplexed; puzzled.

laughing boisterously and blowing

in

three-piece

suits

cigarette smoke in each other’s audible

(inaudible)

to

the

ear A

faces, or talking earnestly and con¬

wretched redundancy (see page 25).

fidently to well-dressed young

audible (inaudible). SEE ALSO visible

women who were more probably

(invisible) to the eye.

their secretaries than their wives. In short, it was the kind of estab¬ lishment that Robyn would nor-

au naturel A foreign phrase (see page 19).

bare;

disrobed;

naked;

mally

nude;

have

avoided

like

the

plague. -— David Lodge, Nice

stripped; unclothed; uncovered; undressed.

Work 66

back to basics

awesome An overworked word

(see

enmesh; ensnare; entangle; entrap; net;

page 22). Like awful and terrific, the

snare; trap. 2. at risk; endangered; imper¬

word awesome has been made ridiculous

iled; in danger; in jeopardy; threatened. ■

by those who are bent on using it solely

People will do amazing things when

in its most popular sense.

their backs are against the wall. REPLACE

Awesome means awe-inspiring, majes¬

WITH thefre endangered.

tic, or terrifying, but of late, it most often merely means fantastic or terrific

(meanwhile)

or great, worn words all. See ALSO awful;

moribund metaphor (see page 21).

back at the ranch A

terrific. back in the saddle (again) A moribund metaphor (see page 21).

awful An overworked word (see page 22). Awful means awe-inspiring or terri¬

.

fying, but of late, it means no more than

Maybe the convertible was not an

very bad or unpleasant. See ALSO awe¬

attempt to get a concert pianist

some; terrific.

back in the saddle — back, as it were,

on

the

horse

that

had

(the) ax fell A moribund metaphor (see

thrown him — but an invitation

page 21).

to the mindless,

happy,

noisy,

unambitious life that till then had ax

(axe)

to

grind

A

been denied him. — Christopher

moribund

Sudden

Noises

from

metaphor (see page 21). animosity; bit¬

Miller,

terness; enmity; grievance; grudge; hostili¬

Inanimate Objects: A Novel in

ty; indignation; ill will; offense; rancor;

Liner Notes

resentment; spite; umbrage. back

into

a

corner

A

moribund

metaphor (see page 21). catch; corner;

enmesh; ensnare; entangle; entrap; net; snare; trap.

B

(get) back on (his) feet A moribund metaphor

(see page 21).

ameliorate;

amend; come round; convalesce; gain strength; get better; heal; improve; look up; meliorate; mend; rally; recover; recuperate; babe

in

moribund

refresh; regain strength; renew; revive;

amateur;

strengthen. ■ Even the construction

apprentice; beginner; greenhorn; neophyte;

industry is starting to get back on its feet.

newcomer; novice; novitiate; tyro. ■ He’s

Replace with recover.

metaphor

the (see

woods

A

page

21).

a babe in the woods compared to Clinton and the Democrats. REPLACE WITH neo¬

back on track A moribund metaphor

phyte.

(see page 21).

back (up) against the wall A moribund

back to basics A torpid term (see page

metaphor (see page 21). 1. catch; corner;

24). ■ Banks and savings and loans are

67

back to square one

getting back to basics and concentrating

badge of courage (honor) A moribund

on home mortgages.

metaphor (see page 21).

back

to

square

one A

(a) bad penny A moribund metaphor

moribund

(see page 21). bastard; blackguard; cad;

metaphor (see page 21).

charlatan; cheat; cheater; fake; fraud; (go) back to the drawing board A

impostor; knave; mountebank; phony;

moribund metaphor (see page 21). ■

pretender; quack; rascal; rogue; scoundrel;

Beware of protracted and angry discus¬

swindler; undesirable; villain; wretch.

sions; they are usually a sign that there is not enough support for the idea, and

(a) bad penny always turns up A pop¬

you should go back to the drawing board.

ular prescription (see page 23).

back to the salt mines A moribund

bag and baggage An inescapable pair

metaphor (see page 21).

(see page 20). 1. accouterments; baggage;

bags; belongings; cases; effects; encum¬ back to the wall A moribund metaphor

brances; equipment; gear; impedimenta;

1. at risk; endangered;

luggage; portmanteaus; possessions; proper¬

hard-pressed; imperiled; in a bind; in a

ty; sacks; satchels; stuff; suitcases; supplies;

fix; in a jam; in a predicament; in a

things. 2. altogether; completely; entirely;

quandary; in danger; in difficulty; in

fully; roundly; thoroughly; totally; utterly;

jeopardy; in peril; in trouble; jeopardized.

wholly.

(see page 21).

2. at bay; caught; cornered; enmeshed; ensnared; entangled; entrapped; netted;

bag of bones A moribund metaphor

snared; trapped.

(see page 21). asthenic; attenuated; bony;

cachectic; emaciated; gaunt; lank; lanky; bad apple A moribund metaphor (see

lean; narrow; rail-thin; scraggy; scrawny;

page 21). brute; degenerate; fiend; knave;

skeletal; skinny; slender; slight; slim; spare;

lout; rake; rascal; rogue; ruffian; scamp;

spindly; svelte; sylphid; thin; trim; wispy.

scoundrel; villain. bag (bagful)

of tricks A moribund

bad blood (between them) A mori¬

metaphor (see page 21). accouterment;

bund metaphor (see page 21). abhor¬

equipage; equipment; gear; parapherna¬

rence; anger; animosity; antipathy; aver¬

lia; resources; supplies; things; tools.

sion; detestation; enmity; hate; hatred; hostility; ill will; loathing; malice; malig¬

baker’s dozen A moribund metaphor

nity;

(see page 21). thirteen.

rancor;

repugnance;

revulsion;

venom; virulence. (as)

bald as a baby’s backside An

bad egg A moribund metaphor (see

insipid simile, alopecic; bald; baldhead¬

page 21). brute; degenerate; fiend; knave;

ed; baldpated; glabrous; hairless; depilat¬

lout; rake; rascal; rogue; ruffian; scamp;

ed; pilgarlic; smooth; tonsured.

scoundrel; villain. (as) bald as a billiard ball An insipid simile, alopecic; bald; baldheaded; bald-

68

(a) barrage of

pated; glabrous; hairless; depilated; pilgar-

bark

lic; smooth; tonsured.

metaphor (see page 21).

bald is beautiful A quack equation (see

(her) bark is worse than (her) bite A

page 23).

moribund metaphor (see page 21).

ball of fire A moribund metaphor (see

bark up the wrong tree A moribund

active; animated; ardent;

metaphor (see page 21). amiss; astray;

dynamic; emotional; energetic; impas¬

deceived; deluded; erring; erroneous; falla¬

sioned; intense; lively; passionate; spirited;

cious; false; faulty; inaccurate; incorrect;

sprightly; vigorous; vital; vivacious.

in error; misguided; misinformed; mis¬

page

21).

at

the

moon

A

moribund

lead; mistaken; not correct; not right; wrong.

ballpark figure A moribund metaphor (see page 21). appraisal; assessment; esti¬

mate; estimation; guess; idea; impression;

Ray had neither encouraged nor

opinion; sense. ■ Can you give me a ball¬

discouraged her over Minkie -—

park figure of how much you made last

he hadn’t seemed at all interested

year? REPLACE WITH idea.

in the party — although he said something about her barking up

(the) ball’s in (your) court A moribund

the wrong tree with John Lenier.

metaphor (see page 21). ■ I think,

— Tessa Hadley, Everything Will

nationally, the ball is definitely in our

Be All Right

court now. (a) barking dog never bites A popular bang for phrase

(your)

prescription (see page 23).

buck An infantile

(see page 20).

quality; value; (a) barrage of A moribund metaphor

worth.

(see page 21). If our language seems lan¬ banging (my) head against the wall A

guid, it’s partly because our metaphors

moribund metaphor (see page 21).

are moribund. This, a barrage of is one of a certain

baptism of fire A moribund metaphor

kind of moribund metaphor that is

(see page 21).

especially irksome to come upon; a bas¬

tion of a chorus of a cloud of a deluge of bare-bones

(budget)

A

a firestorm of a flood of a flurry of a

moribund

hailstorm of a mountain of an army of

metaphor (see page 21).

an avalanche of an explosion of an ocean bare

essentials

(necessities)

of an orgy of a rising tide of a sea of a

An

small army of a spate of a storm of a

inescapable pair (see page 20).

symphony of a torrent of a world of are barefaced

(bold-faced)

lie

all shabby, unimaginative expressions.

An

These are the least evocative, the

inescapable pair (see page 20).

least metaphorical, of metaphors. ■ He bargaining chip A moribund metaphor

says the barrage of marketing has made

(see page 21).

teens tougher to teach.

69

barrel of laughs

barrel of laughs A moribund metaphor

basis

in fact

(reality) A wretched

(see page 21). hilarious; hysterical; side¬

redundancy (see page 25). basis; fact;

splitting; uproarious.

reality; truth; veracity. ■ The June 2 edi¬ torial that describes the final, wheezy

basically An overworked word (see page

stages of the movement to eliminate cig¬

22). People often use basically thinking

arettes has no basis in fact. REPLACE

it lends an intellectual air to the mean¬

WITH

ing of their words. Basically, in truth,

beliefs have any basis in fact, five differ¬

only steals the sense from whatever

ent brands of fruit cocktail were chosen.

words accompany it, for it proclaims

Replace with veracity.

basis. ■ To see whether such

their uncertainty and inexactitude as loudly as it does the speakers or writers

(a) bastion of A moribund metaphor

pomposity.

(see page 21). SEE ALSO a barrage of.

Of course, there are also people, with few pretensions, who use basically either

bathed in tears A moribund metaphor

because they do not know what they say

(see page 21).

or because they do not know what to say. ■ Basically, the program is designed

(like) a bat out of hell An insipid sim¬

to operate with the same skills used

abruptly; apace; at once; briskly;

ile.

when doing the exercise with a pencil

directly; expeditiously; fast; forthwith;

and paper. ■ If the man wants custody,

hastily; hurriedly; immediately; instanta¬

he must prove the woman to be basical¬

neously; instantly; posthaste; promptly;

ly unfit. ■ The rest of the day will be basically partly cloudy. ■ What basically

quickly; rapidly; rashly; right away; speed¬

began as an experiment to determine

ily;

whether a family-type YMCA would

wingedly.

straightaway;

suddenly;

swiftly;

survive quickly evolved into a challenge to serve a very enthusiastic community.

The word saved me,

as words

■ Basically, the next step is adding the

always have, and I could stir again,

molasses.

and stir I did, charging up the eastern loop of the trail back like a

basic (and) fundamental A wretched

bat out of hell. — Jincy Willett,

redundancy (see page 25). basal; basic;

Winner of the National Book

elementary; essential; fundamental; pri¬ mary; rudimentary.

Award; A Novel of Fame, Honor,

basic principle An inescapable pair (see

(has) bats in (his) belfry A moribund

page 20). Seldom do we find principle

metaphor (see page 21). batty; cracked;

without the word basic preceding it. A

crazy; daft; demented; deranged; fey; fool¬

principle, however, is a basic truth or

ish; goofy; insane; lunatic; mad; maniacal;

and Really Bad Weather

assumption. ■ Whether or not you are

neurotic; nuts; nutty; psychotic; raving;

aware of it, there are basic principles of human interaction.

DELETE basic.

silly; squirrelly; touched; unbalanced;

HI

unhinged; unsound; wacky; zany.

The basic principle of laser protection is the same as for any direct fire weapon.

batten down the hatches A moribund

Delete basic.

metaphor (see page 21).

70

beat (his) brains out

batting a thousand A moribund metaphor (see page 21).

Norfolk County Mosquito Control Project is now accepting applications for the position of Assistant Superinten¬ dent. DELETE Please be advised that. B Please be advised that I will be on vaca¬ tion from June 26 to July 10. DELETE

I was batting a thousand on pre¬ dicting human behavior. Maybe / should become a psychologist. — Jane Mendle, Kissing in Technicolor

Please be advised that. See ALSO (please) be informed that; this is to inform you

(good) batting average A moribund metaphor (see page 21).

that.

be-all and end-all A moribund metaphor (see page 21). acme; ideal;per¬

battle lines are drawn A moribund metaphor (see page 21).

fection; quintessence; ultimate.

(a) beacon (ray) of hope A moribund metaphor (see page 21). anticipation;

(catch a) bear by the tail A moribund metaphor (see page 21).

expectancy; expectation; hope; hopefulness;

beat about (around) the bush A mori¬ bund metaphor (see page 21). avoid; be

optimism; possibility; promise; prospect; sanguinity.

equivocal; be evasive; dissemble; dodge;

(please) be advised that An ineffectual phrase (see page 19) (see page 19). This phrase is designed to make the reader pay attention to whatever follows it. The effect it has on anyone with sensi¬ bility, however, is quite the opposite: (please) be advised that stupefies the attentive reader thereby ensuring that whatever follows it is hardly attended to and, even, roundly ridiculed. ■ Please be advised that some of the ads in this cat¬ egory may require a fee for services or processing. DELETE Please be advised that. B Please be advised that the valua¬ tion below is proposed and not final. DELETE Please be advised that. B Please be advised that this office has been retained by North American Mortgage Company to conduct real estate closing for the above-referenced property. Delete Please be advised that, fl Please be advised that it takes seven to ten days to process any request for medical records information. DELETE Please be advised that. B Please be advised that the

doubletalk;

equivocate;

evade; fence;

hedge; palter; prevaricate; quibble; shujfle; sidestep; stall; tergiversate; waffle.

beat a path to (your door) A moribund metaphor (see page 21). dash; hasten; hurry; hustle; make haste; race; run; rush; scamper; scurry; sprint.

beat a (hasty) retreat A moribund metaphor (see page 21). abscond; clear out; decamp; depart; desert; disappear; escape; exit; flee; fly; go; go away; leave; move on; part; pull out; quit; retire; retreat; run away; take flight; take off; vacate; vanish; withdraw.

beat (his) brains out A moribund metaphor (see page 21). 1. assail; assault; attack; batter; beat; cudgel; flagellate; flog; hit; lambaste; lash; lick; mangle; pound; pummel; strike; thrash; trounce. 2. anni¬ hilate; assassinate; butcher; destroy; exter¬ minate; kill; massacre; murder; slaughter; slay. 3. 71

beat; conquer; crush; defeat;

beat (them) hands down

outdo; overcome; overpower; overwhelm;

beat (it) into the ground A moribund

prevail; quell; rout; succeed; triumph;

metaphor

trounce; vanquish;

attempt;

deplete; drain; empty; enervate; exhaust;

drudge; endeavor; essay; exert; grind;

fatigue; overdo; overwork; sap; tire; wear

grub; labor; moil; slave; strain; strive;

out; weary.

win.

4.

(see

page

21).

debilitate;

struggle; sweat; toil; travail; try; work. beat the bushes A moribund metaphor beat (them) hands down A moribund

(see page 21). hunt; look for; quest; ran¬

metaphor (see page 21). beat; conquer;

sack; rummage; scour; search; seek.

crush; defeat; outdo; overcome; overpower; overwhelm; prevail; quell; rout; succeed;

beat the (living) daylights out of A

triumph; trounce; vanquish; win.

moribund metaphor (see page 21). 1.

assail; assault; attack; batter; beat; cudgel; (like) beating (flogging) a dead horse

flagellate; flog; hit; lambaste; lash; lick;

An insipid simile, barren; bootless; effete;

mangle; pound; pummel; strike; thrash;

feckless; feeble; fruitless; futile; impotent;

trounce. 2. beat; conquer; crush; defeat;

inadequate; inconsequential; inconsider¬

outdo; overcome; overpower; overwhelm;

able; ineffective; ineffectual; infertile;

prevail; quell; rout; succeed; triumph;

insignificant; inutile; meaningless; merit¬

trounce; vanquish; win. 3. castigate; chas¬

less; nugatory; null; of no value; pointless;

tise; discipline; penalize; punish.

powerless; profitless; purposeless; redun¬ dant; sterile; superfluous; trifling; trivial;

beat the drum A moribund metaphor

unavailing; unimportant; unnecessary;

(see

unproductive; unprofitable; unserviceable;

broadcast; cry out; declaim; disseminate;

unworthy; useless; vain; valueless; weak;

exclaim; proclaim; promulgate; publicize;

worthless.

publish; shout; trumpet; yell.

beat (smashed) into (to) a pulp A

beat the stuffing out of A moribund

moribund metaphor (see page 21). 1.

metaphor (see page 21). 1. assail; assaidt;

assail; assault; attack; batter; beat; cudgel;

attack; batter; beat; cudgel; flagellate; flog;

flagellate; flog; hit; lambaste; lash; lick;

hit; lambaste; lash; lick; mangle; pound;

mangle; pound; pummel; strike; thrash;

pummel; strike; thrash; trounce. 2. beat;

trounce. 2. beat; conquer; crush; defeat;

conquer; crush; defeat; outdo; overcome;

outdo; overcome; overpower; overwhelm;

overpower; overwhelm; prevail; quell;

prevail; quell; rout; succeed; triumph;

rout; succeed; triumph; trounce; vanquish;

trounce; vanquish; win. 3. crush; flatten;

win.

page

21).

advertise; announce;

macerate; mash; pound; pulp; pulverize; squash.

beat to death A moribund metaphor (see page 21). 1. annihilate; assassinate;

He knew that the baby was going

butcher; destroy; exterminate; kill; mas¬

to hit first, and he would see it,

sacre; murder; slaughter; slay. 2. debili¬

would know it for a whole fraction

tate; deplete; drain; empty; enervate;

of a second before he was smashed

exhaust; fatigue; overdo; overwork; sap;

into a pulp himself. — Katherine

tire; wear out; weary. SEE ALSO to death.

Dunn, Geek Love 72

before (you) can say (Jack Robinson)

beat (him) to the punch A moribund

(no)

metaphor (see page 21).

metaphor

bed

of (see

roses page

A

moribund

21).

agreeable;

ambrosial; beguiling; celestial; charming; beat up on (each other) A moribund

delectable; delicious; delightful; divine;

metaphor (see page 21). assail; assault;

enchanting; engaging; enjoyable; fun;

attack; batter; beat; cudgel; flagellate; flog;

heavenly; glorious; gratifying; inviting;

hit; lambaste; lash; lick; mangle; pound;

joyful; joyous; luscious; pleasant; pleasing;

pummel; strike; thrash; trounce.

pleasurable.

beauteous A withered word (see page

(a) beehive of activity A moribund

24). beautiful. ■ Saturday should be a

metaphor (see page 21). active; astir;

beauteous day. REPLACE WITH beautiful.

bustling; busy; buzzing; energetic; hum¬ ming; hopping; hustling; lively; vigorous.

beautiful baby An inescapable pair (see page 20).

(a) bee in (her) bonnet A moribund metaphor

(see page 21).

1.

caprice;

beauty and the beast A moribund

crotchet; fancy; humor; impulse; maggot;

metaphor (see page 21).

notion; quirk; urge; vagary; whim. 2. craze; enthusiasm; fixation; infatuation;

beauty is in the eye of the beholder A

mania; obsession; passion; preoccupation.

popular prescription (see page 23). Poor Nelson. He has this bee in

because

(that’s why)

An

infantile

his bonnet — doing something

phrase (see page 20). ■ Why did you hit

for this girl nobody knows. —

him? Because. SEE ALSO it just happened.

John Updike, Rabbit Remembered

because of the fact that A wretched

(she’s) been around the block (and

redundancy (see page 23). because; con¬

back) A moribund metaphor (see page

sidering; for; given; in that; since. ■ I

21). 1. adult; aged; aging; elderly; full-

married him only because of the fact that

grown; hoary; hoary-headed; mature; old;

his family has money. REPLACE WITH

worn. 2. able; adept; apt; capable; compe¬

because. ■ Many people told me I had to

tent; deft; dexterous; experienced; expert;

break off my relationship with her

practiced; proficient; seasoned; skilled;

because of the fact that I was being unfair

skillful; veteran.

to her. Replace with because. See also

by virtue of the fact that; considering the

before (you) can say (Jack Robinson)

fact that; given the fact that; in considera¬

A moribund metaphor (see page 21).

tion of the fact that; in view of the fact

abruptly; apace; at once; briskly; directly;

that; on account of the fact that.

expeditiously; fast; forthwith; hastily; hur¬ riedly;

immediately;

instantaneously;

because why? An infantile phrase (see

instantly; posthaste; promptly; quickly;

page 20). ■ They were afraid of him,

rapidly; rashly; right away; speedily;

too. Because why? DELETE Because.

straightaway; suddenly; swiftly; unexpect¬ edly; wingedly.

73

beg, borrow, or steal

beg, borrow, or steal A moribund

behoove A withered word (see page 24).

metaphor (see page 21).

1. be advantageous for; benefit; be worth¬

while to. 2. be necessary for; be proper for. beggars can’t be choosers A popular (please) be informed that An ineffec¬

prescription (see page 23).

tual phrase (see page 19) (see page 19).

begin (start) a new chapter (in my

■ Please be informed that your wife has

life) A moribund metaphor (see page

retained my office in the matter of her

21).

petition for a divorce. DELETE Please be

informed that. ■ If you are running a behind closed doors A moribund

version of Almanac earlier than 3.0,

metaphor (see page 21). clandestinely;

please be informed that the format of the

confidentially; covertly; furtively; mysteri¬

desktop data files has been changed.

ously; in private; in secret; privately; qui¬

DELETE please be informed that.

etly; secludedly; secretly; slyly; stealthily;

ALSO (please) be advised that; this is to

surreptitiously; undercover.

inform you that.

behind every successful man stands a

(like) being run over (getting hit) by a

woman A popular prescription (see

(Mack) truck An insipid simile, atom¬

page 23).

ized; crushed; dashed; demolished; deplet¬

See

ed; depressed; destroyed; devastated; dis¬ behind the eight bail A moribund

traught; distressed; exhausted; obliterated;

metaphor (see page 21). at risk; endan¬

overcome;

overpowered;

gered; hard-pressed; imperiled; in a bind;

prostrate;

ravaged;

in a fix; in a jam; in a predicament; in a

undone; upset. ■ I feel like Pve been run

quandary; in danger; in difficulty; in

over by a Mac truck. REPLACE WITH

jeopardy; in peril; in trouble; jeopardized.

obliterated.

(work) behind the scenes A moribund

bells

metaphor (see page 21). clandestinely;

metaphor (see page 21). adornments;

confidentially; covertly; furtively; mysteri¬

attributes; characteristics; decorations;

ously; in private; in secret; privately; qui¬

embellishments; features; flourishes; frills;

etly; secludedly; secretly; slyly; stealthily;

highlights; innovations; novelties; orna¬

surreptitiously; undercover.

ments; properties; qualities; specialties;

and

overwhelmed;

ruined; shattered;

whistles

A

moribund

traits. ■ They sport few of the bells and behind

the

times

A

moribund

whistles found in programs like Netscape

metaphor (see page 21). antediluvian;

and Mosaic. REPLACE WITH features.

antiquated; archaic; dead; obsolescent; obsolete; old; old-fashioned; outdated; out¬

bell the cat A moribund metaphor (see

moded; out of date; out of fashion; passe;

page 21).

superannuated. It was time to bell the cat, or at

(I’ll) be honest with you A plebeian

least inquire about its alibi. — X

sentiment (see page 23).

Joan Hess,

Mimosa Inn 74

The Murder at the

(the) best and (the) brightest

below par A moribund metaphor (see

be nice A plebeian sentiment (see page

page 21). inferior; poor; second-class; sec¬

23). “Be nicef we often are admon¬

ond-rate; shoddy; subordinate; substan¬

ished. There can be no complaint with

dard.

being agreeable when agreeability is warranted, but to soporiferously accept

(hit)

below the belt A moribund

niceness as a virtue, untarnished and

metaphor (see page 21). dishonorable;

foul;

inequit-able;

true, is utterly benighted.

unconscientious;

To be capable of expressing anger

underhanded; unethical; unfair; unjust;

and indignation is thwarted by our soci¬

unprincipled;

ety’s placing a premium on politeness.

unscrupulous;

unsports¬

manlike.

Let us not, of course, be rude gratu¬ itously, nor seek to be singular for its

below (under) the radar (of) (screen)

own sake, nor foolish or fantastic for the

A moribund metaphor (see page 21). 1.

quick

disregarded; hidden; ignored; impercepti¬

become more concerned with giving

ble; indiscernible; invisible; overlooked;

fuller expression to ourselves.

cachet.

Do,

however,

let

us

undetectable; undetected; unheard of;

We do possibly irreparable harm to

unknown; unnoticeable; unnoticed; unob¬

ourselves when we, to avoid unpleasant¬

served; unperceived; unrevealed; unseen.

ness, fail to show another how we truly

2.

discreet; inconspicuous; self-effacing;

feel.

Unknown

to

ourselves

and

unassuming; understated; unobtrusive. ■

unknowable to others we homunculi

The underreported remain below the

are, for anonymity is won when anger is

radars of most news organizations.

lost. See ALSO if you cant say something

Replace with imperceptible to. ■ We

nice, don’t say anything; I’m sorry.

don’t need to be under the radar any¬ more, we need to be out there. REPLACE

bent

out

of shape

WITH unobtrusive.

metaphor (see page 21). 1. agitated; anx¬

A

moribund

ious; aroused; displeased; disquieted; excit¬ belt-tightening (measures) A mori¬

ed; flustered; perturbed; troubled; upset;

bund metaphor (see page 21).

worried. 2. acerbated; angered; annoyed; bothered; disturbed; exasperated; galled;

bend (my) ear A moribund metaphor

irked; irritated; mijfed; nettled; provoked;

(see page 21).

rankled; riled; roiled; upset; vexed.

bend over backward(s) A moribund

(the) best and (the) brightest A sus¬

metaphor (see page 21). aim; attempt;

pect superlative

endeavor; essay; exert; labor; moil; strain;

brightest; choice; choicest; elite; excellent;

strive; struggle; toil; try hard; undertake;

fi n est; ft rst-class; fi rst- rate; forem ost; great¬

work at. ■ If anything, he will have to

est; highest; matchless; nonpareil; optimal;

bend over backward to not appear to be

optimum; outstanding; paramount; peer¬

showing

less; preeminent; premium; prominent;

favoritism.

REPLACE

WITH

select;

struggle.

superior;

(see page 24).

superlative;

best;

top;

unequaled; unexcelled; unmatched; unri¬ valed; unsurpassed. ■ He decried the “cult of efficiency” into which have fall75

(the) best defense is a good offense

en so many of the best and brightest of

(the) best (greatest) thing since sliced

the conservative young. REPLACE WITH

bread A moribund metaphor (see page

the brightest. ■ Bandied about were the

21).

names of several of the best and brightest of the next generation. REPLACE WITH

(the) best things in life are free A pop¬

the elite.

ular prescription (see page 23).

(the) best defense is a good offense A

(she’s) (the) best thing that ever hap¬

popular prescription (see page 23).

pened to (me) A plebeian sentiment (see page 23).

(the) best (that) money can buy A sus¬ bet (your) bottom dollar (life) A mori¬

pect superlative (see page 24).

bund metaphor (see page 21). ■ I would

(in) (the) best of all (possible) worlds

have bet my bottom dollar that this

A suspect superlative (see page 24). best;

would not have happened.

choice; elite; excellent; finest; first-class; first-rate; foremost; greatest; highest; ideal;

(my) better half An infantile phrase

matchless; nonpareil; optimal; optimum;

(see page 20). consort; helpmate; help¬

outstanding; paramount; peerless; preemi¬

meet; husband; mate; spouse; wife.

nent; premium; prominent; select; superi¬ or; superlative; supreme; top; unequaled;

better late than never A popular pre¬

unexcelled; unmatched; unrivaled; unsur¬

scription (see page 23).

passed. ■ In the best of all possible worlds, test procedures for which neither type of

better safe than sorry A popular pre¬

error is possible could be developed.

scription (see page 23).

Replace with ideally.

(it’s) better than nothing A popular best of the bunch (lot) A suspect

prescription (see page 23).

superlative (see page 24). best; brightest;

choice; choicest; elite; excellent; finest;

bet the farm (ranch) (on) A moribund

first-class; first-rate; foremost; greatest;

metaphor (see page 21).

highest; matchless; nonpareil; optimal; optimum; outstanding; paramount; peer¬

between a rock and a hard place A

less; preeminent; premium; prominent;

moribund metaphor (see page 21). at

select;

top;

risk; endangered; hard-pressed; imperiled;

unequaled; unexcelled; unmatched; unri¬

in a bind; in a dilemma; in a fix; in a

valed; unsurpassed.

jam; in a predicament; in a quandary; in

superior;

superlative;

danger; in difficulty; in jeopardy; in peril; best-selling author A suspect superla¬

in trouble; jeopardized. ■ When you

tive (see page 24). Best-selling authors, of

need to regenerate a degraded stripe set

course, are often responsible for the

with parity, you will be faced with a rock

worst written books. SEE ALSO a good

and a hard place dilemma. DELETE rock

read; a (must) read.

and a hard place.

76

big cheese

beyond (without)

a shadow of a

doubt A moribund metaphor (see page 21).

absolutely; conclusively; decidedly;

definitely; incontrovertibly; indisputably; indubitably; irrefragably; irrefutably; pos¬ itively; unconditionally; uncontestably; undeniably; undoubtedly; unequivocally; between Scylla and Charybdis A mori¬

unmistakably; unquestionably.

bund metaphor (see page 21). at risk;

endangered; hard-pressed; imperiled; in a

beyond the pale A moribund metaphor

bind; in a dilemma; in a fix; in a jam; in

(see page 21). improper; inappropriate;

a predicament; in a quandary; in danger;

unacceptable; unreasonable; unseemly;

in difficulty; in jeopardy; in peril; in trou¬

unsuitable; unthinkable.

ble; jeopardized. beyond (my) wildest dreams A mori¬ between the devil and the deep blue

bund metaphor (see page 21). astonish¬

sea A moribund metaphor (see page

ing; astounding; beyond belief; beyond

21). at risk; endangered; hard-pressed;

comprehension; breathtaking; extraordi¬

imperiled; in a bind; in a dilemma; in a

nary; fabulous; fantastic; implausible;

fix; in a jam; in a predicament; in a

imponderable; inconceivable; incredible;

quandary; in danger; in difficulty; in

marvelous; miraculous; outlandish; over¬

jeopardy; in peril; in trouble; jeopardized.

whelming; prodigious; sensational; spec¬ tacular;

unbelievable;

unimaginable;

unthinkable; wonderful.

between you and me (and the four walls) A moribund metaphor (see page 21). classified; confidential; personal; pri¬

I was incredulous because this was

vate; privy; restricted; secret.

so far beyond my wildest hopes. — Chris Stewart, Driving Over

Lemons

betwixt A withered word (see page 24). between.

(as) big as a house An insipid simile. betwixt and between An inescapable

big; brobdingnagian; colossal; enormous;

pair (see page 20). divided; drifting; fal¬

gargantuan; giant; gigantic; grand; great;

tering; in between; irresolute; loose; shaky;

huge; immense; large; massive; monstrous;

swaying; torn; tottering; uncertain; unde¬

prodigious; tremendous; vast.

cided; unfixed; unresolved; unsettled; (as) big as life An insipid simile.

unsteady; unsure; vacillating; wavering; wobbly.

big cheese A moribund metaphor (see (a) bevy of beauties An infantile phrase

page 21).

(see page 20).

1. administrator; boss; brass; chief; com¬

mander; director; executive; foreman; beware of Greeks bearing gifts A pop¬

head; headman; leader; manager; master;

ular prescription (see page 23).

(highj muckamuck; officer; official; over¬ seer; president; principal; superintendent;

77

big deal

supervisor. 2. aristocrat; dignitary; emi¬

big shot A moribund metaphor (see

nence; lord; luminary; magnate; mogul;

page 21). 1. administrator; boss; brass;

notable; patrician; personage; ruler; sover¬

chief; commander; director; executive;

eign; worthy.

foreman; head; headman; leader; manag¬ er; master; (high) muckamuck; officer;

big deal An infantile phrase (see page

official; overseer; president; principal;

20). appreciable; central; climacteric; con¬

superintendent; supervisor. 2. aristocrat;

sequential; considerable; critical; crucial;

dignitary; eminence; lord; luminary; mag¬

essential; grave; major; material; impor¬

nate; mogul; notable; patrician; person¬

tant; meaningful; momentous; pivotal;

age; ruler; sovereign; worthy.

pregnant; principal; serious; significant; big-ticket

substantial; vital; weighty.

(item)

A

moribund

metaphor (see page 21). 1. costly; expen¬

big fish in a small pond A moribund

sive; high-priced. 2. all-important; cen¬

metaphor (see page 21).

tral; chief; imperative; important; key; main; significant; vital. ■ We can market

bigger is better A quack equation (see

these big-ticket items, which have a large

page 23).

profit margin. REPLACE WITH expensive.

bigger isn’t necessarily better A popu¬

In the many months it had taken

lar prescription (see page 23).

me to retrieve the box from the closet, I discovered that I had for¬

(the) bigger the better A quack equa¬

given her for a number of things,

tion (see page 23).

although for none of the big-tick¬ et items — like having existed at

(the) bigger they are, the harder they

all, for instance, and then having

fall A popular prescription (see page

lived so long. — Anne Lamott,

23).

Plan B: Further Thoughts on Faith

big gun A moribund metaphor (see

(like a) big weight has been lifted

page 21). 1. administrator; boss; brass;

from (my) shoulders An insipid simile.

chief; commander; director; executive;

1. allay; alleviate; assuage; lighten; miti¬

foreman; head; headman; leader; manag¬

gate; relieve; soothe. 2. deliver; disburden;

er; master; (high) muckamuck; offcer;

disencumber; disentangle; emancipate;

official; overseer; president; principal;

extricate; free; liberate; manumit; release;

superintendent; supervisor. 2. aristocrat;

relieve; save; set free; unburden; unchain;

dignitary; eminence; lord; luminary; mag¬

unencumber; unfetter; unshackle.

nate; mogul; notable; patrician; person¬ age; ruler; sovereign; worthy.

big wheel A moribund metaphor (see page 21). 1. administrator; boss; brass;

(the)

big

picture

A

moribund

chief; commander; director; executive;

metaphor (see page 21). ■ Let’s not

foreman; head; headman; leader; manag¬

make decisions without looking at the

er; master; (high) muckamuck; officer;

big picture.

official; overseer; president; principal; superintendent; supervisor. 2. aristocrat; 78

bitter acrimony

dignitary; eminence; lord; luminary; mag¬

bite the bullet A moribund metaphor

nate; mogul; notable; patrician; person¬

(see page 21). bear; endure;put up with;

age; ruler; sovereign; worthy.

stand; suffer; tolerate.

(a) bird in the hand (is worth two in

bite the dust A moribund metaphor

the bush) A popular prescription (see

(see page 21).

page 23).

expire; extinguish; pass away; pass on; per¬

1. decease; depart; die;

ish; terminate. 2. be beaten; be conquered; bird’s-eye view A moribund metaphor

be crushed; be defeated; be outdone; be

(see page 21). outline; overview; profile;

overcome;

be

whelmed;

be quelled; be routed; be

review; sketch; summary; survey.

overpowered;

be

over¬

trounced; be vanquished. 3. cease; close; birds of a feather (flock together) A

complete; conclude; derail; desist; discon¬

moribund metaphor (see page 21). akin;

tinue; end; finish; halt; quit; settle; stop;

alike; commensurate; comparable; conso¬ nant; duplicate; equal; equivalent; identi¬

terminate. 4. be unsuccessful; bomb; break down; collapse; fail; fall short; falter; fiz¬

cal; indistinguishable; interchangeable;

zle; flop; fold; founder; mess up; miscarry;

like; same; similar; undifferentiated. ■

not succeed; stumble; topple.

Politically, they are birds ofi a feather. REPLACE with indistinguishable.

(they) bite the hand that feeds (them) A moribund metaphor (see page 21).

bite (his) head (nose) off A moribund metaphor (see page 21). admonish; ani¬

unappreciative; ungrateful; unthankful.

madvert; berate; castigate; censure; chas¬ ten; chastise; chide; condemn; criticize;

bite

your

tongue

A

moribund

denounce; denunciate; discipline; excori¬ ate; fulminate against; imprecate;

metaphor (see page 21).

impugn; inveigh against; objurgate; pun¬

bits and pieces An inescapable pair (see

ish; rebuke; remonstrate; reprehend; repri¬ mand; reproach; reprobate; reprove; revile;

page

scold; swear at; upbraid; vituperate.

ingredients; modicums; morsels; nuggets;

20).

crumbs;

bits; chunks; components;

elements; factors; fragments;

parts; particles; pieces; scraps; segments; bite off more than (he) can chew A

shreds; snips; snippets; specks. ■ All the

moribund metaphor (see page 21). 1.

bits and pieces that make up the whole

overcommit;

must be carefully and objectively exam¬

overpledge.

2.

arrogant;

brazen; cocksure; overconfident. ■ Even in

ined. Replace with elements.

private circles, there is concern that the government has bitten off more than it

The ancestors of the place hovered

can chew.

over the bits and pieces of their finished lives. — Annie Proulx,

The truth was that Joe was a tal¬

That Old Ace in the Hole

ented but careless performer, liable to bite off more than he could chew. — Michael Chabon,

bitter acrimony An inescapable pair

The

(see page 20).

Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay 79

(a) bitter (tough) pill to swallow

(a) bitter (tough) pill to swallow A

Nate had been labeled the black

moribund metaphor (see page 21).

sheep of the family years ago. — Robin Jones Gunn, Gardenias for

Breakfast

(as) black as coal An insipid simile. black; blackish; caliginous; dark; ebony; ecchymotic; fuliginous; inky; jet; nigres¬

blah, blah, blah A grammatical gim¬

cent; nigritudinous; raven; sable; swarthy;

mick (see page 19). ■ He told me, I

tenebrific; tenebrous.

want you to come out here; I miss you;

blah, blah, blah. Delete blah, blah, (as) black as night An insipid simile.

blah. See ALSO and so on, and so forth; et

black; blackish; caliginous; dark; ebony;

cetera, et cetera.

ecchymotic; fuliginous; inky; jet; nigres¬ cent; nigritudinous; raven; sable; swarthy;

blast from the past An infantile phrase

tenebrific; tenebrous.

(see page 20).

After that speech he glared at me

blatant lie An inescapable pair (see page

in silence, then flung down the

20).

spear he had snatched up in his sudden rage and stalked out of the

blessed event An infantile phrase (see

house and into the wood, but

page 20). 1. baby; infant; newborn. 2.

before long he was back again seat¬

birth; childbearing; childbirth; parturi¬

ed in his old place, brooding on

tion.

my words with a face as black as night. — W. H, Hudson, Green

blessed with (has) the gift of gab An

Mansions

infantile phrase (see page 20). babbling;

blathering; chatty; facile; fluent; garru¬ (as) black as pitch An insipid simile.

lous; glib; jabbering; logorrheic; long-

black; blackish; caliginous; dark; ebony;

winded'; loquacious; prolix; talkative; ver¬

ecchymotic; fuliginous; inky; jet; nigres¬

bose; voluble; windy.

cent; nigritudinous; raven; sable; swarthy; (a) blessing in disguise A moribund

tenebrific; tenebrous.

metaphor (see page 21).

(as) black as the ace of spades An insipid simile, black; blackish; caliginous;

(as) blind as a bat An insipid simile. 1.

dark; ebony; ecchymotic; fuliginous; inky;

blind; eyeless;purblind; sightless; unseeing;

jet; nigrescent; nigritudinous; raven; sable;

unsighted; visionless. 2. addleheaded;

swarthy; tenebrific; tenebrous.

bovine; cretinous; decerebrate; dense; dull; dull-witted; fatuous; fat-witted; half-wit¬

black sheep (of the family) A mori¬

ted; harebrained; hebetudinous; idiotic;

bund metaphor (see page 21). curiosity;

ignorant; imbecilic; incogitant; insensate;

deviant; eccentric; extremist; iconoclast;

mindless; moronic; muddled; nescient;

individual; individualist; maverick; mis¬

obtuse; phlegmatic; slow; slow-witted;

fit; nonconformist; oddball; oddity; rene¬

sluggish;

gade; undesirable.

unintelligent; vacuous; witless.

80

thick;

torpid;

undiscerning;

blow (run) hot and cold

blind faith An inescapable pair (see

blow a fuse A moribund metaphor (see

page 20).

page 21). bellow; bluster; clamor; explode;

fulminate; fume; holler; howl; rage; rant; (the) blind leading the blind A mori¬

rave; roar; scream; shout; storm; thunder;

bund metaphor (see page 21).

vociferate; yell.

(a) blip on the (radar) screen A mori¬

blow a gasket A moribund metaphor

bund metaphor (see page 21). frivolous;

(see page 21). bellow; bluster; clamor;

inappreciable; immaterial; inconsequen¬

explode; fulminate; fume; holler; howl;

tial; inconsiderable; insignificant; meager;

rage; rant; rave; roar; scream; shout;

meaningless; minor; negligible; next to

storm; thunder; vociferate; yell.

nothing; nugatory; paltry; petty; scant; scanty; scarcely anything; slight; trifling;

blow away A moribund metaphor (see

trivial;

page

unimportant;

unsubstantial;

worthless.

21).

1. annihilate; assassinate;

butcher; destroy; exterminate; kill; mas¬

As laughable as it is moribund, a blip

sacre; murder; slaughter; slay. 2. amaze;

on the (radar) screen belies the writing

astonish; astound; awe; dazzle; dumb¬

ability of whoever uses it. ■ War and

found; flabbergast; overpower; overwhelm;

peace abroad was barely a blip on the

shock; startle; stun; stupefy; surprise.

screen compared with gun control at blow by blow A moribund metaphor

home. REPLACE WITH inconsiderable.

(see page 21).

blondes have more fun An infantile blow (his) cover A moribund metaphor

phrase (see page 20).

(see page 21). ascertain; discover; expose;

bloodcurdling

scream

(yell)

find out; learn.

An

inescapable pair (see page 20).

blow (run) hot and cold A moribund blood is thicker than water A popular

metaphor (see page 21). 1. ambivalent;

prescription (see page 23).

divided; indecisive; irresolute; torn; uncer¬ tain; uncommitted; undecided; unsure. 2.

blood, sweat, and tears A moribund

capricious; changeable; erratic; fickle; fit¬

metaphor (see page 21). assiduity; dili¬

ful; flighty; fluctuating;

gence; discipline; drudgery; effort; endeav¬

inconsistent;

or; exertion; grind; hard work; industry;

irregular; mercurial; occasional; random;

labor; moil; persistence; slavery; strain;

sometime; spasmodic; sporadic; unpre¬

struggle; sweat; toil; travail; work. ■

dictable; unsettled; unstable; unsteady;

However unautobiographical or fiction¬

vacillating; volatile; wavering; wayward.

al a book is, it still comes out by blood,

sweat, and tears. REPLACE WITH toil. (the) bloom is off the rose A moribund metaphor (see page 21).

81

inconstant;

haphazard; intermittent;

blow (my) mind

moribund

outdo; overcome; overpower; overwhelm;

metaphor (see page 21). amaze; astonish;

prevail; quell; rout; succeed; triumph;

astound; awe; dazzle; dumbfound; flab¬

trounce; vanquish; win. 3. amaze; aston¬

bergast; overpower; overwhelm; shock;

ish; astound; awe; dazzle; dumbfound;

startle; stun; stupefy; surprise.

flabbergast; overpower; overwhelm; shock;

blow

(my)

mind

A

startle; stun; stupefy; surprise. And Elizabeth said one thing at the very end that really blew

blow (your) own horn A moribund

Rosie’s mind, about how when she

metaphor

first got sober, she felt as if the

applaud; bluster; boast; brag; celebrate;

mosaic she had been assembling

cheer; commend; compliment; congratu¬

out

got

late; crow; extol; flatter; gloat; hail; honor;

dumped to the ground, and there

laud; praise; puff; salute; self-congratulate;

was no way to put it back togeth¬

strut; swagger.

of life’s

little

shards

(see

page

21).

acclaim;

er. — Anne Larnott, Crooked Little

blow smoke A moribund metaphor (see

Heart

page 21). adumbrate; becloud; befog;

blow off steam A moribund metaphor

camouflage; cloak; cloud; conceal; cover;

(see page 21). 1. bellow; bluster; clamor;

disguise; dissemble; enshroud; harbor;

complain;

explode; fulminate; fume;

hide; keep secret; mask; obfuscate; obscure;

holler; howl; object; protest; rage; rant;

overshadow; screen; shroud; suppress; veil;

rave; roar; scream; shout; storm; thunder;

withhold.

vociferate; yell. 2. be merry; carouse; carry on; celebrate; debauch; disport; frolic;

blow (his) stack A moribund metaphor

party; play; revel; riot; roister; rollick;

(see page 21). bellow; bluster; clamor;

romp; skylark.

explode; fulminate; fume; holler; howl; rage; rant; rave; roar; scream; shout;

blow on the cue ball A moribund

storm; thunder; vociferate; yell.

metaphor (see page 21).

blow the whisde (on) A moribund blow (things) out of proportion A

metaphor (see page 21). 1. bare; betray;

moribund metaphor (see page 21). elab¬

disclose; divulge; expose; give away; reveal;

orate; embellish; embroider; enhance;

show; tell; uncover; unveil. 2. betray;

enlarge; exaggerate; hyperbolize; inflate;

deliver up; inform on; report; turn in. ■

magnify; overdo; overreact; over stress;

Fear of reprisal arises when people con¬

overstate; strain; stretch. H It was not the

sider whether or not to blow the whistle

sort of event that has now been exagger¬

on someone who violates ethical stan¬

ated

and

blown

out of proportion.

dards. Replace with report. H He blew

DELETE and blown out of proportion.

the whistle on company corruption. Replace with exposed.

blow (them) out of the water A mori¬ bund metaphor (see page 21). 1. annihi¬

blow to bits A moribund metaphor (see

late; assassinate; butcher; destroy; extermi¬

page 21). annihilate; assassinate; butcher;

nate; kill; massacre; murder; slaughter;

demolish; destroy; devastate; eradicate;

slay. 2. beat; conquer; crush; defeat;

exterminate; kill; massacre; murder; oblit82

bore to death (extinction)

erate; pulverize; rack; ravage; raze; ruin;

(as) bold as brass An insipid simile.

shatter; slaughter; slay; smash; undo;

audacious; bold; brash; brass; brassy;

wrack; wreck.

brazen; cheeky; forward; impertinent; impudent; insolent; outrageous; saucy;

blow (my) top A moribund metaphor

shameless; unabashed.

(see page 21). bellow; bluster; clamor;

explode; fulminate; fume; holler; howl;

a bolt from (out of) the blue A mori¬

rage; rant; rave; roar; scream; shout;

bund metaphor (see page 21). bomb¬

storm; thunder; vociferate; yell.

shell; shock; surprise; thunderbolt; thun¬ derclap.

blow to

smithereens A moribund

metaphor

(see page 21).

annihilate;

bone

assassinate; butcher; demolish; destroy;

of

contention

A

moribund

metaphor (see page 21).

devastate; eradicate; exterminate; kill; massacre; murder; obliterate; pulverize;

bone to pick A moribund metaphor

rack; ravage; raze; ruin; shatter; slaughter;

(see page

slay; smash; undo; wrack; wreck.

enmity; grievance; grudge; hostility; indig¬

21).

animosity; bitterness;

nation; ill will; offense; rancor; resent¬ ment; spite; umbrage.

(until) (I’m) blue in the face A mori¬ bund metaphor (see page 21). 1. angry;

annoyed; enraged; exasperated; furious;

(cite) book, chapter, and verse A mori¬

incensed; infuriated; irate; irked; irritat¬

bund metaphor (see page 21). explain;

ed; mad; raging; wrathful.

beat;

expound; lecture. ■ She will give me chap¬

bushed; debilitated; depleted; exhausted;

ter and verse about the merits of XYZ

fatigued; fed up; spent; tired; wearied;

Chemical and why it should be a glori¬

2.

ous investment. REPLACE WITH lecture

weary; worn out.

me. blue-ribbon commission (committee; panel) A suspect superlative (see page

book of woes A moribund metaphor

24).

(see page 21).

boggle (my) mind An infantile phrase

bore the pants off (me) A moribund

(see page 20). baffle; befuddle; bemuse;

metaphor (see page 21). annoy; bore; dis¬

bewilder; confound; confuse; disconcert;

courage;

flummox; muddle; mystify; nonplus; per¬

fatigue; irk; irritate; sicken; tire; wear out;

plex; puzzle.

weary.

disgust;

exasperate;

exhaust;

They had been friends forever, sit¬

bore to death (extinction) A moribund

ting in this room for longer than

metaphor (see page 21). annoy; bore; dis¬

Amy had been alive, although it

courage;

boggled Amys mind to think that.

fatigue; irk; irritate; sicken; tire; wear out;

disgust;

exasperate;

weary. See ALSO to death.

— Elizabeth Strout, Amy and

Isabelle

83

exhaust;

bore to tears

tom fell out of that business.

bore to tears A moribund metaphor (see page 21). annoy; bore; discourage;

disgust; exasperate; exhaust; fatigue; irk;

bottomless pit A moribund metaphor

irritate; sicken; tire; wear out; weary.

(see page 21). abyss; hades; hell; inferno;

netherworld; perdition. born

to

the purple A moribund (the)

metaphor (see page 21).

bottom

line

A

moribund

metaphor (see page 21). This is a bot-

born under a lucky star A moribund

tomlessly

metaphor (see page 21). advantageous;

bewitched by words that have a trace of

auspicious; blessed; charmed; enchanted;

technicality to them are inclined to use

favored; felicitous; flourishing; fortuitous;

it. In striving to sound technical, they

fortunate; golden; happy; in luck; lucky;

manage to sound only typical. 1. conclu¬

propitious; prosperous; successful; thriving.

sion; consequence; culmination; decision;

ordinary

term.

People

denouement; effect; end; outcome; result; born with a silver spoon in (his)

upshot. 2. crux; essence; key; keynote;

mouth A moribund metaphor (see page

main point; salient point. ■ The bottom

21). advantageous; auspicious; blessed;

line is that America can compete if the

charmed; enchanted; favored; felicitous;

politicians are kept out of the picture.

flourishing; fortuitous; fortunate; golden;

Replace with upshot. ■ The bottom line

happy; in luck; lucky; propitious; prosper¬

is that both kinds of water are generally

ous; successful; thriving.

safe. REPLACE with conclusion. ■ The

bottom line is you get what you pay for. moribund

REPLACE with main point. ■ The bot¬

metaphor (see page 21). block; check;

tom line for parents: choose gifts careful¬

contain; control; curb; hide; hold back;

ly.

repress; restrain; smother; stem; stifle; sup¬

feedback; input; interface; output; param¬

press.

eters.

bottle

up

(inside)

A

Replace with keynote.

See also

I became more guilty and more

bottom of the barrel A moribund

frightened, and kept all this bot¬

metaphor (see page 21). 1. alluvium;

tled up inside me, and naturally,

debris; deposit; detritus; dregs; grounds;

inescapably, one night, when this

lees; precipitate; remains; residue; residu¬

woman had finished preaching,

um; sediment; settlings; silt; wash. 2. close;

everything came roaring, scream¬

completion;

ing, cry ing out, and I fell to the-

finale; finish; termination. 3. bums; dead¬

conclusion;

end;

ending;

ground before the altar. — Js

beats; derelicts; duds; failures; flobs; hobos;

Baldwin , The Fire Next Time

losers; pariahs; rabble; renegades; riffraff

in pmu V,-

scum;

(the) bottom fell out A moribund

tramps;

vagabonds;

vagrants;

washouts.

metaphor (see page 21). break down;

break up; collapse; crash; crumple; disinte¬

bottom of the heap A moribund

grate; end; fail; fall apart; fold; stop. ■ He

metaphor (see page 21). bottom; depths;

elected to stop financing condominium

nadir; pits; rock bottom.

projects nearly two years before the bot¬ 84

(it) breaks (my) heart

You slip around the truth once,

brand new An inescapable pair (see

and then again, and one more

page 20). ■ Did you forget he got him¬

time, and there you are, feeling,

self a brand new car to drive around in?

for a moment, that it was sudden,

Delete brand.

your arrival at the bottom of the heap. — Jane Hamilton, A Map of

(the) bread always falls on the but¬

the World

tered side A moribund metaphor (see page 21).

bound and determined An inescapable pair (see page 20). bent on; determined;

bread

resolute; resolved.

metaphor (see page 21). 1. food; keep;

and

butter

A

moribund

livelihood; living; subsistence; support; sus¬ While I’m not vain enough to buy

tenance. 2. basis; center; core; essence;

a new winter coat — I will not

foundation; heart; hub; mainstay; nucle¬

spend hundreds of dollars on a

us; root; soul; spirit. ■ Interfaces are the

piece of clothing I am bound and

bread and butter of component technol¬

determined not to need a month

ogy. Replace with core.

from now — I am sufficiently selfconscious to leave the coat open,

breadth and depth An inescapable pair

counting on a thick scarf to keep

(see page 20). ambit; area; breadth; com¬

out the bitter damp. — Ayelet

pass; degree; extent; field; magnitude;

Waldman,

Love

and

Other

range; reach; scope; sphere; sweep.

Impossible Pursuits break

(his)

back

A

moribund

bow and scrape A moribund metaphor

metaphor (see page 21). attempt; drudge;

bootlick; bow; crawl;

endeavor; essay; exert; grind; grub; labor;

cringe; crouch; fawn; grovel; kowtow;

moil; slave; strain; strive; struggle; sweat;

slaver; stoop; toady; truckle.

toil; travail; try; work.

bowled over A moribund metaphor

break down (the) barriers A moribund

(see page 21).

(see

page

21).

amazed;

astonished;

metaphor (see page 21).

astounded; flabbergasted; shocked; stag¬ gered; stunned; surprised.

break

(my)

neck

A

moribund

metaphor (see page 21). attempt; drudge;

(like a) bowl of cherries An insipid

endeavor; essay; exert; grind; grub; labor;

simile, agreeable; ambrosial; beguiling;

moil; slave; strain; strive; struggle; sweat;

celestial; charming; delectable; delicious;

toil; travail; try; work.

delightful; divine; enchanting; engaging; enjoyable; fun; heavenly; glorious; gratify¬

break out of the mold A moribund

ing; inviting; joyful; joyous; luscious;

metaphor (see page 21).

pleasant; pleasing; pleasurable. (it) breaks (my) heart A moribund brain drain An infantile phrase (see

metaphor (see page 21). desolate; disap¬

page 20).

point; discourage; dishearten; dispirit; dis¬ tress; sadden.

break the bank

break the bank A moribund metaphor

grotesque;

idiosyncratic;

independent;

(see page 21). bankrupt; deplete; drain;

individual;

exhaust; impoverish; pauperize; ruin.

novel; odd; offbeat; original; pecidiar;

individualistic;

irregular;

puzzling; quaint; queer; rare; remarkable; break the ice A moribund metaphor

separate; singular; uncommon; unconven¬

(see page 21).

tional; unexampled; unique; unnatural; unorthodox; unparalleled; unprecedented; unusual; weird.

breathe (new) life into A moribund metaphor (see page 21). animate; arouse;

enliven; exhilarate; inspire; inspirit; invig¬

(it’s) a breeze A moribund metaphor

orate; revivify; spur; stimulate; vitalize;

(see page 21). apparent; basic; clear;

vivify. ■ The Citizens for Limited

clear-cut; conspicuous; distinct; easily

Taxation petition would block school

done; easy; effortless; elementary; evident;

reform at the very time it is needed most

explicit; facile; limpid; lucid; manifest;

to breathe life into our public schools.

obvious; patent; pellucid; plain; simple;

Replace with invigorate.

simplicity itself; straigh forward; translu¬ cent; transparent; unambiguous; uncom¬

breathless anticipation An inescapable

plex;

uncomplicated;

understandable;

pair (see page 20).

unequivocal; unmistakable.

(a welcome) breath of fresh air A

bright and early An inescapable pair

moribund metaphor (see page 21). ani¬

(see page 20).

mating; arousing; bracing; enlivening; exciting; exhilarating; inspiring; inspirit¬

(as) bright as a (new) button An

ing; invigorating; provoking; refreshing;

insipid simile. 1. beaming; bright; bril¬

rousing; stimulating; vivifying.

liant;

burnished; dazzling; effidgent;

Of what it purports to describe, a

gleaming; glistening; glittering; glossy;

(welcome) breath of fresh air offers the

incandescent; luminous; lustrous; radiant;

opposite. If intelligent or heartfelt sen¬

resplendent; shiny; sparkling. 2. able;

tences are invigorating, this dimwitti-

adroit; alert; apt; astute; bright; brilliant;

cism should make us gasp as though

capable; clever; competent; discerning;

we’ve been throttled by foul-smelling

enlightened; insigh ful; intelligent; judi¬

thoughtlessness. ■ A toy industry ana¬

cious; keen; knowledgeable; learned; logi¬

lyst called the news a breath of fresh air.

cal; luminous; perceptive; perspicacious;

REPLACE WITH exciting. ■ Ordinarily, I

quick; quick-witted; rational; reasonable;

find Friedman a welcome breath of fesh

sagacious; sage; sapient; sensible; sharp;

air — he has little patience for fools and

shrewd; smart; sound; understanding;

plagiarists. REPLACE WITH refreshing.

wise.

(a) breed apart (unto itself) A mori¬

(as) bright as a new penny An insipid

bund metaphor (see page 21). aberrant;

simile. 1. beaming; bright; brilliant; bur¬

abnormal; anomalistic; anomalous; atypi¬

nished; dazzling; effulgent; gleaming; glis¬

cal; bizarre; curious; deviant; different;

tening; glittering; glossy; incandescent;

distinct; distinctive; eccentric; exceptional;

luminous; lustrous; radiant; resplendent;

extraordinary;

shiny; sparkling. 2. able; adroit; alert; apt;

fantastic;

foreign; 86

bring (come) to closure

astute; bright; brilliant; capable; clever;

diminish; disgrace; dishonor; embarrass;

competent;

humble; humiliate; lower; mortify; punc¬

discerning;

enlightened;

insightful; intelligent; judicious; keen;

ture; shame.

knowledgeable; learned; logical; luminous; perceptive; perspicacious; quick; quick¬

bring (her) down from (her) high

witted; rational; reasonable; sagacious;

horse A moribund metaphor (see page

sage; sapient; sensible; sharp; shrewd;

21).

smart; sound; understanding; wise.

deflate; degrade; demean; depreciate;

abase; chasten; debase; decrease;

depress; diminish; disgrace; dishonor; (as) bright as a new pin An insipid

embarrass; humble; humiliate; lower;

simile. 1. beaming; bright; brilliant; bur¬

mortify; puncture; shame.

nished; dazzling; effulgent; gleaming; glis¬ tening; glittering; glossy; incandescent;

bring down the house A moribund

luminous; lustrous; radiant; resplendent;

metaphor

shiny; sparkling. 2. able; adroit; alert; apt;

applaud; bellow; cheer; clamor; holler;

astute; bright; brilliant; capable; clever;

howl; roar; scream; shout; vociferate; yell.

competent;

discerning;

(see

page

21).

acclaim;

enlightened;

insighful; intelligent; judicious; keen;

bring home the bacon A moribund

knowledgeable; learned; logical; luminous;

metaphor (see page 21). earn a living;

perceptive; perspicacious; quick; quick¬

earn money; prosper; succeed.

witted; rational; reasonable; sagacious; sage; sapient; sensible; sharp; shrewd;

bring to a close (a halt; an end; a stop)

smart; sound; understanding; wise.

A wretched redundancy (see page 25).

cease; close; complete; conclude; derail; dis¬ (she) brightens up a room A mori¬

continue; end; finish; halt; settle; stop; ter¬

bund metaphor (see page 21). is beam¬

minate. ■ We are pleased to be able to

ing; is brilliant; is dazzling; is gleaming; is

bring this longstanding litigation to a

glowing; is incandescent; is luminescent; is

close. REPLACE with conclude. ■ You

luminous; is radiant; is resplendent; is

might be contributing to bringing the

shimmering; is sunny. ■ When she walks

nation’s longest peacetime economic

into a room, she brightens up the room.

expansion to a grinding halt. REPLACE

Replace with is incandescent.

WITH halting. See also come to a close (a

halt; an end; a stop); grind to a halt. bright-eyed and bushy tailed A mori¬ bund metaphor (see page 21). active;

bring to a head A moribund metaphor

adroit; alert; alive; animated; dynamic;

(see page 21). cap; climax; conclude; con¬

eager; energetic; frisky; hearty; lively; nim¬

summate; crest; crown; culminate; peak.

ble; poppy; perky; quick; ready; spirited; sprightly; spry; vibrant; vigorous; viva¬

bring (come) to closure A torpid term

cious.

(see page 24). 1. cease; close; complete;

conclude; discontinue; end; finish; halt; bring (take) (her) down a notch (peg)

stop. 2. conclude; decide; determine; estab¬

A moribund metaphor (see page 21).

lish; resolve; settle.

abase; chasten; debase; decrease; deflate; degrade; demean; depreciate; depress; 87

bring (them) to (their) knees

bring (them) to (their) knees A mori¬

be persuaded; be swayed; be won over. 2.

bund metaphor (see page 21). beat; con¬

budge; move; nudge; shifi.

quer; cow; cripple; crush; defeat; disable; dispirit; enervate; enfeeble; humble; inca¬

build a better mousetrap (and the

pacitate; lame; make helpless; neutralize;

world will beat a path to your door) A

oppress; overcome; overpower; overrun;

popular prescription (see page 23).

overthrow; overwhelm; repress; subdue; subjugate; suppress; vanquish. ■ A net¬

build bridges A moribund metaphor

work of computers was brought to its

(see page 21).

knees by something out of our control that seemed to live in and even infect

build bridg es where there are walls A

the system. Replace WITH vanquished.

moribund metaphor (see page 21).

bring

moribund

build castles in Spain (the air) A mori¬

metaphor (see page 21). advance; bring

bund metaphor (see page 21). brood;

up; broach; contribute; give; introduce;

daydream; dream; fantasize; imagine;

offer; present; proffer; propose; provide;

meditate; muse; reflect.

to

the

table

A

raise; submit; suggest; tender. ■ As a com¬ pany that knows education, we thought

building

we had something to bring to the table.

metaphor (see page 21).

blocks

of

A

moribund

Replace with offer. (like a) bull in a china closet (shop) brought it home to (me) A moribund

An insipid simile, awkward; blundering;

metaphor (see page 21).

bumbling; gauche;

bungling;

clumsy; gawky;

ham-handed;

heavy-handed;

(as) brown as a berry An insipid simi¬

inapt; inept; lubberly; lumbering; mal¬

le. beige; bronze; bronzed; brown; bur¬

adroit; uncoordinated; uncouth; ungainly;

nished; chestnut; copper; coppery; ecru;

ungraceful;

fawn; mahogany; ocherous; russet; sienna;

unwieldy.

unhandy;

unskillful;

sun-tanned; tan; tanned; tawny. bump (win)

brownie points A moribund

in

the

road

A

moribund

metaphor (see page 21). bar; barrier;

metaphor (see page 21).

block; blockage; check; deterrent; difficul¬ ty; encumbrance; handicap; hindrance;

brutally honest An inescapable pair

hurdle; impediment; interference; obsta¬

(see page 20).

cle; obstruction.

brute force An inescapable pair (see

(like a) bump on a log An insipid sim¬

page 20).

ile.

dead; dormant; dull; immobile;

immovable; inactive; inanimate; indo¬ bucket of bolts A moribund metaphor

lent; inert; inoperative; languid; latent;

(see page 21).

lethargic; lifeless; listless; motionless; phleg¬ matic; quiescent; quiet; sluggish; stagnant;

(won’t) budge an inch A moribund

static; stationary; still; stock-still; torpid;

metaphor (see page 21). 1. be influenced;

unresponsive. 88

bury (her) head in the sand

bumpy road (ahead) A moribund

strive; struggle; sweat; toil; travail; work

metaphor (see page 21). complication;

hard. 2. debilitate; deplete; drain; empty;

difficulty; dilemma; mess; muddle; ordeal;

enervate; exhaust; fatigue; overdo; over¬

pickle; plight; predicament; problem;

work; sap; tire; wear out; weary. 3. be

quandary; trial; trouble.

merry;

carouse;

carry

on;

celebrate;

debauch; disport; frolic; party; play; revel; bunch

of

metaphor

baloney

A

moribund

(see page 21).

balderdash;

riot; roister; rollick; romp; skylark.

baloney; nonsense; rubbish.

burn the midnight oil A moribund metaphor (see page 21). drudge; grind;

bundle of joy A moribund metaphor

grub; labor; moil; slave; strain; strive;

(see page 21). babe; baby; child; infant;

struggle; sweat; toil; travail; work hard;

neonate; newborn; nursling; suckling; tod¬

work long hours. ■ We are indebted to

dler; tot; weanling.

our wives and families for their patience while

bundle

of

nerves

A

we

burned the midnight oil.

Replace with worked long hours.

moribund

metaphor (see page 21). agitated; anx¬

ious; eager; edgy; excitable; excited; fidg¬

bursting at the seams A moribund

ety; frantic; jittery; jumpy; nervous; ill at

metaphor (see page 21). 1. aflame; agi¬

ease; on edge; restive; restless; skittish;

tated; animated; anxious; eager; ebullient;

uncomfortable; uneasy.

effervescent; enthusiastic; excitable; excit¬ ed; fervent; fervid; frantic; frenzied;

burn a hole in (my) pocket A mori¬

impassioned; impatient; lively; restless;

bund metaphor (see page 21).

spirited. 2. abounding; brimful; brim¬ ming; bursting; chock-full; congested;

burn (your) bridges (behind) (you) A

crammed; crowded; dense; filled; full;

moribund metaphor (see page 21).

gorged; jammed; jam-packed; overcrowd¬ ed; overfilled; overflowing; packed; replete; saturated; stuffed; swarming; teeming.

burning desire An inescapable pair (see page 20). ardor; eagerness; fervor; passion;

vehemence; zeal. ■ Suppose you sell

burst on (onto) the scene A moribund

group insurance to employers, and your

metaphor (see page 21). appear; arise;

prospect has ten employees and a burn¬

come forth; emerge; occur; originate; pres¬

ing desire to

ent itself; rise; surface; turn up.

expand

the

business.

Replace with zeal.

bur under (his) saddle A moribund (it)

burns

(me)

up A

metaphor

moribund

(see

page

21).

affliction;

metaphor (see page 21). acerbate; anger;

annoyance; bane; bother; burden; curse;

annoy; bother; bristle; chafe; enrage;

difficulty; inconvenience; irritant; irrita¬

incense; inflame; infuriate; irk; irritate;

tion; load; nuisance; ordeal; pain; pest;

madden; miff; provoke; rile; roil; vex.

plague; problem; torment; tribulation; trouble; vexation; weight; worry.

burn the candle at both ends A mori¬ bund metaphor (see page 21). 1. drudge;

bury (her) head in the sand A mori¬

grind; grub; labor; moil; slave; strain;

bund metaphor (see page 21). cower; 89

bury the hatchet

cringe; grovel; quail; recoil; shrink. ■

ed; anxious; eager; edgy; excitable; excited;

When confronted with negative press,

fidgety; frantic; jittery; jumpy; nervous; ill

school officials ought not to bury their

at ease; on edge; restive; restless; skittish;

heads in the sand. REPLACE WITH cower.

uncomfortable; uneasy. 2. nauseated; nau¬ seous; queasy; sick; squeamish.

bury

the

hatchet

A

moribund

butter

metaphor (see page 21). make peace.

(them)

metaphor

(see

up page

A

moribund

21).

acclaim;

business as usual A torpid term (see

applaud; celebrate; commend; compli¬

page 24). ■ All too many male-domi¬

ment; extol; flatter; laud; praise.

nated workplaces still are doing business

butter wouldn’t melt in (her) mouth A

as usual and denying women equal pay and benefits.

■ In simple terms,

moribund metaphor

it

(see page 21).

means business as usual, specifically, all

affected; artful; artificial; coy; crafty; cun¬

business will be conducted today as it

ning; deceitful; dishonest; demure; dissem¬

was yesterday See ALSO politics as usual.

bling; dissimulating; duplicitous; fake; false; false-hearted; feigned; foxy; guileful;

The tile floor smelled strongly of

insincere; lying; mannered; mendacious;

antiseptic and faintly of cat pee:

phony; plastic; sly; sneaky; tricky; two-

Business

faced; uncandid; underhanded; unflank;

as

usual.

— Jo-Ann

unnatural; untrue; untruthful; wily.

Mapson, The Wilder Sisters

business is business A quack equation

button (zip) your lip A moribund

(see page 23).

metaphor (see page 21). 1. be silent; be

still; hush; keep quiet; quiet; silence. 2. be bust (my) ass A moribund metaphor

closed-mouthed; be quiet; be reticent; be

(see page 21). attempt; drudge; endeavor;

silent; be speechless; be taciturn;

essay; exert; grind; grub; labor; moil; slave;

uncommunicative.

be

strain; strive; struggle; sweat; toil; travail; try; work.

buy a pig in a poke A moribund metaphor (see page 21).

(as) busy as a beaver An insipid simile. assiduous; busy; diligent; grinding; hard¬

buy into A moribund metaphor (see

working; indefatigable; industrious; inex¬

page 21). accept; adopt; advocate; affirm;

haustible; sedulous; slaving; tireless; toil¬

agree to; assent to; back; believe in;

ing; unflagging; unrelenting; untiring.

endorse; espouse; favor; further; hold; sanction; side with; support. ■ When oth¬

(as) busy as a bee An insipid simile.

ers witness your confidence in an activi¬

assiduous; busy; diligent; grinding; hard¬

ty, they are more likely to buy into your

working; indefatigable; industrious; inex¬

plans of action. REPLACE WITH back.

haustible; sedulous; slaving; tireless; toil¬ ing; unflagging; unrelenting; untiring.

buy the farm A moribund metaphor (see page 21). cease to exist; depart; die;

butterflies in (her) stomach A mori¬

expire; pass away; pass on; perish.

bund metaphor (see page 21). 1. agitat¬ 90

by the sweat of (his) brow

buy time A moribund metaphor (see

Rubashov found that by no stretch

page 21). defer; delay; hold off; hold up;

of his imagination could he pic¬

postpone; put aside; put off; set aside;

ture his neighbors state of mind,

shelve; suspend; table; waive.

in spite of all his practice in the art of

by a hair’s

breadth A moribund

‘thinking

minds’.

metaphor (see page 21). barely; by a lit¬

—

through Arthur

others’ Koestler,

Darkness at Noon

tle; hardly; just; merely; narrowly; only just; scarcely.

(go; pass) by the board A moribund metaphor

(see page 21).

abandoned;

(won) by a landslide A moribund

completed; concluded; disappeared; dis¬

metaphor (see page 21).

carded; done; ended; finished; forfeited; gone (by); lost; over; passed; vanished. ■

by a whisker A moribund metaphor

There was a little rain, sleet, and snow,

(see page 21). barely; by a little; hardly;

but all that has gone by the board.

just; merely; narrowly; only just; scarcely.

Replace with passed.

by

(go)

fits

and

starts

A

moribund

by

the

book

A

moribund

1. correctly;

metaphor (see page 21). convulsively;

metaphor (see page 21).

erratically; fitfully; intermittently; irregu¬

properly; rightly. 2. according to the rules.

larly; paroxysmally; randomly; spasmodi¬

■ She’s done everything by the book.

cally; sporadically; unevenly.

Replace with correctly.

by hook or (by) crook A moribund

by the same token A wretched redun¬

metaphor (see page 21). somehow; some¬

dancy (see page 25). also; and; as well;

way.

besides; beyond that (this); even; further; furthermore; in addition; likewise; more¬

(growing) by leaps and bounds A

over; more than that (this); similarly; still

moribund metaphor

more; too; what is more.

(see page 21).

abruptly; apace; briskly; fast; hastily; hur¬ riedly; posthaste; promptly; quickly; rapid¬

by the seat of (his) pants A moribund

ly; rashly; speedily; straightaway; swiftly;

metaphor (see page 21). automatically;

wingedly.

by impulse; by instinct; by intuition; by reflex; impulsively; instinctively; intuitive¬

by no (not by any) stretch of the

ly; reflexively; spontaneously; unthinking¬

imagination A moribund metaphor

ly; viscerally.

(see page 21). at no time; by no means; in

no way; never; no; not; not at all; not ever;

by the skin of (his) teeth A moribund

not in any way; not in the least.

metaphor (see page 21). barely; by a lit¬

tle; hardly; just; merely; narrowly; only just; scarcely. by the sweat of (his) brow A moribund metaphor (see page 21). arduously; back-

breakingly; burdensomely; exhaustingly; 91

by virtue of the fact that

fatiguingly; gruelingly; laboriously; oner¬

call off the dogs A moribund metaphor

ously; strenuously; wilfully; toilsomely;

(see page 21).

toughly; wearisomely; with difficulty. call (out) on the carpet A moribund by virtue of the fact that A wretched

metaphor (see page 21). admonish; ani¬

redundancy (see page 25). because; con¬

madvert; berate; castigate; censure; chas¬

sidering; for; in that; since. ■ There are a

ten; chastise; chide; condemn; criticize;

lot of people who expect too little by

denounce; denunciate; discipline; excori¬

virtue of the fact that that’s all they’ve

ate;

fulminate

against;

imprecate;

because. SEE

impugn; inveigh against; objurgate; pun¬

ALSO because of the fact that; considering

ish; rebuke; remonstrate; reprehend; repri¬

the fact that; given the fact that; in consid¬

mand; reproach; reprobate; reprove; revile;

eration of the fact that; in view of the fact

scold; swear at; upbraid; vituperate. ■

that; on account of the fact that.

Popular sentiment indicates that calling

known.

REPLACE WITH

the president on the carpet is not a labor the people wish to bear. REPLACE WITH

rebuking the president. ■ She called Starr

c

on the carpet as well, notably for alleged leaks

to

the

press.

REPLACE

WITH

upbraided Starr. callow youth An inescapable pair (see page 20).

adolescent; artless; callow;

green; guileless; immature; inexperienced; call a halt (an end; a stop) to A

inexpert; ingenuous; innocent; juvenile;

wretched redundancy (see page 25).

naive;

cease; close; complete; conclude; derail; dis¬

unfledged; unskilled; unskillful; unsophis¬

continue; end; finish; halt; settle; stop. ■

ticated; untaught; untrained; unworldly;

Let’s call a halt to this insanity. REPLACE

young; youthful.

raw;

simple;

undeveloped;

WITH end. See ALSO put a halt (an end; a

stop) to.

call the plays A moribund metaphor (see page 21). administer; boss; choose;

call a spade a spade A moribund

command; control; decide; determine; dic¬

1. be above¬

tate; direct; dominate; govern; in charge;

board; be artless; be candid; be forthright;

in command; in control; manage; manip¬

be frank; be genuine; be guileless; be hon¬

ulate; master; order; overpower; oversee;

est; be ingenuous; be naive; be sincere; be

predominate; prevail; reign over; rule;

straightforward; be truthful; be veracious;

superintend.

metaphor (see page 21).

be veridical. 2. be blunt; clear; be direct; be explicit; be plain; be specific.

call the shots A moribund metaphor (see page 21). administer; boss; choose;

call into question A wretched redun¬

command; control; decide; determine; dic¬

dancy (see page 25). challenge; contra¬

tate; direct; dominate; govern; in charge;

dict; dispute; doubt; question.

in command; in control; manage; manip¬ ulate; master; order; overpower; oversee; 92

can’t see the forest (woods) for the trees

predominate; prevail; reign over; rule;

tell you something.? I don’t really like to

superintend.

go out. DELETE Can I tell you something? H Can I ask you something? Do you want

.

It’s neither true nor fair to say I’m

me to give you a check so you can take

to blame for her predicament, but

care of that? Delete Can I ask you some¬

I have a long history of letting

thing? See ALSO let me ask you something.

Sylvia call the shots. — Dave King, The Ha-Ha

(open up a) can of worms A moribund metaphor (see page 21). complication;

(the) calm before the storm A mori¬

difficulty; dilemma; mess; muddle; ordeal;

bund metaphor (see page 21).

pickle; plight; predicament; problem; quandary; trial; trouble.

calm, cool, and collected An infantile phrase (see page 20). at ease; calm; col¬

(I) can take it or leave it An infantile

lected; composed; controlled; cool; imper¬

phrase (see page 20). apathetic; cool;

turbable; insouciant; nonchalant; placid;

halfhearted; indifferent; insouciant; lan¬

poised;

guid; laodicean; lukewarm; nonchalant;

relaxed;

sedate;

self-possessed;

tepid; unenthusiastic.

serene; tranquil; unemotional; unper¬ turbed; unrujfled. ■ She seemed so calm,

(I) can’t complain An infantile phrase

cool, and collected in the interview.

(see page 20). all right; average; fair; fine;

Replace with calm.

good; mediocre; not bad; passable; pretty good; tolerable; well.

(we) came, (we) saw, (we) conquered An infantile phrase (see page 20).

(we) can’t help you if you don’t want to be helped A popular prescription

can chew gum and think (walk) at the

(see page 23).

same time A moribund metaphor (see page 21). be able; be adept; be adroit; be

(he) can’t see beyond (the end of)

ambidextrous; be capable; be competent;

(his) nose A moribund metaphor (see

be deft; be dexterous; be nimble; be profi¬

page 21).

cient; be skilled; be skillful.

1.

blind; eyeless; purblind;

shortsighted; sightless; unseeing; unsighted; visionless.

2.

addleheaded;

bovine;

candor and frankness An inescapable

cretinous; decerebrate; dense; dull; dull-

pair (see page 20). candor; frankness;

witted; fatuous; fat-witted; halfwitted;

honesty; openness; sincerity; truth; truth¬

harebrained; hebetudinous; idiotic; igno¬

fulness; veracity.

rant; imbecilic; incogitant; insensate; mindless; moronic; muddled; nescient;

(you) can (can’t) have your cake and

obtuse; phlegmatic; slow; slow-witted;

eat it too A popular prescription (see

sluggish;

page 23).

unintelligent; vacuous; witless.

can I ask (tell) you something? A ple¬

can’t see the forest (woods) for the

beian sentiment (see page 23). This is a

trees A moribund metaphor (see page

question asked by the ignorant, by the

21). nearsighted; myopic;purblind; short¬

ill-bred, not the well mannered. ■ Can I

sighted. 93

thick;

torpid;

undiscerning;

(with) cap (hat) in hand

(with) cap (hat) in hand A moribund

carry (his) own weight A moribund

metaphor (see page 21). deferentially;

metaphor (see page 21).

diffidently; humbly; modestly; respectfully; carry the ball A moribund metaphor

sheepishly; unassumingly; unpretentiously.

(see page 21). captain

of

industry

A

moribund

metaphor (see page 21). administrator;

carry the weight of the world on (my)

boss; brass; chief; commander; director;

shoulders A moribund metaphor (see

executive; foreman;

page 21).

head;

headman;

leader; manager; master; (highj muckamuck; officer; official; overseer; owner;

(it’s a) catch-22 A moribund metaphor

president; principal; proprietor; superin¬

(see page 21). 1. contradiction; dilemma;

tendent; supervisor.

impasse; incongruity; paradox', plight; predicament; quandary; situation.

2.

conundrum; enigma; puzzle; riddle.

capture the attention of A torpid term (see page 24). absorb; attract; beguile;

bewitch; engage;

captivate; engross;

charm;

enamor;

carte blanche A foreign phrase (see

enrapture;

enthrall;

page 19).

entice; entrance; fascinate; mesmerize; occupy. ■ The civil rights struggle cap¬

carved (cast; fixed) in stone A mori¬

tured the attention

bund metaphor (see page 21). 1. decid¬

0/The

entire nation.

Replace with captivated.

ed; determined; established; firm; fixed; resolved; set; settled. 2. changeless; con¬

(the) cards (deck) are stacked against

stant; eternal; everlasting; firm; fixed;

(him) A moribund metaphor (see page

immutable; invariable; irreversible; irrev¬

21).

ocable; permanent; rigid; stable; unalter¬ able; unchangeable; unchanging; unend¬

card

up

(his)

ing. ■ The states census count is not yet

sleeve A moribund

metaphor (see page 21).

fixed in stone. REPLACE WITH immutable. ■ Your choice of per-server or per-seat licensing is not cast in stone. REPLACE

(like) carrying coals to Newcastle An insipid simile,

barren; bootless; effete;

WITH unalterable.

feckless; feeble; fruitless; futile; impotent; inadequate; inconsequential; inconsider¬

cash in

able; ineffective; ineffectual; infertile;

metaphor (see page 21). cease to exist;

insignificant; inutile; meaningless; merit¬

decease; depart; die; expire; pass away;

less; nugatory; null; of no value; pointless;

pass on; perish.

(their)

chips A moribund

powerless; profitless; purposeless; redun¬ dant; sterile; superfluous; trifling; trivial;

cash

unavailing; unimportant; unnecessary;

metaphor (see page 21).

on

the

barrel

A

moribund

A

moribund

unproductive; unprofitable; unserviceable; unworthy; useless; vain; valueless; weak;

cast

worthless.

metaphor (see page 21).

a

shadow

over

1. becloud;

cloak; darken; eclipse; mask; obscure; shroud; 94

veil.

2.

belittle;

confound;

(look) (like) (the) cat that (ate) swallowed the canary

degrade; demean; embarrass; humiliate;

catch in the act A moribund metaphor

lower; shame. SEE ALSO hang like a cloud

(see page 21).

(over).

entrap; net; trap.

cast in (our) lot with A moribund

catch the wave A moribund metaphor

metaphor (see page 21). ally; collaborate;

(see page 21).

catch; decoy; ensnare;

comply; concur; conspire; cooperate; join; unite; work together.

catch (him) with (his) pants down A moribund metaphor (see page 21). catch

cast

into

the

pot

A

unawares; surprise. ■ He isn’t the first

moribund

president to be caught with his pants

metaphor (see page 21).

down, nor will he be the last. REPLACE WITH caught unawares.

castles in Spain (the air) A moribund metaphor

(see page 21).

apparition;

caprice; chimera; delusion; dream; fanci¬

(like a) cat on a hot tin roof An insipid

ful idea; fancy; fantasty; fuff; frivolity;

simile,

hallucination;

imagination;

excitable; excited; fidgety; frantic; jittery;

maggot; mirage; phantasm; vagary; vision;

jumpy; nervous; ill at ease; on edge;

whim; whimsy.

restive; restless; skittish; uncomfortable;

illusion;

agitated; anxious; eager; edgy;

uneasy. cast (his) net A moribund metaphor cat’s got (your) tongue A moribund

(see page 21).

metaphor cast

(your)

(see page 21).

be closed¬

mouthed; be quiet; be reticent; be silent;

pearls before swine A

be speechless; be taciturn; be uncommu¬

moribund metaphor (see page 21).

nicative. cast

the

first

stone

A

moribund (the) cat’s out of the bag A moribund

metaphor (see page 21).

metaphor (see page 21). catalyst

for

change

A

moribund

metaphor (see page 21). ■ These are the

(look) (like) (the) cat that (ate) swal¬

young people who will be the catalysts

lowed the canary An insipid simile.

for change in their own communities in

complacent; gleeful; pleased; self-satisfied;

the coming decades.

smug; thrilled. ■ On the day after an election in which President Clinton was moribund

supposed to have been chastened, many

metaphor (see page 21). 1. aimless; free;

of the faces at the White House looked

irregular; uncontrolled; unplanned. 2. by

like the cat that swallowed the canary.

any means; however possible.

Replace with complacent.

catch

catch

as

catch

forty

can

winks

A

A

moribund

metaphor (see page 21). doze; go to bed;

nap; rest; retire; sleep; slumber.

95

caught in the crossfire

tures — these celebrities — let us better understand them for who they are. All dictionary definitions of celebrity should include 1. a mediocrity; a vulgarian; a coxcomb. 2. a scantly talented person who through shameless self-aggrandize¬ ment and utter inanity becomes widely known. 3. a repellent person. SEE ALSO

caught in the crossfire A moribund metaphor (see page 21). He paused from this pattern only to whisper, when an innocent — and I must admit, quite plump — regular Joe got caught in the cross¬ fire, “That should’ve been me!” — Marian Keyes, Angels caught red-handed A metaphor (see page 21).

the rich and famous.

center around A wretched redundancy (see page 23). center on. ■ Concern will center around military governments.

moribund

caught with (her) hand in the cookie jar A moribund metaphor (see page 21).

Replace with center on.

center of attention A suspect superla¬ tive (see page 24). cynosure. People who seek to be the center of attention are for¬ ever peripheral to themselves.

cautiously optimistic A torpid term (see page 24). confident; encouraged; heartened; hopeful; optimistic; rosy; san¬ guine. Optimistic is a perfectly vigorous

word, but modified by cautiously or guardedly, as it so often is, it becomes valueless. Cautiously optimistic is a phrase favored by poltroons and politi¬ cians, most of whom make a point of devaluing the meaning of their words. H The retailer was cautiously optimistic about its latest report. DELETE cautious¬ ly. ■ When I realized that CBS was interested, I became cautiously opti¬ mistic. Replace with hopeful. ■ On the Rhode Island waterfront, the fishermen are cautious but optimistic. DELETE but

(take) center stage A metaphor (see page 21).

moribund

c’est la vie A foreign phrase (see page 19). To this popular French expression of resignation, there are more than a few English-language equivalents. SEE ALSO such is life; that’s how (the way) it goes; that’s how (the way) the ball bounces; that’s how (the way) the cookie crumbles; that’s life; that’s life in the big city; that’s show biz; what are you going to do; what can you do.

optimistic. SEE ALSO guardedly optimistic.

chalk it up to experience A popular prescription (see page 23).

cease and desist An inescapable pair (see page 20). cease; desist; end; halt; stop.

champing (chomping) at the bit A moribund metaphor (see page 21). anx¬

celebrity A suspect superlative (see page 24). As the most popular books are sometimes the least worthy of being read, so the most public people are sometimes the least worthy of being known. If we must acknowledge these crea¬

ious; ardent; avid; craving; desiring; desirous; eager; enthusiastic; fervent; fer¬ vid; frantic; fenzied; impassioned; impa¬ tient; intent; itching; keen; longing; pin¬ ing; ready; vehement; yearning; zealous. ■

State corrections officials were chomping

96

(the) child is father of the man

at the bit to show not only that the pro¬

cheek by jowl A moribund metaphor

gram was tightly managed but also that

(see page 21). attached; close; inseparable;

it was benefiting offenders and citizens

intimate; side by side.

alike. REPLACE WITH eager. ■ It leaves me chomping at the bit to be able to do

chew (her) out A moribund metaphor

something with these tapes. REPLACE

(see page 21). admonish; animadvert;

WITH longing.

belittle; berate; castigate; censure; chasten; chastise;

chide;

condemn;

criticize;

change (shift; switch) gear A mori¬

denounce; denunciate; discipline; excori¬

bund metaphor (see page 21). alter;

ate;

change; convert; metamorphose; modify;

impugn; inveigh against; objurgate; pun¬

transform; transmute.

ish; rebuke; remonstrate; reprehend; repri¬

fulminate

against;

imprecate;

mand; reproach; reprobate; reprove; revile; But the very thing I became aware

scold; swear at; upbraid; vituperate.

of first was that time had shifted gear and was vibrating differently,

chew the cud A moribund metaphor

and it was this that was the first

(see page 21). brood; cerebrate; cogitate;

assault on my own habitual pat¬

consider; contemplate; deliberate; excogi¬

tern

tate; meditate; ponder; reflect; ruminate;

of

substance.

—

Doris

Lessing, Briefing for a Descent Into

think.

Hell chew

the

fat

(rag)

A

moribund

moribund

metaphor (see page 21). babble; blab;

metaphor (see page 21). be adaptable; be

cackle; chaffer; chat; chitchat; chatter;

flexible; be malleable; be versatile. ■ He

confabulate;

sees AmEx’s program as an example of

palaver; prate; prattle; rattle; talk.

change

on

a

dime

A

converse;

gossip; jabber;

what the smartest marketers will be doing: creating rewards programs that

(that’s)

chicken

can change on a dime based on what

metaphor

consumers tell them. REPLACE WITH be

immaterial; inconsequential; inconsider¬

flexible.

able; inferior; insignificant; minor; negli¬

(see

feed A moribund

page

21). frivolous;

gible; niggling; nugatory; petty; secondary; trifling; trivial; unimportant; worthless.

changing of the guard A moribund metaphor (see page 21).

chicken-or-egg

(question)

A mori¬

bund metaphor (see page 21).

charity begins at home A popular pre¬ scription (see page 23).

(like a) chicken with its head cut off chart

a

new

course

A

An insipid simile, agitated; crazed; crazy;

moribund

demented; deranged; distraught; frantic;

metaphor (see page 21).

frenetic; frenzied; insane; mad; raging; wild.

cheap shot A moribund metaphor (see page 21).

(the) child is father of the man A pop¬ ular prescription (see page 23). 97

children should be seen and not heard

children should be seen and not heard

chip on (her) shoulder A moribund

A popular prescription (see page 23).

metaphor (see page 21). animosity; bit¬ terness; enmity; grievance; grudge; hostili¬

(that’s)

child’s

play

A

ty; indignation; ill will; offense; rancor;

moribund

resentment; spite; umbrage.

metaphor (see page 21). apparent; basic; clear; clear-cut; conspicuous; distinct; easi¬ ly done; easy; effortless; elementary; evi¬

chock full (of) A torpid term (see page

dent; explicit; facile; limpid; lucid; mani¬

24).

fest; obvious; patent; pellucid; plain; sim¬

bursting; congested; crammed; crowded;

ple;

straightforward;

dense; filled; full; gorged; jammed; jam-

translucent; transparent; unambiguous;

packed; overcrowded; overfilled; packed;

uncomplex; uncomplicated; understand¬

replete;

able; unequivocal; unmistakable.

teeming.

simplicity

itself;

abounding;

brimful;

saturated;

brimming;

stuffed;

swarming;

This was child’s play for him, and

(a) chorus of A moribund metaphor

he got a dollar and seventy-five

(see page 21). See ALSO a barrage of.

cents a day for it .... — Upton Sinclair, The Jungle

chrome dome An infantile phrase (see page 20). alopecic; bald;

baldheaded;

chill to the bone (marrow) A mori¬

baldpated; glabrous; hairless; depilated;

bund metaphor (see page 21). 1. chill;

pilgarlic; smooth; tonsured.

cool; freeze; ice; refrigerate.

2.

alarm;

appall; benumb; daunt; frighten; horrify;

Cinderella

intimidate; panic; paralyze; petrify; scare;

metaphor (see page 21). dream; fantasy.

story

A

moribund

shock; startle; terrify; terrorize. class A suspect superlative (see page 24). The mere sight of that medley of

The antithesis of culture, class is a qual¬

wet nakedness chilled him to the

ity possessed by those who have neither

bone. — James Joyce, A Portrait of

elegance nor grace nor poise nor polish.

the Artist as a Young Man

■ This always hurts me because I know who he is: a very intelligent, sensitive,

chink in

(his)

armor A moribund

classy human being.

metaphor (see page 21). defect; deficien¬

REPLACE WITH

admirable.

cy; disadvantage; failing; fault; flaw;

Here’s a description of a woman that

foible; fragility; frailness; frailty; handi¬

no discerning man would ever wish to

cap; limitation; shortcoming; susceptibili¬

meet: ■ I am a shapely and petite, 31-

ty; susceptibleness; vulnerability; vulnera¬

year-old,

bleness; weakness.

lady. Replace with elegant. See also

exquisitely feminine,

classy

gentleman; lady. (a) chip off the old block A moribund metaphor (see page 21). carbon copy;

(as)

clone; double; duplicate; mirror image;

insipid simile, antiseptic; clean; cleansed;

replica; twin.

disinfected; germ-free; hygienic; immacu¬ late;

clean as

sanitary;

scrubbed; 98

a hound’s tooth An

sanitized;

spotless;

stainless;

scoured; sterile;

clear the decks

unblemished; unsoiled; unspotted; unsul¬

(as) clear as crystal An insipid simile.

lied; untarnished; washed.

apparent; basic; clear; clear-cut; conspicu¬ ous; crystalline; distinct; easily done; easy;

(as) clean as a whistle An insipid simi¬

effortless; elementary; evident; explicit;

le. antiseptic; clean; cleansed; disinfected;

facile; limpid; lucid; manifest; obvious;

germ-free; hygienic; immaculate; sanitary;

patent; pellucid; plain; simple; simplicity

sanitized; scoured; scrubbed; spotless;

itself; straigh forward; translucent; trans¬

stainless; sterile; unblemished; unsoiled;

parent; unambiguous; uncomplex; uncom¬

unspotted;

plicated; understandable; unequivocal;

unsullied;

untarnished;

washed. clean

unmistakable. bill

of health

A

moribund

(as) clear as day An insipid simile.

metaphor (see page 21). blooming; doing

apparent; basic; clear; clear-cut; conspicu¬

well; energetic; fit; flourishing; good; hale;

ous; crystalline; distinct; easily done; easy;

hardy; healthful; healthy; hearty; robust;

effortless; elementary; evident; explicit;

sound; strong; vigorous; well; well-off.

facile; limpid; lucid; manifest; obvious; patent; pellucid; plain; simple; simplicity

moribund

itself; straigh forward; translucent; trans¬

metaphor (see page 21). 1. assail; assault;

parent; unambiguous; uncomplex; uncom¬

attack; batter; beat; cudgel; flagellate; flog;

plicated; understandable; unequivocal;

hit; lambaste; lash; lick; mangle; pound;

unmistakable.

clean

(his)

clock

A

pummel; strike; thrash; trounce. 2. beat; conquer; crush; defeat; outdo; overcome;

(as) clear as mud An insipid simile.

overpower; overwhelm; prevail; quell;

ambiguous; blurred; blurry; cloudy; dim;

rout; succeed; triumph; trounce; vanquish;

fuzzy; hazy; indistinct; muddy; murky;

win.

nebulous; obfuscatory; obscure; opaque; unclear; vague.

cleanliness is next to godliness A pop¬ clear sailing A moribund metaphor (see

ular prescription (see page 23).

page 21). apparent; basic; clear; clear-cut; clear a (major) hurdle A moribund

conspicuous; distinct; easily done; easy;

metaphor (see page 21). ■ The pro¬

effortless; elementary; evident; explicit;

posed

of

facile; limpid; lucid; manifest; obvious;

Lafayette Place cleared a final hurdle yes¬

patent; pellucid; plain; simple; simplicity

terday.

itself; straighforward; translucent; trans¬

sale

and

redevelopment

parent; unambiguous; uncomplex; uncom¬ (a) clear and present danger An infan¬

plicated; understandable; unequivocal;

tile phrase (see page 20). danger; hazard;

unmistakable.

menace; peril; threat; troublemaker. ■ He is a clear and present danger. REPLACE

clear the air A moribund metaphor (see

WITH a menace.

page 21).

(as) clear as a bell An insipid simile.

clear the decks A moribund metaphor

audible; clarion; clear; distinct; plain;

(see page 21).

pure; sharp. 99

climbing the walls

climbing

the

walls

A

moribund

metaphor (see page 21). agitated; anx¬

closely allied An inescapable pair (see page 20).

ious; eager; edgy; excitable; excited; fidg¬ ety; frantic; jittery; jumpy; nervous; ill at

closely guarded secret A torpid term

ease; on edge; restive; restless; skittish;

(see page 24).

uncomfortable; uneasy. Each year

returned and incar-

climb (move up) the ladder (of suc¬

nated Himse If in a different lead-

cess) A moribund metaphor (see page

ing citizen

21). advance; flourish; progress; prosper;

always a cl< >sely guarded secret,

rise; succeed.

and with H

diose identity was nondenominational :

brought a playful

mysteries clinging vine A moribund metaphor

the city. — Jonathan

(see page 21). clinging; dependent; sub¬

Twenty-Seventh City

ject; subordinate; subservient. close scrutiny An inescapable pair (see cling like a limpet An insipid simile.

page 20).

adhere; affix; attach; bind; cleave; cling; cohere; connect; fasten; fuse; hitch; hold;

close (shut) the door on (to) A mori¬

join; stick.

bund metaphor (see page 21). ban; ban¬

ish; bar; block; disallow; dismiss; elimi¬ clip (her) wings A moribund metaphor

nate; exclude; hinder; ignore; impede;

(see page 21). abase; chasten; debase;

obstruct; preclude; prevent; prohibit; pro¬

decrease; deflate; degrade; demean; depre¬

scribe; reject; rule out.

ciate; depress; diminish; disgrace; dishon¬ or; embarrass; humble; humiliate; lower;

(hold cards) close to the chest (vest) A

mortify; puncture; shame.

moribund metaphor (see page 21). clan¬

destine; cloaked; closed; concealed; confi¬ (the)

clock is ticking A moribund

metaphor (see page 21).

dential; covert; furtive; hidden; masked; mysterious; private; shrouded;

sly;

secretive;

stealthy;

secret;

surreptitious;

(a) cloud of A moribund metaphor (see

veiled. ■ If police have any leads, they

page 21). ■ But he did so under a cloud

are keeping them

of uncertainty over whether what he said

Replace with secret.

close to the vest.

could be used against him later by law enforcement officials.

clothes make the man A popular pre¬ scription (see page 23).

close

(near)

at hand A moribund

metaphor (see page 21). accessible; at

clutch (grasp) at straws A moribund

hand; close; close by; handy; near; nearby;

metaphor (see page 21).

neighboring; vicinal. (the) close but no cigar An infantile phrase

coast

is

clear

metaphor (see page 21).

(see page 20). almost; just about; nearly.

100

A

moribund

combine together

cock

of

the

walk

A

moribund

cold enough to freeze the balls off a

metaphor (see page 21). administrator;

brass monkey A moribund metaphor

boss; brass; chief; commander; director;

(see page 21).

executive; foreman;

headman;

chilly; cold; cool; freezing; frigid; frosty;

leader; magnate; manager; master; mogul;

frozen; gelid; glacial; hibernal; hyperbore¬

(high) muckamuck; notable; officer; offi¬

an; ice-cold; icy; nippy; polar; rimy; win¬

cial; overseer; patrician; personage; presi¬

try.

head;

algid; arctic; brumal;

dent; principal; ruler; superintendent; supervisor.

(get) cold feet A moribund metaphor (see page 21). afraid; alarmed; apprehen¬ moribund

sive; cowardly; craven; diffident; fearful;

metaphor (see page 21). aide; appa¬

frightened; pavid; pusillanimous; recreant;

ratchik; assistant; cog; dependent; drudge;

scared; timid; timorous; tremulous. ■

flunky; helper; hireling; inferior; junior;

When the woman heard that the story

minion; secondary; servant; slave; subal¬

opened with the theft of the godparents’

tern; subordinate; underling; vassal.

guns, she got cold feet. DELETE became

cog

in

the

wheel

A

apprehensive. cold and calculating An inescapable cold fish A moribund metaphor (see

pair (see page 20).

page 21). apathetic; callous; chilly; cold;

.

There was something cold and cal¬

cool; detached; dispassionate; distant;

culating about Elizabeth, small as

emotionless; frigid; glacial; hard; hard¬

she

hearted; harsh; heartless; hostile; icy;

was.

—

Muriel

Maddox,

impassive; indifferent; passionless; pitiless;

Llantarnam mm

(as) cold as a witch’s tit An insipid sim¬

reserved;

unconcerned;

unemotional;

unfeeling; unfriendly; unresponsive.

ile. algid; arctic; brumal; chilly; cold; cool;

freezing; frigid; frosty; frozen; gelid; gla¬

cold turkey A moribund metaphor (see

cial; hibernal; hyperborean; ice-cold; icy;

page 21).

nippy; polar; rimy; wintry. collaborate

together

A

wretched

(as) cold as ice An insipid simile, algid;

redundancy (see page 25). collaborate. ■

arctic; brumal; chilly; cold; cool; freezing;

Staff from the American and European

frigid; frosty; frozen; gelid; glacial; hiber¬

sides collaborate together to make the

nal; hyperborean; ice-cold; icy; nippy;

journey and the home stay a rewarding

polar; rimy; wintry.

experience. DELETE together.

(as) cold as marble An insipid simile.

collect

algid; arctic; brumal; chilly; cold; cool;

metaphor (see page 21). fallow; idle; in

freezing; frigid; frosty; frozen; gelid; gla¬

abeyance; inactive; inoperative; set aside;

cial; hibernal; hyperborean; ice-cold; icy;

unoccupied; unused.

(gather)

dust A

moribund

nippy; polar; rimy; wintry. combine together A wretched redun¬ dancy (see page 25). combine. ■ Look at each reviewer’s comments separately or 101

come around

combine them together for a consolidated

come hell or high water A moribund

view. Delete together.

metaphor (see page 21). no matter what; regardless.

come around A moribund metaphor (see page 21). agree; consent; feel as (we)

(chickens)

come home to

roost A

do; support (us); think as (I) think. ■ We

moribund metaphor (see page 21).

believe that in the end the public is going to come around. REPLACE WITH

come in from the cold A moribund

support us.

metaphor (see page 21). M Alternative medicine is coming in from the cold.

come back to

haunt A moribund

REPLACE with gaining respectability.

metaphor (see page 21). haunt; recoil on; come in through the back door A

redound on; return to; revisit.

moribund metaphor (see page 21). If Maggie Feller had learned one thing in her fourteen years of deal¬

come knocking (on my door) A mori¬

ing with members of the opposite

bund metaphor (see page 21).

sex, it was this: your bad hookups will always come back to haunt

come on like gangbusters An insipid

you. — Jennifer Weiner, In Her

simile. 1. assertive; commanding; dynam¬

Shoes

ic; emphatic; energetic; forceful; intense; mighty; potent; powerful; strong; vehe¬

come clean A moribund metaphor (see

ment; vigorous; virile. 2. authoritarian;

page 21). acknowledge; admit; affirm;

authoritative; autocratic; bossy; despotic;

allow; avow; be forthright; be frank; be

dictatorial; dogmatic; domineering; impe¬

honest; be sincere; be straigh forward; be

rious; iron-handed; lordly; overbearing;

truthful; be veracious; concede; confess;

peremptory; tyrannical.

disclose; divulge; expose; grant; own; reveal; tell; uncover; unveil. ■ It is time

come on strong A moribund metaphor

for the president to come clean. REPLACE

(see page 21). 1. assertive; commanding;

WITH be forthright.

dynamic; emphatic; energetic; forceful; intense; mighty; potent; powerful; strong;

come forward

(with) A moribund

vehement; vigorous; virile. 2. authoritari¬

metaphor

page

an;

(see

21).

advance;

authoritative;

autocratic;

bossy;

broach; introduce; offer; present; propose;

despotic; dictatorial; dogmatic; domineer¬

■

ing; imperious; iron-handed; lordly; over¬

propound; submit; suggest; tender.

Nobody has come forward with a good

bearing; peremptory; tyrannical.

argument for any way to create more jobs and raise the incomes of working

come out in the wash A moribund

people

metaphor (see page 21).

without

expanding

trade.

Replace with proposed. See also put forward.

come out of left field A moribund metaphor (see page 21).

come full circle A moribund metaphor (see page 21). 102

(as) comfortable as an old shoe

come out of the closet A moribund

come to blows A moribund metaphor

metaphor (see page 21).

(see page 21). battle; brawl; clash; fight;

grapple; jostle; make war; scuffle; skir¬ come (crawl) out of the woodwork A

mish; tussle; war; wrestle; wrangle.

moribund metaphor (see page 21). Winnie said she believed at that come out (up) smelling like a rose An

moment it would come to blows,

insipid simile.

though she had never seen a man strike a woman, nor a woman

come

out

metaphor

swinging (see

page

A

moribund

strike a man for that matter. —

21).

aggressive;

Beth Gutcheon, More Than You

antagonistic; battling; bellicose; belliger¬

Know 111 1 1

ent; combative; fighting; militant; pugna¬ cious; truculent; warlike.

1111

y*

4s.' I

come to find out An infantile phrase (see page 20). ascertain; determine; dis¬

comes (goes) with the territory (turf)

cern; discover; find out; learn; realize.

A moribund metaphor (see page 21). is

expected; is inescapable; is inevitable; is

come

necessary; is unavoidable. ■ He’s got to

metaphor (see page 21). accept; compre¬

understand that these questions go with

hend; cope with; deal with; face; handle;

the

struggle with; understand.

territory.

REPLACE

WITH

are

to

grips

with

A

moribund

inevitable. come to pass A moribund metaphor come to a boil A moribund metaphor

(see page 21). befall; come about; happen;

(see page 21). cap; climax; conclude; con¬

occur; result; take place.

summate; crest; crown; culminate; peak. come to terms with A torpid term (see come to a close (a halt; an end; a stop)

page 24). accept; comprehend; cope with;

A wretched redundancy (see page 25).

deal with; face; handle; struggle with;

cease; close; complete; conclude; derail; dis¬

understand.

continue; end; finish; halt; settle; stop; ter¬ minate. ■ The days of easy credit, strong

come to the end of the line (road) A

liquidity, and speculation are coming to

moribund metaphor (see page 21).

a close. Replace with ending. See also bring to a close (a halt; an end; a stop);

come up empty (handed) A moribund

grind to a halt.

metaphor (see page 21). find nothing.

come to (find) a happy medium A

come up roses A moribund metaphor

moribund metaphor (see page 21). com¬

(see page 21).

promise. (as) comfortable as an old shoe An come to a head A moribund metaphor

insipid simile, comfortable; cosy; habit¬

(see page 21). cap; climax; conclude; con¬

able; homey; inhabitable; livable; safe;

summate; crest; crown; culminate; peak.

snug.

103

coming (falling) apart at the seams

coming (falling) apart at the seams A

(as) compared to what? An infantile

moribund metaphor (see page 21).

phrase (see page 20). SEE ALSO every¬

breaking down; collapsing; crumbling; decaying; decomposing; degenerating; deteriorating; disintegrating; dissipating;

thing's (it’s all) relative; (as) opposed to

dissolving; dying; ending; fading; failing; unraveling. ■ How do you hold it together at work when your life is com¬ ing apart at the seams? Replace with disintegrating. ■ For the last year and a

complete and utter A wretched redun¬

half it seems the world economy has been coming apart at the seams. REPLACE WITH unraveling.

what?.

dancy (see page 25). absolute; compleat;

complete; consummate; deadly; outright; perfect; thorough; thoroughgoing; total; unmitigated; unqualified; utter. ■ She may be my boss, but she is also a com¬

plete and utter fool. REPLACE WITH com¬ plete.

(as) common as dirt An insipid simile.

average; basic; common; commonplace; customary; everyday; normal; omnipres¬ ent; ordinary; prevalent; quotidian; regu¬ lar; standard; typical; ubiquitous; unex¬ ceptional; universal; unremarkable; usual; widespread; workaday.

component part A wretched redundan¬ cy (see page 25). component; part. ■ Denial is a component part of dying. REPLACE with component or part. comrades

in

arms

A

moribund

metaphor (see page 21). common courtesy A suspect superlative (see page 24). If this expression is not

concerted effort An inescapable pair

heard as often as it once was, it’s because

(see page 20).

courtesy is today not so common. of courtesy

conflicted A torpid term (see page 24).

such as please and thank you (See) and

Conflicted is a perfectly silly choice of

you re welcome have been usurped by glib ones such as have a nice day and I appre¬ ciate it and no problem. What’s more, a vapid phrase like how goes it (See), or a vulgar one like hey

words. It’s as if to say having conflicting

(See), is more popular than an authen¬

adequately convey this.

Genuine

expressions

feelings about something — as common as that is — is more than that, more complicated or less explicable, and only a psychological-sounding term might

tic hello.

People

indefatigably

mimic

one

The worsening of our speech accom¬

another; conflicted, like so many other

panies the withering of our souls. See

ridiculously popular terms, would have

ALSO (I) appreciate (it); have a good (nice)

less appeal if people were more confi¬

day (evening).

dent and inclined to think for them¬ selves. ■ Many such parents feel conflict¬

compare and contrast A wretched redundancy (see page 25). compare; con¬

trast. ■ Competition is essential to enable consumers to compare and con¬ trast alternatives. REPLACE WITH com¬ pare or contrast.

ed about segregating their children in special classes but think they have no alternative. REPLACE WITH have conflict¬

ing feelings. ■ The single most impor¬ tant element to a successful production of Julius Caesar is to see Brutus as a truly 104

cook (his) goose

honorable, yet conflicted soul whose

conspicuous by (his) absence A torpid

actions belie his intentions. REPLACE

term (see page 24). ■ If I didn’t sing

WITH torn. ■ My guess is that you have

about what I was going through, it

underlying and perhaps, conflicted feel¬

would have been

ings

absence.

about

the

way

this

change

conspicuous by its

occurred. REPLACE WITH conflicting. And some people use conflicted to

contact An overworked word (see page

■

22). ask; call; inform; phone; query; ques¬

RONCO involvement in humanitarian

tion; reach; speak to; talk to; tell; write to.

mean

war-torn

or

embattled.

demining in conflicted countries evolves from 20 years experience with world¬

continue on A wretched redundancy

wide development and humanitarian

(see page 25). continue. ■ We’re going to

assistance

continue on with more of this. DELETE

contracts.

REPLACE WITH

embattled. ■ The war on drugs cannot

on.

alone explain why the U.S. is sending 60 Black Hawk and Huey helicopters to

continuing refrain An inescapable pair

this conflicted nation.

(see page 20).

REPLACE WITH

war-torn. contrary to popular belief (opinion) connect together A wretched redun¬

A torpid term (see page 24). ■ Contrary

dancy (see page 25). connect. ■ The next

to popular opinion, a strong dollar does

step was to connect these systems togeth¬

not attract foreign investment to U.S.

er into a system called APRS. DELETE

stocks but to U.S. bonds.

together. conventional

wisdom

A

suspect

of opinion A wretched

superlative (see page 24). ■ Washington

redundancy (see page 25). consensus. ■

is in thrall at the moment to two com¬

The consensus of opinion is that newspa¬

peting conventional wisdoms.

consensus

per

endorsements

are

momentum

builders. REPLACE WITH consensus.

conversation piece A plebeian senti¬ ment (see page 23). This is an annoying

considering the fact that A wretched

little term. That people might need an

redundancy (see page 25). because; con¬

object whose purpose is mainly to stim¬

sidering; for; in that; since; when. ■ I

ulate conversation

don’t see how you can say you’re not a

infertile, just how fallow, our minds are.

reveals just how

prostitute considering the fact that you are paid for your time. REPLACE WITH

convicted felon A wretched redundan¬

when. See ALSO because of the fact that;

cy (see page 25). felon. ■ You were a

by virtue of the fact that; given the fact

deputy sheriff and now you’re a convict¬

that; in consideration of the fact that; in

ed felon? DELETE convicted.

view of the fact that; on account of the fact that.

cook

(his)

goose

metaphor (see page 21).

105

A

moribund

(the) cook’s tour

(the)

cook’s

tour

A

moribund,

failed or forgotten businesspeople. ■ /

could write a book about the way parents

metaphor (see page 21).

pay high prices in raising a disabled cook the books A moribund metaphor

child.

(see page 21). count (pinch) (my) pennies A mori¬ (as) cool as a cucumber An insipid

bund metaphor (see page 21). be cheap;

simile, at ease; calm; collected; composed;

be economical; be frugal; be miserly; be

controlled; cool; imperturbable; insou¬

niggardly; be parsimonious; be stingy; be

ciant; nonchalant; placid; poised; relaxed;

thrifty.

sedate; self-possessed; serene; tranquil; unemotional; unperturbed; unruffed.

course of action A wretched redundan¬ cy (see page 25). action; course; direction;

cool customer A moribund metaphor

intention; method; move; plan; policy;

(see page 21). at ease; calm; collected;

procedure; route; scheme; strategy.

composed; controlled; cool; imperturbable; insouciant; nonchalant; placid; poised;

cover

relaxed; sedate; self-possessed; serene; tran¬

metaphor (see page 21).

all

the

bases

A

moribund

quil; unemotional; unperturbed; unruf¬ fled.

cover a lot of ground A moribund metaphor (see page 21).

cool

(your)

heels

A

moribund

metaphor (see page 21). be patient; hold

cover

on; relax; wait.

metaphor (see page 21).

cooperate together A wretched redun¬

crack the whip A moribund metaphor

dancy (see page 25). cooperate. ■ It’s

(see page 21). 1. bully; coerce; intimidate;

important that we cooperate together in

menace; terrorize; threaten. 2. castigate;

order to resolve our problems. DELETE

chastise; discipline; penalize; punish.

(his)

tracks

A

moribund

together. crap shoot A moribund metaphor (see cost a

pretty penny A moribund

page 21).

metaphor (see page 21). costly; dear;

expensive; high-priced; precious; priceless;

(as) crazy as a coot An insipid simile.

valuable.

batty; cracked; crazy; daft; demented; deranged; fey; foolish; goofy; insane;

(I) could (should) write a book A ple¬

lunatic; mad; maniacal; neurotic; nuts;

beian sentiment (see page 23). If all

nutty; psychotic; raving; silly; squirrelly;

those who proclaim I could write a book

touched; unbalanced; unhinged; unsound;

— or all those who are advised You

wacky; zany.

should write a book — were to do so, we would be immersed (more than we

(as) crazy as a loon An insipid simile.

already are) in the vengeful, petty, or

batty; cracked; crazy; daft; demented;

everyday lamentations of hollow-headed

deranged; fey; foolish; goofy; insane;

homemakers, shameless celebrities, and

lunatic; mad; maniacal; neurotic; nuts; 106

cross swords

nutty; psychotic; raving; silly; squirrelly;

the making; crisis in values; crisis of confi¬

touched; unbalanced; unhinged; unsound;

dence; crisis proportions; crisis situation;

wacky; zany.

crisis stage; current crisis; economic crisis; educational crisis; energy crisis; extinction

She was quite put out with him, it

crisis; family crisis; financial crisis; fiscal

seemed, or else she was making

crisis; identity crisis; mid-life crisis; moral

her mind up that he was crazy as a

crisis; mounting crisis; national crisis;

loon

political crisis; and even, incomprehensi¬

—

Barbara

one

of the

Kingsolver,

two.

—

Prodigal

bly, severe crisis. Surely, some of these crises are less

Summer

than that. The terms we use to charac¬ crazy like a fox An insipid simile, art¬

terize

events

and

emotions

largely

ful; cagey; clever; conniving; crafty; cun¬

decide how we react to them. See ALSO

ning; foxy; guileful; shifty; shrewd; sly;

devastate.

smart; subtle; tricky; wily. (shed) (the) cream of the crop A moribund

crocodile tears A moribund

metaphor (see page 21).

metaphor (see page 21). best; brightest;

choice; choicest; elite; excellent; finest;

(as) crooked as a dog’s hind legs An

first-class; first-rate; foremost; greatest;

insipid simile.

highest; matchless; nonpareil; optimal; optimum; outstanding; paramount; peer¬ less; preeminent; premium; prominent; select;

superior;

superlative;

top;

unequaled; unexcelled; unmatched; unri¬ valed; unsurpassed. creme de la creme A foreign phrase (see page 19). best; brightest; choice; choicest;

elite; excellent; finest; first-class; first-rate; foremost; greatest; highest; matchless; non¬ pareil; optimal; optimum; outstanding;

(as) cross as a bear An insipid simile.

angry; bad-tempered; bilious; cantanker¬ ous; choleric; churlish; crabby; cranky; cross; curmudgeonly; disagreeable; dyspep¬ tic; grouchy; gruff; grumpy; ill-humored; ill-tempered; irascible; irritable; mad; pee¬ vish; petulant; quarrelsome; short-tem¬ pered; splenetic; surly; testy; vexed. cross

(my)

fingers

A

moribund

metaphor (see page 21). hope for; pray

for; think positively; wish.

paramount; peerless; preeminent; premi¬ um; prominent; select; superior; superla¬

cross (my) heart and hope to die A

tive;

moribund metaphor

top;

unequaled;

unexcelled;

(see page 21).

unmatched; unrivaled; unsurpassed. ■

affirm; asseverate; assert; attest; aver;

But I have the creme de la creme of

avow; declare; pledge; promise; swear; tes¬

celebrity users. REPLACE WITH foremost.

tify; vow; warrant.

■ The following list contains the creme

de la creme of online record retailers.

cross swords A moribund metaphor

Replace with best.

(see page 21). 1. altercate; argue; dis¬

agree; dispute; feud; fight; quarrel; spat; crisis An overworked word (see page

squabble; wrangle. 2. battle; brawl; clash;

22). We have a “crisis” for all occur¬

fight; grapple; jostle; make war; scuffle;

rences. For example: career crisis; crisis in

skirmish; tussle; war; wrestle. 107

(we’ll) cross that bridge when (we) come to it

(we’ll) cross that bridge when (we)

crystal clear A moribund metaphor (see

come to it A moribund metaphor (see

page 21). apparent; basic; clear; clear-cut;

page 21).

conspicuous; crystalline; distinct; easily done; easy; effortless; elementary; evident;

cross the line A moribund metaphor

explicit; facile; limpid; lucid; manifest;

(see page 21).

obvious; patent; pellucid; plain; simple; simplicity itself; straightforward; translu¬

cross

the

Rubicon

A

moribund

cent; transparent; unambiguous; uncom¬ plex;

metaphor (see page 21).

uncomplicated;

unequivocal;

understandable;

unmistakable.

■

What

cross to bear A moribund metaphor

seems crystal clear to you, and perhaps

(see page 21). affliction; burden; charge;

to others, is not all that obvious to me.

cross; difficulty; encumbrance; hardship;

Replace with obvious.

hindrance; impediment; load; obstacle; obstruction; onus; oppression; ordeal;

cry (say) uncle A moribund metaphor

problem; trial; trouble; weight.

(see page 21). abdicate; accede; acquiesce;

bow; capitulate; cede; concede; give in; crush like a bug An insipid simile. 1.

give up; quit; relinquish; retreat; submit;

annihilate; assassinate; butcher; destroy;

succumb; surrender; yield.

exterminate;

kill;

massacre;

murder;

slaughter; slay. 2. beat; conquer; crush;

cry wolf A moribund metaphor (see

defeat; outdo; overcome; overpower; over¬

page 21).

whelm; prevail; quell; rout; succeed; tri¬ umph; trounce; vanquish; win.

(see) (the) cup (glass) half empty A moribund metaphor

It was entirely possible that one

(see page 21).

despairing; hopeless; pessimistic.

song could destroy your life. Yes, musical doom could fall on a lone

(see) (the) cup (glass) half full A mori¬

human form and crush it like a

bund metaphor (see page 21). cheerful;

The

hopeful; optimistic; pollyanna; pollyan-

bug. — Jonathan Lethem,

Fortress of Solitude

naish; positive; roseate; sanguine; upbeat.

cry (weep) like a baby An insipid sim¬

(not) (her) cup of tea A moribund

ile. cry; howl; shriek; sob; ululate; wail;

metaphor (see page 21). bent; choice;

weep; whimper; whine.

leaning; pick; inclination; predilection;

igjiggggii ,

IM

H

i HI

preference;

propensity;

tendency.

■

The next morning she found him

Choosing a logo and letterhead design

gathering eggs in the henhouse,

from a catalog may not be everyone’s

weeping like a baby. — Jennifer

cup of tea. REPLACE WITH preference.

Haigh, Baker Towers ' 1H1HHMmsmsHUlllS&l HITTtsi ImiH

mi11111111 11111111

In any case, Edwin always felt that cry

over

spilt

milk A

moribund

Norman was more Marcia’s friend

metaphor (see page 21). lament; mourn;

than he was, more her cup of tea if

sulk.

anyone was. — Barbara

Quartet in Autumn 108

Pym,

cut (stung) to the quick

curiosity killed the cat A popular pre¬ scription (see page 23).

curse

a

blue

cut off (my) nose to spite (my) face A moribund metaphor (see page 21).

streak A

moribund

metaphor (see page 21). anathematize;

cut

(its)

own throat A moribund

metaphor (see page 21).

blaspheme; condemn; curse; cuss; damn; defile; desecrate; excoriate; execrate; fulmi¬

cut

nate; imprecate; swear at.

metaphor (see page 21). ■ Case majored

(her)

teeth

(on)

A moribund

in political science at Williams College moribund

and cut his teeth as a marketing executive

metaphor (see page 21). ■ We think

at PepsiCo Inc. and Procter & Gamble.

cushion

the

blow

A

that will help cushion the blow for some cut the legs out from under A mori¬

people.

bund metaphor (see page 21). (a) cut above (the rest) A moribund metaphor (see page 21). abler; better;

cut the mustard A moribund metaphor

exceptional; greater; higher; more able

(see page 21). fare well; flourish; meet

(accomplished; adept; capable; competent;

expectations; prevail; progress; prosper;

qualified; skilled; talented); outstanding;

succeed; thrive; triumph; win.

standout; superior; superlative. cutthroat competition An inescapable cut

and

dried

(dry)

A moribund

metaphor (see page 21).

pair (see page 20).

1. common;

commonplace; customary; everyday; nor¬

cut through red tape A moribund

mal; ordinary; quotidian; regular; rou¬

metaphor (see page 21).

tine; standard; typical; usual. 2. anodyne; banal; bland; boring; deadly; dry; dull;

(the)

cutting

everyday; flat; humdrum; insipid; jejune;

metaphor

lifeless; lusterless; mediocre; monotonous;

ground-breaking; innovative; inventive;

prosaic; stale; tedious; tiresome; unexcit¬

new; original; pioneering; progressive;

ing; uninteresting; vapid; watered-down.

radical; revolutionary; unconventional.

cut a rug A moribund metaphor (see

cut to pieces A moribund metaphor

page 21). dance.

(see page 21). 1. annihilate; assassinate;

(see

edge page

A

moribund

21).

advanced;

butcher; destroy; exterminate; kill; mas¬ (as) cute as a button An insipid simile.

sacre; murder; slaughter; slay. 2. beat; con¬

appealing; attractive; beautiful; becoming;

quer; crush; defeat; outdo; overcome; over¬

captivating; comely; cute; dazzling; exqui¬

power; overwhelm; prevail; quell; rout;

site; fair; fetching; good-looking; gorgeous;

succeed; triumph; trounce; vanquish; win.

handsome; lovely; nice-looking; pleasing; pretty; pulchritudinous; radiant; ravish¬

cut (costs) to the bone A moribund

ing; seemly; stunning.

metaphor (see page 21).

cut (them) off at the pass A moribund

cut (stung) to the quick A moribund

metaphor (see page 21).

metaphor (see page 21). affront; crush; 109

(could) cut (it) with a knife

dash; devastate; hurt; injure; insult;

day in (and) day out A moribund

offend; outrage; shatter; slap; slight; upset;

metaphor (see page 21). ceaseless; con¬

wound.

stant; continual; continuous; daily; diur¬ nal; endless; eternal; everlasting; evermore;

(could) cut (it) with a knife A mori¬

every day; frequent; interminable; non¬

bund metaphor (see page 21).

stop; permanent; perpetual; persistent; recurrent; regular; repeated; unceasing;

Amid Grandfather and I was a

unremitting.

silence you could cut with a scim¬ itar. — Jonathan Safran

Foer,

And the day in, day out routine of

Everything Is Illuminated

school — was that a sham, too, a cunning deception perpetrated to soften us up with rational expecta¬ tions and foster nonsensical feel¬ ings of trust? — Philip Roth, The

D

Plot Against America day (moment) in the sun A moribund metaphor (see page 21). I guess maybe my brother had his

damaged goods A moribund metaphor

moment in the sun for the four

(see page 21).

years he was alive before Kate got diagnosed, but ever since then,

dancing in the aisles (streets) A mori¬

we’ve been too busy looking over

bund metaphor (see page 21). he merry;

our shoulders to run headlong

carouse; carry on; celebrate, debauch; dis¬

into growing up. — Jodi Picoult,

port; frolic; party; play; revel; riot; roister;

My Sisters Keeper

rollick; romp; skylark. days of wine and roses An infantile (a) dark day A moribund metaphor

phrase (see page 20).

(see page 21). dead and buried An inescapable pair (a)

day at the beach A moribund

(see page 20). ceased; completed; conclud¬

metaphor (see page 21). 1. easily done;

ed; dead; deceased; defunct; departed;

easy; effortless; elementary; facile; simple;

done; ended; exanimate; expired; extinct;

simplicity itself; straightforward; uncom¬

extinguished; finished; gone; inanimate;

plex; uncomplicated. 2. agreeable; beguil¬

lifeless; no more; over; past; perished;

ing; charming; delightful; enchanting;

stopped; terminated.

engaging; enjoyable; fun; glorious; gratify¬ ing; inviting; joyful; joyous; pleasant;

dead and gone A wretched redundancy

pleasing; pleasurable.

(see page 25). ceased; completed; conclud¬

ed; dead; deceased; defunct; departed; (her)

day

in

court

metaphor (see page 21).

A

moribund

done; ended; exanimate; expired; extinct; extinguished; finished; gone; inanimate; 110

dead on (her) feet

lifeless; no more; over; past; perished;

dead body A wretched redundancy (see

stopped; terminated.

page 23). body. ■ Their car was aban¬ doned on a bridge, and dead bodies were

Instead, they returned to Ireland when I was four,

nowhere to be found. DELETE dead.

my brother,

Malachy, three, the twins, Oliver

dead duck A moribund metaphor (see

and Eugene, barely one, and my

page 21).

sister, Margaret, dead and gone. — Frank McCourt, Angelas Ashes

deader than a doornail A moribund metaphor (see page 21). 1. ceased; com¬

(as) dead as a dodo An insipid simile. 1.

pleted; concluded; dead; deceased; defunct;

ceased; completed; concluded; dead;

departed;

done;

ended;

exanimate;

deceased; defunct; departed; done; ended;

expired; extinct; extinguished; finished;

exanimate; expired; extinct; extinguished;

gone; inanimate; lifeless; no more; over;

finished; gone; inanimate; lifeless; no

perished; stopped; terminated. 2. ante¬

more; over; perished; stopped; terminated. 2.

diluvian; antiquated; archaic; dead; obso¬

antediluvian; antiquated; archaic;

dead; obsolescent; obsolete; old; old-fash¬

lescent; obsolete; old; old-fashioned; out¬ dated; outmoded; out of date; out of fash¬

ioned; outdated; outmoded; out of date;

ion; passe;

out of fashion; passe; superannuated. 3. beat;

bushed;

debilitated;

depleted;

drained; drowsy; enervated; exhausted; fatigued; groggy; sapped; sleepy; sluggish; slumberous; somnolent; soporific; spent;

ile. 1. ceased; completed; concluded; dead;

deceased; defunct; departed; done; ended; exanimate; expired; extinct; extinguished; finished; gone; inanimate; lifeless; no more; over; perished; stopped; terminated.

3.

beat;

bushed; debilitated; depleted; drained; drowsy; enervated; exhausted; fatigued; groggy; sapped; sleepy; sluggish; slumber¬ ous; somnolent; soporific; spent; tired; weary; worn out.

tired; weary; worn out. (as) dead as a doornail An insipid sim¬

superannuated.

dead

in

the

water

A

moribund

metaphor (see page 21). dead; dormant;

dull; inactive; inanimate; indolent; inert; inoperative; languid; latent; lethargic; lifeless; listless; motionless; phlegmatic; quiescent; quiet; sluggish; stagnant; static;

2. antediluvian; antiquated; archaic;

stationary; still; stock-still; torpid. ■ The

dead; obsolescent; obsolete; old; old-fash¬

civil rights impulse from the 1960s is

ioned; outdated; outmoded; out of date;

dead in the water. REPLACE WITH listless.

out of fashion; passe; superannuated. 3. beat;

bushed;

debilitated;

depleted;

drained; drowsy; enervated; exhausted;

dead on arrival A moribund metaphor (see page 21).

fatigued; groggy; sapped; sleepy; sluggish; slumberous; somnolent; soporific; spent;

dead

on

(her)

feet

A

moribund

tired; weary; worn out.

metaphor (see page 21). beat; bushed;

debilitated; depleted; drained; drowsy; I settled on getting raised from the

enervated; exhausted; fatigued; groggy;

dead, since a big part of me still

sapped; sleepy; sluggish; slumberous; som¬

felt dead as a doornail. — Sue

nolent; soporific; spent; tired; weary; worn

Monk Kidd, The Secret Life of Bees

out. Ill

dead ringer

vanquished.

■ Most

dead ringer A moribund metaphor (see

Replace with

page 21).

recently, it was Bennett who dealt the

most devastating blow to Clinton’s lead¬ dead serious An inescapable pair (see

ership. Replace with most wracked.

page 20). a deal is a deal A quack equation (see dead

to

the

world

A

moribund

page 23).

metaphor (see page 21). 1. asleep; doz¬

ing; napping; sleeping. 2. anesthetized;

(like) death warmed over An insipid

benumbed; comatose; insensate; insensible;

simile, anemic; ashen; blanched; blood¬

insentient; oblivious; senseless; soporifer-

less;

ous; soporific; stuporous; unconscious.

doughy; haggard; lusterless; pale; pallid;

cadaverous;

colorless;

deathlike;

pasty; peaked; sallow; sickly; wan; whitish. (as) deaf as a post An insipid simile. 1.

deaf; unhearing. 2. heedless; inattentive;

declare

war

(on)

oblivious; unmindfid.

metaphor (see page 21).

deaf, dumb, and blind A moribund

deepen

metaphor (see page 21). anesthesized;

metaphor (see page 21).

the

wound

A

A

moribund

moribund

cataleptic; comatose; insensate; insensible; insensient; numb; sensationless; uncon¬

deeper in (into) the hole A moribund

scious; unfeeling.

metaphor (see page 21).

deal a (crushing; devastating; major;

(has)

serious) blow to A moribund metaphor

metaphor (see page 21). affluent; mon¬

(see page 21). 1. annihilate; assassinate;

eyed; opulent; prosperous; rich; wealthy;

butcher; demolish; destroy; devastate;

well-off; well-to-do.

deep

pockets

A

moribund

eradicate; exterminate; kill; massacre; murder; obliterate; pulverize; rack; rav¬

deep six (v) A moribund metaphor (see

age; raze; ruin; shatter; slaughter; slay;

page 21). discard; eliminate; get rid of;

smash; undo; wrack; wreck. 2. beat; con¬

jettison; reject; throw away; toss out.

quer; crush; defeat; outdo; overcome; over¬ power; overwhelm; prevail; quell; rout;

definitely An overworked word (see

succeed; triumph; trounce; vanquish; win.

page 22). So popular is this word that

Still another phrase favored by jour¬

we might well marvel at the assuredness

nalists deal a (crushing; devastating;

of those who use it. But, of course, the

major; serious) blow to, though it tries

overuse of definitely bespeaks careless¬

mightily to move us, leaves us unim¬

ness more than it does confidence. See

pressed. Drained of any force it might

ALSO absolutely; most assuredly;

once

(very) definitely.

have

had,

this

dimwitticism

most

exhausts us precisely as much as it is exhausted. ■ Falling real estate values,

degree A torpid term (see page 24).

the stock market crash, and changes in

Degree — and the superfluity of phrases

the rules under which S&Ls operate

in which it is found — should be

dealt crushing blows to the bank’s success.

excised from almost all of our speech 112

despite (in spite of) or (maybe; perhaps) because of (the fact that)

and writing. No sentence is made more

den of thieves A moribund metaphor

compelling by the use of this word and

(see page 21).

its diffuse phrases. ■ I believe he has a

very high degree of integrity and takes

desperately seeking An infantile phrase

extreme pride in his workmanship.

(see page 20).

REPLACE with a good deal. Hi Increased employee morale would require a lesser

despite (in spite of) or (maybe; per¬

degree ^/accuracy. REPLACE WITH less. H

haps) because of (the fact that) An

Their hopes are based, to a large degree,

ineffectual phrase (see page 19). These

on signs that business activity is pulling out of its recent slowdown. REPLACE WITH largely. ■ To a larger degree than was expected, these economically stunt¬ ed nations can count on help from the 12-nation organization. REPLACE WITH

More. ■ Another realm in which schools

phrases sound as though they have the ring of respectability to them — that is, they sound intelligent — but since the Ph rases are formulaic (a staple among journalists and those who write like them) and the contribution they make to a sentence uncertain (,despite virtually nullifies because of, they are actually dis¬

of choice can and do differ is the degree

reputable — that is, they are dimwitted.

to which the staff and parents are

■ Despite his old-fashioned style, or per¬

involved in the day-to-day operations of

haps because of \t, Mansfield remains an extremely popular lecturer. ■ In spite of or, perhaps, because of the fact that we

the school. REPLACE WITH how much. SEE ALSO extent.

humans are normally vision experts at a She knew she was sick but she did¬

very young age, we have little intuition

n’t know the degree to which it

about how vision develops or how we

was commonplace, a matter of

accomplish seeing. ■ Excessive weight

spring

gain occurred during periods of this

flu,

the

usual

malaise,

passed from student to student

pregnancy despite,

and among faculty members. —

mother’s emotional problems. ■ Lately,

Joyce Carol Oates, Solstice

she finds herself having a hard time falling asleep,

deja vu A foreign phrase (see page 19).

or because of the

despite — or perhaps

because of— her exhaustion. ■ But this is what the harvest is all about, and

deja vu all over again An infantile phrase

(see page 20).

■ The police

served him with a restraining order; it was deja vu all over again.

despite the hard work, or actually, pre¬ cisely because of it, a harvest wants to be celebrated. ■ They sustain a high level of motivation and achieve performance peak after performance peak in spite of

(tor perhaps because of the lack of tradi¬ delicate balance An inescapable pair

tional supervision and rewards.

(see page 20). Despite or perhaps because of the (a) deluge of A moribund metaphor

fact that he left us, he knows it’s

(see page 21). SEE ALSO a barrage of.

vital

that he does nothing to

undermine my self-confidence. — den of iniquity A moribund metaphor

William Nicholson, The Society of

(see page 21).

Others 113

despite the fact that

despite the fact that A wretched redun¬

devil’s disciple A moribund metaphor

dancy (see page 25). although; but; even

(see page 21).

if; even though; still; though; yet. ■ Long a critic of exorbitant executive salaries,

(the) devil take the hindmost A mori¬

he agreed to a 4.7 percent raise, despite

bund metaphor (see page 21).

the fact that his company’s profits dou¬ bled.

Replace with even though.

■

Despite the fact that no serious adverse

devil to pay A moribund metaphor (see page 21).

effects have been found, there are still risks. Replace with Although. See also

develop steam A moribund metaphor

in spite of the fact that; regardless of the

(see page 21).

fact that. diametrically opposed An inescapable devastate An overworked word (see

pair (see page 20).

page 22). We can hardly wonder why so many of us are so easily devastated. This

(a) diamond in the rough A moribund

word is pervasive. Rarely are we discon¬

metaphor (see page 21). bad-mannered;

solate, rarely are we flustered. If only we

coarse; common; crass; crude; ill-bred; ill-

would use more measured terms, we

mannered; impolite; rough; rude; uncivi¬

might feel less weak and woundable.

lized; uncouth; uncultured; unrefined;

Consider these terms, all more mod¬ erate:

agitated;

bothered;

unsophisticated; vulgar.

crestfallen;

despondent; disappointed; discomposed;

(the) dictionary defines An infantile

disconsolate; distressed; disturbed; down¬

phrase (see page 20). ■ Webster’s New

cast; downhearted; flustered; heartbroken;

World Dictionary defines investigate as

heartsick; perturbed; ruffled; unsettled;

“to search

upset. ■ When Glen was transferred to a

inquire into systematically.” ■ The dic¬

city 100 miles away, I was devastated.

tionary defines gratitude as “a feeling of

Replace with heartbroken.

thankful appreciation for favors or ben¬

But if devastation it is, here are other terms that might relieve us of our

into;

examine in

detail;

efits received.” See ALSO as defined in

(the dictionary).

reliance on this one: atomized; crushed;

demolished;

desolate;

destroyed;

dis¬

traught; obliterated; overcome; overpow¬

didn’t

miss

a

beat

A

moribund

metaphor (see page 21).

ered; overwhelmed; prostrate; ravaged; ruined; shattered; undone. ■ Dean and

Bess didn’t miss a beat. She looked

Jenna were devastated when she lost

up, looked Christine straight in

their baby. REPLACE WITH shattered. SEE

the eye and said, “Chris, don’t go

ALSO crisis.

cutting

the

fool.”

—

Nancy

Bartholomew, Stand by Your Man (the) devil finds work for idle hands to do A popular prescription (see page

die laughing A moribund metaphor

23).

(see page 21).

114

(a) dirty word

(the) die is cast A moribund metaphor

day;

(see page 21).

prevalent; quotidian; regular; standard;

normal;

omnipresent;

ordinary;

typical; ubiquitous; unexceptional; uni¬ die (wither) on the vine A moribund

versal; unremarkable; usual; widespread.

metaphor (see page 21). atrophy; be

■ Sikhs in Kenya are a dime a dozen.

unsuccessful; bomb; break down; collapse;

Replace with ubiquitous.

decay; fail; fall short; falter; fizzle; flop; flounder; fold; founder; languish; mess up;

What you find out in your thirties

miscarry; miss; not succeed; shrivel; stum¬

is that clever children are a dime a

ble; topple; wilt; wither. ■ We believe

dozen. Its what you do later that

Medicare is going to wither on the vine

counts, and so far I had done

because we think people are going to

nothing. — Christina Schwarz,

voluntarily leave

All Is Vanity

it.

REPLACE WITH

founder. ■ The history of computing is littered with great products that with¬

(a) direct line to God An infantile

ered on the vine. REPLACE WITH failed.

phrase (see page 20). ■ A pair of men spotted outside the Marshalls’ house

different strokes for different folks A

leads Dunning to the Preacher, a book¬

popular prescription (see page 23).

seller with questionable intentions and a

direct line to God. ■ These nontradition¬ difficult task An inescapable pair (see

alist Christians frequently assert a direct

page 20).

line to God, purporting to know details about the consummation of the world.

digging (your) own grave A moribund When

metaphor (see page 21).

she

pictures

shefa,

she

thinks of the red phone on the moribund

President’s desk that is supposed

metaphor (see page 21). be adamant; be

to be a direct line to the Soviet

balky; be bullheaded; be cantankerous; be

Union. Shefa will be her red tele¬

contrary; be contumacious; be determined;

phone, a direct line to God. —

be dogged; be firm; be headstrong; be

Myla Goldberg, Bee Season

dig

in

(his)

heels

A

inflexible; be intractable; be mulish; be obdurate; be obstinate; be ornery; be per¬

dirt cheap A moribund metaphor (see

verse; be refractory; be resistant; be res¬

page 21). cheap; economical; inexpensive;

olute; be resolved; be rigid; be stubborn; be

low-cost; low-priced; not costly.

unyielding; be willful. ■ By then, the auto industry was digging in its heels,

dirty pool A moribund metaphor (see

and almost as soon as the law was

page 21).

approved, its provisions were called too stringent. REPLACE WITH becoming res¬

(a) dirty word A moribund metaphor

olute.

(see page 21). abhorrent; abominable; a

curse;

an

abomination;

anathema;

moribund

antipathetic; detestable; execrable; hateful;

metaphor (see page 21). average; basic;

loathsome; monstrous; offensive; repug¬

common; commonplace; customary; every¬

nant. ■ Some in the academic commu-

(a)

dime

a

dozen

A

115

dis

nity may disagree, but to working fami¬

appear; disperse; dissolve; evaporate; fade;

lies corporate takeovers are still a dirty

vanish; vaporize; volatilize.

word. Replace with anathema. discretion is the better part of valor A dis An infantile phrase (see page 20).

popular prescription (see page 23).

Dis is a prefix aspiring to be a word. Are we to allow un and anti, non and pre to

dismal failure An inescapable pair (see

follow? People are increasingly mono-

page 20). ■ The mayor’s attempt at

and disyllabic as it is; let’s rail against

improving the quality of life on Boston

this

Common at night was a dismal failure.

foolishness,

this

affront,

this

dimwitted dis. ■ And not only does the little dissing contest draw the battle lines

divine intervention An inescapable

in today’s best-selling music world, but

pair (see page 20).

it serves as a reminder of the way Rolling

Stone manages to embody two sides

do a disappearing act A moribund

without appearing totally ridiculous.

metaphor (see page 21). abscond; clear

REPLACE with disparaging ■ This issue

out; decamp; depart; desert; disappear;

addresses five other means of dissing

escape; exit; flee; fly; go; go away; leave;

employees: buck passing, procrastina¬

move on; part; pull out; quit; retire;

tion,

retreat; run away; take flight; take off;

inattentiveness,

impatience and

public reprimands. REPLACE WITH disre¬

vacate; vanish; withdraiv.

specting. ■ More bad news for Leonardo DiCaprio: ABC News is dissing him big-

do

time. Replace WITH dismissing. ■ Gov.

metaphor (see page 21). asperse; bad-

Bill

mouth;

Owens

made

a

media

splash

a hatchet job

belittle;

on A moribund

besmirch;

bespatter;

Monday, playing TV critic and dissing

blacken; calumniate; defame; defile; deni¬

first lady of TV news Barbara Walters

grate; denounce; depreciate; deride; dis¬

on national television. REPLACE WITH

parage; impugn; insult; libel; malign; pro¬

disparaging. ■ Watch Letterman stir up

fane; revile; scandalize; slander; slap; slur;

trouble with a Top 10 list or by dissing

smear; sully; taint; traduce; vilify; vitiate.

the soft drink Dr. Pepper as “liquid manure.” REPLACE WITH denigrating. ■

do a job on A moribund metaphor (see

Franzen, despised and envied by all

page 21).

writers for his talent, his luck, his good

deface; disable; disfigure; harm; hurt;

looks, and his marketing acumen, essen¬

impair; incapacitate; injure; lame; maim;

tially dissed the Oprah award for being

mar; mess up; rack; ruin; sabotage; spoil;

... lowbrow. REPLACE WITH dismissed.

subvert; undermine; vitiate; wrack; wreck.

1.

blight; cripple; damage;

2. agitate; bother; disquiet; distress; dis¬ disappear (vanish)

into thin air A

turb; fluster; jar; jolt; pain; perturb; ruf¬

moribund metaphor (see page 21). dis¬

fle; shake; trouble; unsettle; upset; wound.

appear; disperse; dissolve; evaporate; fade;

See ALSO do a number on.

vanish; vaporize; volatilize. do all (everything) in (my) power A disappear (vanish) without a trace A

torpid term (see page 24). ■ I believe

moribund metaphor (see page 21). dis¬

that Cashbuild has done everything in its 116

doesn’t have both oars in the water

power to cope with the changing South

fruitless; futile; impotent; inadequate;

American environment.

inconsequential; inconsiderable; ineffec¬ tive; ineffectual; infertile; insignificant;

do

an

about-face

moribund

inutile; meaningless; meritless; nugatory;

apostatize;

null; of no value; pointless; powerless; prof¬

backtrack; flip-flop; recidivate; renege;

itless; purposeless; sterile; trifling; trivial;

reverse; tergiversate. See ALSO do a 180.

unavailing; unimportant; unproductive;

metaphor

A

(see page 21).

unprofitable; unserviceable; unworthy; do (make) an end run around A mori¬

useless; vain; valueless; weak; worthless.

bund metaphor (see page 21). avoid;

bypass; circumvent; dodge; duck; elude;

I had too much to do, I told

evade; go around; parry; sidestep; skirt. ■

myself, to worry with last-minute,

Trying to do an end run around the per¬

undoubtedly invalid last wills and

son responsible for making purchasing

testaments that probably wouldn’t

decisions isn’t advisable. REPLACE WITH

amount to a hill of beans. — Ann

sidestep.

B.

Miss Julia Speaks Her

Ross,

Mind do a number on A moribund metaphor (see page 21). 1. blight; cripple; damage;

doesn’t

deface; disable; disfigure; harm; hurt;

metaphor (see page 21). addlebrained;

impair; incapacitate; injure; lame; maim;

addleheaded;

mar; mess up; rack; ruin; sabotage; spoil;

bovine; brainless; clueless; cretinous; decer¬

subvert; undermine; vitiate; wrack; wreck.

ebrate; dense; dim-witted; doltish; dull;

2. agitate; bother; disquiet; distress; dis¬

dumb;

turb; fluster; jar; jolt; pain; perturb; ruf¬

fatuous; fat-witted; harebrained; hebe-

fle; shake; trouble; unsettle; upset; wound.

tudinous; ignorant; imbecilic; incogitant;

See ALSO do a job on.

insensate; ludicrous; mindless; moronic;

have

a

clue

A

addlepated;

dunderheaded;

moribund

Boeotian;

empty-headed;

muddled; nescient; obtuse; oxlike; phleg¬ do a 180 A moribund metaphor (see

matic; slow-witted; sluggish; stupid; tor¬

page 21). apostatize; backtrack; flip-flop;

pid; unaware; unintelligent; unknowing;

recidivate; renege; reverse; tergiversate.

vacuous; witless.

See ALSO do an about face. doesn’t have a snowball’s chance in do as I say, not as I do A popular pre¬

hell A moribund metaphor (see page

scription (see page 23).

21). impossible; unachievable; unattain¬

able; unfeasible. doctor, lawyer, Indian chief A mori¬ bund metaphor (see page 21).

doesn’t have both oars in the water A moribund

dodge

the

bullet

A

moribund

metaphor (see page 21).

metaphor

(see page 21).

batty; cracked; crazy; daft; demented; deranged; fey; foolish; goofy; insane; lunatic; mad; maniacal; neurotic; nuts;

(it) doesn’t amount to a hill of beans

nutty; psychotic; raving; silly; squirrelly;

A moribund metaphor (see page 21).

strange; touched; unbalanced; unhinged;

barren; bootless; effete; feckless; feeble;

unsound; wacky; zany. 117

doesn’t have two nickels to rub together

rub

imbecilic; incogitant; insensate; ludicrous;

together A moribund metaphor (see

mindless; moronic; muddled; nescient;

page 21). bankrupt; broke; destitute; dis¬

obtuse; oxlike; phlegmatic; slow-witted;

tressed; impecunious; impoverished; indi¬

sluggish; stupid; torpid; unaware; unintel¬

gent; insolvent; needy; penniless; poor;

ligent; unknowing; vacuous; witless. 2.

poverty- stricken; underprivileged.

deficient; inadequate; inapt; incapable;

doesn’t

have

two

nickels

to

incompetent; ineffective; inefficacious; doesn’t

hold

water

A

moribund

inept; lacking; not able; unable; unfit;

metaphor (see page 21). baseless; cap¬

unqualified; unsatisfactory;

tious; casuistic; casuistical; erroneous; fal¬

wanting.

unskilled;

lacious; false; faulty; flawed; groundless; illogical; inaccurate; incorrect; invalid;

doesn’t know enough to come in out

irrational; jesuitical; mistaken; nonsensi¬

of the rain A moribund metaphor (see

cal; non sequitur; paralogistic; senseless;

page 21). 1. addlebrained; addleheaded;

sophistic; sophistical; specious; spurious;

addlepated; Boeotian; bovine; brainless;

unfounded;

clueless; cretinous; decerebrate; dense; dim-

unreasonable;

unsound;

untenable; untrue; unveracious; wrong.

witted; doltish; dull; dumb; dunderheaded; empty-headed; fatuous; fat-witted;

doesn’t know (her) ass from a hole in

harebrained;

the wall A moribund metaphor (see

imbecilic; incogitant; insensate; ludicrous;

page 21). 1. addlebrained; addleheaded;

mindless; moronic; muddled; nescient;

addlepated; Boeotian; bovine; brainless;

obtuse; oxlike; phlegmatic; slow-witted;

clueless; cretinous; decerebrate; dense; dim-

sluggish; stupid; torpid; unaware; unintel¬

witted; doltish; dull; dumb; dunderhead-

ligent; unknowing; vacuous; witless. 2.

ed; empty-headed; fatuous; fat-witted;

adolescent; artless; callow; gree?i; guileless;

harebrained;

ignorant;

immature; inexperienced; inexpert; ingen¬

imbecilic; incogitant; insensate; ludicrous;

uous; innocent; juvenile; naive; raw; sim¬

mindless; moronic; muddled; nescient;

ple; undeveloped; unfledged; unskilled;

obtuse; oxlike; phlegmatic; slow-witted;

unskillful;

sluggish; stupid; torpid; unaware; unintel¬

untrained; unworldly; young; youthful.

hebetudinous;

hebetudinous;

unsophisticated;

ignorant;

untaught;

ligent; unknowing; vacuous; witless. 2. deficient; inadequate; inapt; incapable;

dog and pony show A moribund

incompetent; ineffective; inefficacious;

metaphor (see page 21).

inept; lacking; not able; unable; unfit; unqualified; unsatisfactory; unskilled;

(the) dog days of summer A moribund

wanting.

metaphor (see page 21). boiling; hot;

humid; scorching; sizzling; sweltering. doesn’t know

(his)

ass from

(his)

elbow A moribund metaphor (see page 21).

1.

addlebrained;

addleheaded;

dog-eat-dog A moribund metaphor (see page 21). barbarous; bloodthirsty;

addlepated; Boeotian; bovine; brainless;

brutal;

clueless; cretinous; decerebrate; dense; dim-

cruel; cutthroat; feral; ferocious; fierce;

witted; doltish; dull; dumb; dunderhead-

hard;

ed; empty-headed; fatuous; fat-witted;

implacable; inexorable; inhuman; merci¬

harebrained;

less;

hebetudinous;

ignorant;

118

cold-blooded; hard-hearted;

murderous;

compassionless; harsh;

rancorous;

heartless; relentless;

do’s and don’ts

ruthless; savage; uncompassionate; unmer¬

don’t get me wrong An infantile phrase

ciful; unrelenting; vicious; virulent; wild.

(see page 20). ■ I’m not trying to con¬ done what I’ve done.

Dont get me

(a) dog’s age A moribund metaphor

wrong. REPLACE WITH Dont misunder¬

(see page 21). ages; a long time; a long

stand me. See ALSO I hear you.

while; an age; an eternity; decades; eons; forever; months; years.

don’t give up the ship A popular pre¬ scription (see page 23). carry on; contin¬

(lead

a)

dog’s

life

A

moribund

metaphor (see page 21). misery; unhap¬

ue; ensue; go on; keep up; persevere; persist; press on; proceed.

piness; wretchedness. don’t hold (your) breath A moribund dollars and sense An infantile phrase

metaphor (see page 21).

(see page 20). don’t knock it until you try it A pop¬ dollars to

doughnuts A moribund

ular prescription (see page 23).

metaphor (see page 21). be certain; be

sure.

don’t

rock

the

boat A moribund

metaphor (see page 21). I had no place to stay, and dollars to doughnuts, sitting in front of

don’t see eye to

eye A moribund

me was a building with a vacant

metaphor (see page 21). clash; conflict;

apartment. — Janet Evanovich,

differ; disagree; think differently.

Ten Big Ones don’t start anything you can’t finish A (a)

done

deal A

infantile

phrase.

popular prescription (see page 23).

absolute; completed; concluded; conclu¬ sive; consummated; definitive; final; fin¬

doom and gloom An inescapable pair

ished. ■ There seems to be a misconcep¬

(see page 20).

tion that this is a done deal. REPLACE doomed to failure A torpid term (see

WITH consummated.

page 24). damned; doomed; hopeless; illdon’t count your chickens

before

fated.

they’re hatched A popular prescription (see page 23).

do or die A popular prescription (see page 23).

don’t cry over spilled milk A popular prescription (see page 23).

do’s and don’ts canon; codes; conven¬

tions; conventionality; customs; decorum; don’t do anything I wouldn’t do An

directives; etiquette; formula; formulary;

infantile phrase (see page 20).

guidelines; law; manners; policy; precepts; protocol; proprieties; regulations; rules;

don’t get mad, get even A popular pre¬

standards.

scription (see page 23). ■ Hillary, don't

get mad, get even — write a book. 119

dot the is and cross the t’s

dot the i’s and cross the t s A moribund

plaintive; sad; sorrowful; unhappy; woebe¬

metaphor (see page 21). careful; consci¬

gone; woeful.

entious; exact; exacting; fastidious; finical; finicky; fussy; meticulous; nice; painstak¬

down

in

the

mouth A moribund

ing; particular; picky; precise; punctilious;

metaphor (see page 21). aggrieved; blue;

scrupulous; thorough.

cheerless; dejected; demoralized; depressed; despondent; disconsolate; discouraged; dis¬

double-edge

sword

A

moribund

heartened; dismal; dispirited; doleful; downcast; downhearted; dreary; forlorn;

metaphor (see page 21).

funereal; gloomy; glum; grieved; low; moribund

melancholy; miserable; morose; mournful;

metaphor (see page 21). cynic; disbeliev¬

plaintive; sad; sorrowful; unhappy; woebe¬

er; doubter; skeptic.

gone; woeful.

doubting

Thomas

A

down and out A moribund metaphor

Thought it was Nora, but when I

(see page 21). bankrupt; broke; destitute;

opened the door, Lewis was stand¬

distressed; impecunious; impoverished;

ing there in his rumpled linen suit,

indigent; insolvent; needy; penniless; poor;

looking a bit down in the mouth,

poverty- stricken; underprivileged.

not a trace of the bulldog in his face. — Richard B. Wright, Clara

down

at

the

heels

A

metaphor (see page 21).

Callan

moribund 1.

dowdy;

frowzy; messy; ragged; run-down; seedy;

(go)

shabby; slipshod; sloppy; slovenly; tattered;

metaphor (see page 21). 1. be misused;

threadbare; unkempt; untidy; worn. 2.

be squandered; be thrown way; be wasted.

bankrupt; broke; destitute; distressed;

2. break down; collapse; deteriorate; die;

impecunious;

indigent;

disappear; disintegrate; disperse; dissipate;

insolvent; needy; penniless; poor; poverty-

dissolve; evaporate; fade; fail; finish; for¬

stricken; underprivileged.

feit; go; lose; pass; scatter; vanish; vapor¬

impoverished;

down the drain A moribund

ize; volatilize; waste. 3. annihilated; down (out) for the count A moribund

crushed; demolished; destroyed; obliterat¬

metaphor (see page 21). 1. asleep; nap¬

ed; overturned; ravaged; ruined; scuttled;

ping; sleeping; slumbering; snoozing. 2.

shattered; smashed; undone; wrecked. ■

cataleptic; comatose; dormant; inactive;

One major mistake and your career is

insensible; lifeless; out cold; passed out;

down the drain. REPLACE WITH ruined. ■

unconscious; unresponsive.

Without new revenue, our schools will

go down the drain. REPLACE WITH col¬ down

in the

dumps A moribund

lapse.

metaphor (see page 21). aggrieved; blue;

cheerless; dejected; demoralized; depressed;

down the hatch A moribund metaphor

despondent; disconsolate; discouraged; dis¬

(see

heartened; dismal; dispirited; doleful;

imbibe; quaff; swallow.

page

21).

drink; gulp; guzzle;

downcast; downhearted; dreary; forlorn; funereal; gloomy; glum; grieved; low;

(later on) down the line (path; pike;

melancholy; miserable; morose; mournfid;

road) A wretched redundancy (see page 120

draw a blank

25). at length; before long; eventually;

drag into (through) the mud A mori¬

from now; in time; later; ultimately. ■

bund metaphor (see page 21). asperse;

Even though this knowledge might not

badmouth; belittle; besmirch; bespatter;

seem essential right now, it just might

blacken; calumniate; defame; defile; deni¬

prove invaluable down the line. REPLACE

grate; denounce; depreciate; deride; dis¬

WITH later. ■ Two players will be added

parage; impugn; insult; libel; malign; pro¬

to the team later, some months down the

fane; revile; scandalize; slander; slap; slur;

road. REPLACE WITH some months later.

smear; sully; taint; traduce; vilify; vitiate.

■ Later on down the line, we did in fact

■ His name was dragged through the

marry. REPLACE WITH At length.

mud last week thanks to a Harvard Law School

(go)

down the tubes A moribund

professor.

REPLACE

WITH

defamed.

metaphor (see page 21). 1. be despoiled;

ACcA §H |H ttXftgg|

||| ||||g

be destroyed; be devastated; be dissipated;

He sat down again, trembling

be pillaged; be plundered; be ravaged; be

with rage; person after person was

ruined; break down; collapse; disintegrate;

being dragged into the mud. — E.

fail; fall short; flop; founder; miscarry;

M. Eorster, A Passage to India

topple. 2. be misused; be squandered; be thrown way; be wasted. ■ Her article

drag kicking and screaming A mori¬

points out a major reason why our

bund metaphor (see page 21).

country is going down the tubes. REPLACE WITH foundering. ■ All the money my

draw a bead on A moribund metaphor

parents spent on my braces went down

(see page 21). 1. aim at; focus on; sight;

the tubes. REPLACE WITH was wasted.

train on.

2.

admonish; animadvert;

berate; castigate; censure; chasten; chastise; down to earth A moribund metaphor

chide;

condemn;

criticize;

denounce;

(see page 21). artless; common; earthly;

denunciate; discipline; impugn; objurgate;

everyday; genuine; guileless; mortal; mun¬

punish; rebuke; remonstrate; reprehend;

dane; natural; normal; plain; secular;

reprimand; reproach; reprobate; reprove;

staid; temporal; unaffected; unassuming;

revile; scold; upbraid; vituperate.

unpretentious; worldly. draw a blank A moribund metaphor (come) down to the wire A moribund

(see page 21). 1. be addleheaded; be

metaphor (see page 21).

bovine; be cretinous; be decerebrated; be dense; be dull; be dull-witted; be fatuous;

drag (their) feet A moribund metaphor

be fat-witted; be half-witted; be hare¬

(see page 21). arrest; balk; block; bridle;

brained; be hebetudinous; be idiotic; be

check;

detain;

ignorant; be imbecilic; be incogitant; be

encumber; hamper; hesitate; hinder; hold

insensate; be mindless; be moronic; be

up; impede; inhibit; obstruct; pause; post¬

muddled; be nescient; be obtuse; be phleg¬

pone; put off; retard; stall; stay; stonewall;

matic; be slow; be slow-witted; be sluggish;

suspend. ■ The regional Bells have

be thick; be torpid; be undiscerning; be

dragged their feet in rolling out DSL

unintelligent; be vacuous; be witless. 2. be

services. REPLACE WITH dawdled.

absent-minded; be forgetful; be lethean; be

dawdle;

defer;

delay;

oblivious. 121

■

A

successful

attorney,

draw a veil over

Caroline draws a blank when it comes to

dribs and drabs An inescapable pair

men. REPLACE WITH is witless.

(see page 20). bits; chunks; crumbs; frag¬

ments; modicums; morsels; nuggets; parti¬ draw a veil over A moribund metaphor (see page 21). adumbrate; becloud; befog; camouflage; cloak; cloud; conceal; cover;

cles; pieces; scraps; segments; shreds; snips; snippets; specks.

disguise; dissemble; enshroud; harbor; hide; keep secret; mask; obfuscate; obscure; overshadow; screen; shroud; suppress; veil;

drink like a fish An insipid simile, alco¬

withhold.

drive a stake through the heart (of) A

holic; bibulous.

moribund metaphor (see page 21). 1.

draw

fire

(from)

A

moribund

metaphor (see page 21).

execute; kill; massacre; murder; slaughter; slay. 2. annihilate; demolish; destroy; eliminate; eradicate; exterminate; liqui¬

draw in (his)

horns A moribund metaphor (see page 21). back away; back

date; obliterate; ravage; ruin; sack; wreck.

down; back off; disengage; evacuate; fall back; recede; regress; retire; retreat; with¬

through the heart of the myth peddled by

draw. draw

M The IRB’s decision drives a stake Carey sympathizers inside and outside the Teamsters. REPLACE WITH slays.

in

the

reins

A

moribund

metaphor (see page 21). bridle; check;

curb; curtail; halt; restrain; stall; stay;

drive a wedge between A moribund metaphor (see page 21).

stop. drive (me) bananas (crazy; nuts) A draw

the

line

(at)

A

moribund

metaphor (see page 21).

moribund metaphor (see page 21).

annoy; badger; bedevil; bother; chafe; dis¬ tress; disturb; exasperate; gall; grate;

draw the long bow A moribund metaphor (see page 21). elaborate; embellish; embroider; enhance; enlarge; exaggerate; hyperbolize; inflate; magnify; overdo; overreact; overstress; overstate; strain; stretch.

harass;

harry;

hassle;

heckle;

hector;

hound; irk; irritate; nag; nettle; persecute; pester; plague; provoke; rankle; rile; roil; tease; torment; vex. drive

(me)

to drink A moribund

metaphor (see page 21). annoy; badger;

(a) dream (fairy tale) come true A ple¬

bedevil; bother; chafe; distress; disturb;

beian sentiment (see page 23).

exasperate; gall; grate; harass; harry; has¬ sle; heckle; hector; hound; irk; irritate;

dredge up dirt A moribund metaphor

nag; nettle; persecute; pester; plague; pro¬

(see page 21).

voke; rankle; rile; roil; tease; torment; vex.

dressed to kill A moribund metaphor (see page 21). elaborately; elegantly; extravagantly; fashionably; flamboyantly; flashily; gaudily; lavishly; ostentatiously; profusely; richly; showily; smartly; stylishly.

drive (me) up the wall A moribund metaphor (see page 21). annoy; badger;

bedevil; bother; chafe; distress; disturb; exasperate; gall; grate; harass; harry; has¬ sle; heckle; hector; hound; irk; irritate; 122

(as) dry as dust

nag; nettle; persecute; pester; plague; pro¬

drop like a hot potato An insipid sim¬

voke; rankle; rile; roil; tease; torment; vex.

ile. abandon; abdicate; desert; discard;

ditch; drop; forgo; forsake; get rid of; give driving force A wretched redundancy

up; jettison; leave; quit; reject; relinquish;

(see page 25). drive; energy; force; impe¬

renounce; surrender; throw away; toss out;

tus; motivation; power.

yield.

drop (fall) by the wayside A moribund

drop like flies An insipid simile, anni¬

metaphor (see page 21). 1. abate; cease to

hilate; decimate; demolish; slaughter.

be; diminish; disappear; dissolve; dwindle; fade; go away; recede; vanish. 2. be unsuc¬

drop off the face of the earth A mori¬

cessful; fail; fall short; founder. 3. give in;

bund metaphor (see page 21). disappear;

give way; submit; succumb; surrender;

vanish.

yield. ■ Social class distinctions have mostly fallen by the wayside, and scien¬ tists are now more likely to admit the collective nature of research. REPLACE WITH disappeared.

drop the ball A moribund metaphor (see page 21).

be unsuccessful; bomb;

break doivn; collapse; fail; fall short; fal¬ ter; fizzle; flop; fold; founder; mess up; miscarry; not succeed; stumble; topple.

Believe me in those days the girls were dropping by the wayside like seeds off a poppyseed bun and you learned to look at every day as a prize. — Barbara Kingsolver, The

Bean Trees drop-dead

(a) drowning man will clutch at a straw A popular prescription (see page 23).

(as) drunk as a lord An insipid simile. gorgeous

A

moribund

metaphor (see page 21). attractive; beau¬

besotted; crapulous; drunk; inebriated; intoxicated; sodden; stupefied; tipsy.

tiful; comely; exquisite; fair; fetching; good looking; gorgeous; handsome; lovely; pret¬ ty; pulchritudinous; ravishing.

(as) drunk as a skunk An insipid simi¬ le. besotted; crapulous; drunk; inebriated;

intoxicated; sodden; stupefied; tipsy. (a) drop in the bucket (ocean) A mori¬ bund metaphor (see page 21). frivolous;

(as) dry as a bone An insipid simile.

inappreciable; immaterial; inconsequen¬

arid; dehydrated; desiccated; droughty;

tial; inconsiderable; insignificant; meager;

dry; exsiccated; parched; sear; shriveled;

meaningless; negligible; next to nothing;

thirsty; wilted; withered.

nugatory; paltry; petty; scant; scanty; scarcely anything; slight; trifling; trivial;

(as) dry as dust An insipid simile, ano¬

unimportant; unsubstantial; worthless. ■

dyne; banal; barren; bland; boring; dead¬

Relative to need, it’s a drop in the buck¬

ly; dreary; dry; dull; everyday; flat; hum¬

et. Replace with next to nothing. ■

drum; inanimate; insipid; jejune; lifeless;

When art is part of a larger construction

lusterless; mediocre; monotonous; prosaic;

budget, the money is usually a drop in

routine; spiritless; stale; tedious; tiresome;

the bucket compared with overall costs.

unexciting; uninteresting; vapid; weari¬

Replace with inconsiderable.

some. 123

dubious distinction

dubious distinction An inescapable

for; in that; since. ■ Requirements con¬

pair (see page 20). ■ Now the Cowboys

tinue to decrease slowly due to the fact

are coming off a 34-0

shutout in

that activity generally decreases with

Philadelphia while the Giants have the

age. REPLACE WITH since. ■ Could this

dubious distinction of being the first

be due to the fact that it is undecidable?

team to lose to Washington this season.

Replace with because. See also attrib¬

utable to the fact that; owing to the fact duck soup A moribund metaphor (see

that.

page 21). easily done; easy; effortless; ele¬

mentary; facile; simple; simplicity itself;

(as) dull as dishwater An insipid simi¬

straightforward; uncomplex; uncomplicat¬

le.

ed.

decerebrate; dense; dull; dull-witted; fatu¬

addleheaded; bovine; cretinous;

1.

ous; fat-witted; halfwitted; harebrained; due to circumstances beyond (our)

hebetudinous; idiotic; ignorant; imbecilic;

control An ineffectual phrase (see page

incogitant; insensate; mindless; moronic;

19). Of those who use this phrase, we

muddled; nescient; obtuse; phlegmatic;

may remark that their speech is no more

slow; slow-witted; sluggish; thick; torpid;

grammatical than their actions are gen¬

undiscerning; unintelligent; vacuous; wit¬

uine.

less. 2. anodyne; banal; barren; bland;

Due to, as often as not, should be

boring; deadly; dreary; dry; dull; everyday;

because ofov owing to, and only the sim¬

flat;

ilarly disingenuous would believe that

jejune; lifeless; lusterless; mediocre; monot¬

circumstances beyond our control is an

onous; prosaic; routine; spiritless; stale;

explanation rather than an evasion.

tedious; tiresome; unexciting; uninterest¬

In the end, those who express them¬

humdrum;

inanimate;

insipid;

ing; vapid; wearisome.

selves badly are less credible than those who express themselves well. ■ Due to

(as) dumb as a stone An insipid simile.

circumstances beyond our control, no

addlebrained; addleheaded; addlepated;

motel rooms are available in the area on

Boeotian;

June 25th, 26th, and 27th. ■ Due to cir¬

cretinous; decerebrate; dense; dim-witted;

cumstances beyond our control, the fol¬

doltish;

lowing items may not be available as

empty-headed; fatuous; fat-witted; hare¬

SEE ALSO due to popular

brained; hebetudinous; ignorant; imbecil¬

advertised.

demand.

bovine; dull;

brainless;

dumb;

clueless;

dunderheaaed;

ic; incogitant; insensate; ludicrous; mind¬ less; moronic; muddled; nescient; obtuse;

due to popular demand An ineffectual

oxlike; phlegmatic; slow-witted; sluggish;

phrase (see page 19). There is with this

stupid; torpid; unaware; unintelligent;

ph rase the same solecism and a similar

unknowing; vacuous; witless.

suspicion as with due to circumstances

beyond (our) control (See). ■ Due to pop¬

(as) dumb as dirt An insipid simile.

ular demand. The Magic Show will be

addlebrained; addleheaded; addlepated;

held over another two weeks.

Boeotian;

bovine;

brainless;

clueless;

cretinous; decerebrate; dense; dim-witted; due to the fact that A wretched redun¬

doltish;

dancy (see page 25). because; considering;

empty-headed; fatuous; fat-witted; hare-

124

dull;

dumb;

dunderheaded;

(the) end justifies the means

brained; hebetudinous; ignorant; imbecil-

rigid; staunch; steadfast;

ic; incogitant; insensate; ludicrous; mind¬

unwavering; unyielding.

unbending;

less; moronic; muddled; nescient; obtuse; oxlike; phlegmatic; slow-witted; sluggish;

(a) dying breed A moribund metaphor

stupid; torpid; unaware; unintelligent;

(see page 21). declining; dying; mori¬

unknowing; vacuous; witless. ■ Frankly, I

bund; waning.

think these allegations are simply dumb

as dirt. REPLACE WITH Boeotian.

dynamic duo An infantile phrase (see page 20).

during (in; over) the course of A wretched redundancy (see page 25).

during; in; over; throughout. ■ In the course of a 30 minute conversation, she

E

spoke about her married life and her plans for the future.

REPLACE WITH

During. ■ Over the course of a. woman’s life, she may experience a kaleidoscope of health

concerns.

REPLACE WITH

Throughout. each and every (one) A wretched ' - fM T ,v'A'' AW

'A

'

had drunk a quantity of

redundancy (see page 25). all; each;

champagne, and during the course

everybody; everyone. ■ Software develop¬

of her song she had decided,

ers have changed the way each and every

ineptly, that everything was very,

o?ie of us does business. REPLACE WITH

very sad — she was not only

each.

She

singing, she was weeping too. — F.

Scott Fitzgerald,

The Great

each one A wretched redundancy (see page 25). each. ■ The fact that these

Gatsby

companies do have to compete for busi¬

that A

ness gives each one an incentive to work

wretched redundancy (see page 25).

harder and to lower prices. DELETE one.

while. ■ During the time that we were

See ALSO either one; neither one.

during the period

(time)

with him, he called her several uncom¬ plimentary

names.

REPLACE

WITH

each to his own A popular prescription

While.

(see page 23).

(when) (the) dust settles A moribund

eagle eyed A moribund metaphor (see

metaphor (see page 21).

page 21). alert; attentive; observant; vigi¬

lant; watchful. (like a) Dutch uncle An insipid simile. (the) early bird catches the worm A dyed-in-the-wool

A

moribund

popular prescription (see page 23).

metaphor (see page 21). ardent; con¬

stant;

devoted;

faithful;

inflexible;

intractable; loyal; refractory; resolute;

(the) end justifies the means A popu¬ lar prescription (see page 23). 125

(the) exception, not (rather than) the rule

(the) exception, not (rather than) the

earn

(his)

stripes

rule A torpid term (see page 24). aber¬

metaphor (see page 21).

A

moribund

rant; abnormal; anomalistic; anomalous; atypical; bizarre; curious; deviant; differ¬

(as) easy as A B C An insipid simile.

ent; distinct; distinctive; eccentric; excep¬

apparent; basic; clear; clear-cut; conspicu¬

tional; extraordinary; fantastic; foreign;

ous; distinct; easily done; easy; effortless;

grotesque;

elementary;

idiosyncratic;

independent;

evident;

explicit; facile;

irregular;

limpid; lucid; manifest; obvious; patent;

notable; noteworthy; novel; odd; offbeat;

pellucid; plain; simple; simplicity itself;

original; peculiar; puzzling;

quaint;

straightforward; translucent; transparent;

queer; rare; remarkable; separate; singu¬

unambiguous; uncomplex; uncomplicated;

lar; strange; uncommon; unconventional;

understandable; unequivocal; unmistak¬

unexampled; unique; unnatural; unortho¬

able.

individual;

individualistic;

dox; unparalleled; unprecedented; unusu¬ al; weird.

(as) easy as 1 2 3 An insipid simile.

Most people find it easier to mimic a

apparent; basic; clear; clear-cut; conspicu¬

repeatedly used phrase like this — how¬

ous; distinct; easily done; easy; effortless;

ever wordy and inexact, however obtuse

elementary;

and tedious — than to remember a

limpid; lucid; manifest; obvious; patent;

rarely used word like aberrant or anom¬

pellucid; plain; simple; simplicity itself;

alous. EH Today, in region after region,

straightforward; translucent; transparent;

the

unambiguous; uncomplex; uncomplicated;

exception, not the rule. REPLACE WITH

understandable; unequivocal; unmistak¬

exceptional. ■ Arrest or issuing a citation

able.

single-town

school

districts

are

evident;

explicit; facile;

is the exception, not the rule. REPLACE WITH atypical.

(as) easy as pie An insipid simile. apparent; basic; clear; clear-cut; conspicu¬

(the) exception that proves the rule

ous; distinct; easily done; easy; effortless;

An infantile phrase (see page 20).

elementary;

evident;

explicit; facile;

limpid; lucid; manifest; obvious; patent; (the) exception to the rule A torpid

pellucid; plain; simple; simplicity itself;

term (see page 24). aberrant; abnormal;

straightforward; translucent; transparent;

anomalistic; anomalous; atypical; bizarre;

unambiguous; uncomplex; uncomplicated;

curious; deviant; different; distinct; dis¬

understandable; unequivocal; unmistak¬

tinctive; eccentric; exceptional; extraordi¬

able. ■ It’s easy as pie to strike up a con¬

nary; fantastic; foreign; grotesque; idiosyn¬

versation with the person sitting next to

cratic; independent; individual; individu¬

you. Replace with easy.

alistic; irregular; notable; noteworthy; novel; odd; offbeat; original; peculiar;

It was easy as pie to slip back into

puzzling; quaint; queer; rare; remarkable;

my old self. — Laurie Colwin,

separate; singular; strange; uncommon;

Goodbye Without Leaving

unconventional; unexampled; unique; unnatural;

unorthodox;

unparalleled;

unprecedented; unusual; weird.

easy on the eyes A moribund metaphor (see page 21). attractive; beautiful; come¬

ly; exquisite; fair; fetching; good looking; 126

eat like a pig

gorgeous; handsome; lovely; pretty; pul-

port; frolic; party; play; revel; riot; roister;

chritudinous; ravishing.

rollick; romp; skylark. eat, drink, and be merry, for tomor¬ row we die A popular prescription (see page 23).

eat (your) heart out A moribund metaphor (see page 21). ache; agonize;

easy on the pocket(book) A moribund metaphor

(see page 21).

affordable;

grieve; hurt; lament; mourn; pine; sorrow; suffer; worry.

cheap; economical; inexpensive; low-cost; low-priced; reasonable.

eat (live) high off (on) the hog A mori¬ bund metaphor (see page 21). epicure-

an easy (simple) task A torpid term

anly; extravagantly; lavishly; lushly; luxu¬

apparent; basic; clear;

riantly; opulently; prodigally; profusely;

(see page 24).

clear-cut; conspicuous; distinct; easily

sumptuously; very well.

done; easy; effortless; elementary; evident; explicit; facile; limpid; lucid; manifest;

eat humble pie A moribund metaphor

obvious; patent; pellucid; plain; simple;

(see page 21). be abased; be chastened; be

simplicity itself; straightforward; translu¬

debased; be degraded; be demeaned; be

cent; transparent; unambiguous; uncom¬

disgraced; be dishonored; be embarrassed;

plex;

be humbled; be humiliated; be lowered; be

uncomplicated;

understandable;

unequivocal; unmistakable. ■ Identifying

mortified; be shamed.

opinion leaders is not a simple task since they tend to be product specific and dif¬

But telling my editors they were

fer over time. REPLACE WITH easy.

about to be fined several thousand dollars was not a prospect I rel-

eat crow A moribund metaphor (see

ished. So I took a deep breath and

page 21). be abased; be chastened; be

ate humble pie. — Neely Tucker,

debased; be degraded; be demeaned; be

Love in the Driest Season

disgraced; be dishonored; be embarrassed; be humbled; be humiliated; be lowered; be

eat like a bird An insipid simile, be

mortified; be shamed.

abstemious.; be ascetic.

eat dirt A moribund metaphor (see

eat like a horse An insipid simile. 1. be

page 21). be abased; be chastened; be

esurient; be famished; be gluttonous; be

debased; be degraded; be demeaned; be

greedy; be hungry; be insatiable; be

disgraced; be dishonored; be embarrassed;

omnivorous; be rapacious; be ravenous; be

be humbled; be humiliated; be lowered; be

starved; be starving; be voracious. 2. glut;

mortified; be shamed.

gorge;

overdo;

overeat;

overfeed;

overindulge; sate; satiate; stuff; surfeit. eat, drink, and be merry A popular prescription (see page 23). be merry;

eat like a pig An insipid simile. 1. be

carouse; carry on; celebrate; debauch; dis¬

esurient; be famished; be gluttonous; be 127

eat out of (the palm of) (her) hand

greedy; be hungry; be insatiable; be

ernment employees. REPLACE WITH dis¬

omnivorous; be rapacious; be ravenous; be

courage. ■ You can learn how to free

starved; be starving; be voracious. 2. glut;

yourself from the destructive effects of

gorge;

negative people in your workplace.

overdo;

overeat;

overfeed;

overindulge; sate; satiate; stuff; surfeit.

Replace with detriment. See also has

an effect on. eat out of (the palm of) (her) hand A (see page 21).

effective and efficient An inescapable

abide by; acquiesce; comply with; con¬

pair (see page 20). Businesspeople, in

form; follow; obey; yield.

particular, seem unable to use the word

moribund metaphor

effective without also using efficient. And eat (me) out of house and home A moribund metaphor (see page 21). 1. be

esurient; be famished; be gluttonous; be greedy; be hungry; be insatiable; be omnivorous; be rapacious; be ravenous; be starved; be starving; be voracious. 2. glut; gorge;

overdo;

overeat;

overfeed;

overindulge; sate; satiate; stuff; surfeit. eat

(him)

(up)

alive A moribund

metaphor (see page 21).

1. consume;

enclose; envelop; surround. 2. exploit; use.

though

businesses

endlessly

plume

themselves on how effective and efficient they are (and how excellent their prod¬ ucts and services are), this is rarely true. In the end, the dimwitted effective and

efficient may mean to us all what it has come to mean to businesses: 1. shoddy and inept, 2. uncaring and purblind, 3. money-grubbing and malevolent. ■ For these methods, more effective and effi¬

cient methods are available. REPLACE WITH effective or efficient. ■ More than an audit, the study should evaluate the

efficiency and effectiveness of social serv¬ We might had charged the stage to eat him up alive if he had been any more sly and enchanting and wise. — Philip Roth, The Ghost Writer

ices and public works. REPLACE WITH

efficiency or effectiveness. ■ The work place should be a safe environment where one can effectively and efficiently perform required duties. REPLACE WITH

eat (her) words A moribund metaphor

effectively or efficiently.

(see page 21). disavow; recant; repudiate;

retract; take back; withdraw.

effectuate A torpid term (see page 24).

ebb and flow A moribund metaphor

bring about; carry out; cause; do; effect; execute; occasion. See ALSO eventuate.

(see page 21). ■ Optimists try to attrib¬ ute a linear progression to the ebb and

(with) egg on (my) face A moribund

flow of history.

metaphor

(see

page

21).

abashed;

ashamed; chagrined; confused; discomfit¬ effect An overworked word (see page 22). For example: chilling effect; cumula¬

ed; discomposed; disconcerted; embar¬ rassed; flustered; humbled; humiliated;

tive effect; domino effect; dramatic effect;

mortified; nonplused; perplexed; red¬

negative effect; snowball effect; sobering

faced; shamed; shamefaced; sheepish; upset. ■ Everybody likes to see Fiarvard

effect; trickle-down effect. ■ LeBlancs lawyers say that would have a chilling effect on fraud lawsuits brought by gov¬

with egg on its face. REPLACE WITH embarrassed. 128

ergo

egregicms error An inescapable pair (see

nize that the nuclear family is an endan¬

page 20).

gered species.

either one A wretched redundancy (see

end of the line A moribund metaphor

page 25). either. ■ He doesn’t care about

(see page 21). close; completion; conclu¬

either one of you. DELETE one. See ALSO

sion; culmination; consummation; end;

each one; neither one.

ending; finale; finish; fulfillment; termi¬ nation.

(an) element A torpid term (see page 24). ■ Proper validation is an essential

end on

element. DELETE an element. ■ Black

metaphor (see page 21).

a high note A moribund

turnout was especially low, and that was

a key element to her victory. DELETE a

end result A wretched redundancy (see

element. See ALSO (a) factor.

page 25). result. ■ The end result should be that all mothers and fathers would

elevate to an art form A moribund

pay what they can afford. DELETE end.

metaphor (see page 21). ■ He would add to the gridlock, then compound the

enjoy it while (you) can A popular pre¬

people’s frustrations by elevating the

scription (see page 23).

blame game to an art form. enough is enough A quack equation empty void A wretched redundancy

(see page 23). Though often used to

(see page 25). emptiness; void. ■ I know

conclude an argument, enough is enough

that without me around my mother got

is the least compelling of summations.

lonely and just needed someone to fill

No one can argue enough is enough and

the empty void. REPLACE WITH emptiness

expect to be persuasive. The phrase con¬

or void.

vinces us only that its user reasons inef¬ fectually and unremarkably.

enclosed herein (herewith) A wretched redundancy (see page 25). enclosed; here.

equally as A wretched redundancy (see

■ Enclosed herein is the complete manu¬

page 25).

script. REPLACE WITH Here or Enclosed.

important, this program provides com¬ prehensive

enclosed

please

find

A

wretched

as; equally. ■ Equally as preventive

coverage.

Replace with As or Equally.

redundancy (see page 25). enclosed is;

here is. ■ Enclosed please find materials

ere A withered word (see page 24).

that you might find useful prior to your

before. ■ So I avoided the hole and

arrival. REPLACE WITH Enclosed are. ■

assumed it might likely be June ere it

Enclosed please find a listing of single

was patched. REPLACE WITH before.

family properties that are available for purchase by eligible buyers. REPLACE

ergo A withered word (see page 24).

WITH Here is.

consequently; hence; therefore.

endangered

species

A

moribund

metaphor (see page 21). ■ We all recog¬ 129

establishment

establishment A torpid term (see page

everybody and (his) brother (mother)

24). business; club; company; firm; outlet;

An infantile phrase (see page 20). all;

shop; store. fl You should park close to

everybody; everyone. ■ Everybody and

the entrance of the establishment you are

their mother is on line today. REPLACE

shopping at. REPLACE WITH store.

WITH Everybody. B It’s like everybody and

their brother is having a hearing on et cetera (etc., etc.; et cetera, et cetera)

Enron.

A grammatical gimmick (see page 19). S I’m very outgoing and adaptable, et

everybody talks about the weather,

cetera, et cetera. DELETE et cetera, et

but nobody does anything about it

cetera. B She told me he was everything

An infantile phrase (see page 20).

she was looking for, et cetera, et cetera. DELETE et cetera, et cetera. ■ Dr. Holmes

every cloud has a silver lining A pop¬

was a man of brilliant conversational

ular prescription (see page 23).

gifts — one of the most notable of that composed

the

every effort is being made A suspect

Boston

—

superlative (see page 24). This phrase,

Longfellow, Emerson, Lowell, Whittier,

disembodied though it is, serves to dis¬

noted

circle

“Saturday Thoreau,

which

Club” Bayard

in

Taylor,

etc.,

etc.

Delete etc., etc. When thoughts stumble and then

arm people as it dismisses them. ■ Every

effort is being made to find the perpetra¬ tors of this heinous crime. ■ Every effort

or at least intelligible

has been made to make this verification

words, do as well. As often as not, et

as simple and painless as possible. B

cetera is a means of expressing, without

During this time, please be patient as

having to admit to its meaning, all those

every effort is being made to process your

words only dimly thought. See ALSO

order in a timely manner. B First, we

blah, blah, blah; and so on, and so forth.

want to be sure that every effort is being

stop, words,

made to spot, recover, preserve, identify et tu, Brute A foreign phrase (see page

and deliver any human remains to the

19).

families of the victims. SEE ALSO that’s

interesting; that's nice. even Steven An infantile phrase (see page 20).

every nook and cranny A moribund metaphor (see page 21). all around; all

even the score A moribund metaphor

over; all through; everyplace; everywhere;

(see page 21).

throughout.

eventuate A torpid term (see page 24).

every single

befall; come about; end; happen; occur;

redundancy (see page 23). every. B Every

result; take place. See ALSO effectuate.

single solitary night we see people dying.

(solitary) A wretched

Replace with Every. ever and anon A withered word (see page 24). now and then; occasionally.

every step of the way A moribund metaphor (see page 21). 1. always; cease¬

lessly; constantly; continually; continuous¬

ly

excuse me?

ly; endlessly; eternally; everlastingly; ever¬

interminably; ofien; permanently; perpet¬

more; forever; forevermore; frequently;

ually; persistently; recurrently; regularly;

interminably; nonstop; permanently; per¬

repeatedly; unceasingly; unremittingly.

petually; persistently; recurrently; regular¬ ly; repeatedly; unceasingly; unremittingly.

every Tom, Dick, and Harry A mori¬

2. all during; all over; all through; every¬

bund metaphor (see page 21). all; citi¬

where; throughout.

zenry; commonage; commonalty; common people; crowd; everybody; everyone; herd;

everything but the kitchen sink A

hoi polloi; masses; mob; multitude; ple¬

moribund metaphor

(see page 21).

beians; populace; proletariat; public; rab¬

aggregate; all; all things; entirety; every¬

ble. ■ I am not advocating that you tip

thing; gross; lot; sum; total; totality; whole.

every Tom, Dick, and Harry. REPLACE WITH everyone.

everything happens for a reason A popular prescription (see page 23).

every trick in the book A moribund metaphor

everything’s

coming

up

roses An

infantile phrase (see page 20). be auspi¬

(see page 21).

■ They’re

pulling every trick in the book to keep this amendment off the 1992 ballot.

cious; be encouraging; be good; be hopeful; be optimistic; be promising; be propitious;

excellence An overworked word (see

be rosy.

page 22). The word is overworked, and the concept undervalued. Too much,

everything’s (it’s all) relative An infan¬

today, passes for excellence. Too much of

tile phrase (see page 20). See ALSO (as)

our work is shoddy, too much of our

compared to what? (as) opposed to what?

wisdom,

suspect,

too

much of our

worth, unsure. ■ With your help, we everything under the sun A moribund

will continue that tradition of excellence.

metaphor (see page 21). all; all things;

SEE ALSO pursue (strive for) excellence.

everything. ■ I tried everything under the sun to get her to shape up. REPLACE

excess verbiage A wretched redundancy

WITH everything.

(see page 23). verbiage.

everything (it) will turn out for the

excruciating pain An inescapable pair

best A popular prescription (see page

(see page 20). ■ This medication was

23).

initially prescribed to soothe the excruci¬

ating pain that I was suffering. everything you

always wanted

to

know about ... but were afraid to ask

excuse me? An infantile phrase (see

An infantile phrase (see page 20).

page 20). No longer exclusively a polite way of signifying that you did not hear

every time (you) turn around A mori¬

what a person has said, excuse me is also

bund metaphor (see page 21). always;

— especially among the young and stu¬

ceaselessly; constantly; continually; contin¬

pidly egoistic — an impolite way of sig¬

uously; endlessly; eternally; everlastingly;

nifying that you did not like what a per¬

evermore; forever; forevermore; frequently;

son has said. With an autocratic intona131

expert opinion

tion, the person expresses hostility to

These are lifeless expressions, and it

what he hears. This phrase is particular¬

is listless people who use them. ■ In

ly loathsome, for those who use it dare

some cases, they’ve been transformed to

not be openly angry or upset; they try to

such an extent that you can no longer

disguise

arrogance

recognize them. REPLACE WITH so much.

behind a mantle of mannerliness. See

■ The study said that women, to a

ALSO Im sorry; thank you; whatever.

greater extent than men, manage by per¬

their

anger

and

sonal interactions with their subordi¬ expert opinion A suspect superlative

nates. Replace with more. ■ Resources

(see page 24).

are always used to the optimum extent. REPLACE with optimally; ■ Sooner or

expletive deleted An infantile phrase

later, we will see to what extent the cen¬

(see page 20).

tral banks are prepared to back up words with actions. REPLACE WITH how far. H

explore every avenue A moribund

The extent to which these practices are

metaphor (see page 21).

seen as flowing in one direction, down from headquarters to subsidiaries, may moribund

influence the extent to which these prac¬

metaphor (see page 21). SEE ALSO a bar¬

tices are adopted and to what extent the

rage of.

behavior, beliefs, and values of the cor¬

(an)

explosion

of

A

porate culture are incorporated or even REPLACE WITH How

express (concern) A torpid term (see

complied with.

page 24). Phrases like express concern,

much, how much, and how much. See

express doubt, express opposition, express

ALSO degree.

thanks make any sentence instantly sod¬ den. ■ Officials express concern about the

extenuating circumstances A torpid

slow pace of economic growth. REPLACE

term (see page 24).

WITH worry. ■ House Democrats con¬ tinue to express anger about the state’s

It was a lovely apology for missing

ethics

laws.

drinks the previous evening due to

REPLACE WITH fume. ■ I want to express

extenuating circumstances, you

my appreciation to all of you who have

know,

lent us a hand in this endeavor. REPLACE

Mitchell, The Latest Bombshell

and

campaign

finance

my

job.

—

Michele

WITH thank. (an) eye for an eye (and a tooth for a extend (hold out) the olive branch A

tooth) A popular prescription (see page

moribund metaphor (see page 21). be

23).

accommodating; be agreeable; be concilia¬ tory; be obliging; be peaceable; be propi¬

(his) eyes are bigger than (his) stom¬

tiatory.

ach A moribund metaphor (see page

21). extent A torpid term (see page 24). Like

degree, the word extent, along with the

eyes are the windows of the soul A

phrases in which it is found, is best

moribund metaphor (see page 21).

avoided. 132

(the) fact that

(has) eyes in the back of (his) head A

(the) (plain; simple) fact is (that) An

moribund metaphor (see page 21). alert;

ineffectual phrase (see page 19). ■ The

attentive; aware; eagle-eyed; heedful; keen;

fact is at least the govenor is trying.

observant; perceptive; vigilant; wakeful; watchful.

Delete The fact is. ■ The simple fact is we are now spending nearly $1 trillion on health care. DELETE The simple fact

eyes

(are)

wide

open A moribund

is. ■ The plain fact is American women

metaphor (see page 21). alert; attentive;

are

aware; cognizant; conscious; eagle-eyed;

bought them before. DELETE The plain

heedful; keen; observant; perceptive; vigi¬

fact is.

buying guns

like they’ve never

lant; wakeful; watchful. (the) (simple) fact of the matter is An ineffectual phrase (see page 19). ■ The

fact of the matter is the police took the children from you. DELETE The fact of

the matter is. ■ Despite her behavior, the

F

simple fact of the matter is I still love her. DELETE the simple fact of the matter is. See ALSO the truth of the matter is.

fabulous An overworked word (see page 22). As still another synonym for very

good or extremely pleasing, fabulous is indeed overused. In its sense of hard to

believe or astounding,, it is now and again used, and in its sense of like a fable or

(the) fact remains (that) An ineffectual phrase (see page 19). ■ We call this cam¬ paign a “snoozer,” but the fact remains both candidates did behave responsibly. DELETE the fact remains. ■ Whether one prefers

the

proverb’s

optimism

or

Euripides’ pessimism, the fact remains

legendary, it is woefully unused.

that the way in which investigations are (the) face that launched a thousand

conducted can have a significant impact

ships A moribund metaphor (see page

on the outcome of any case. DELETE the

21).

fact remains that.

face the music A moribund metaphor

(the) fact that An ineffectual phrase

(see page 21). pay; suffer.

(see page 19). ■ The fact that many more computers are in communication

Not to be a member of the com¬

with one another increases concern that

munion

users’ privacy will be violated. REPLACE

of saints

or

gods

or

That. ■ The fact that she was

demigods or fathers or mothers or

WITH

grandfathers or grandmothers or

rather attractive did not escape their

brothers or sisters or brethren of

notice. REPLACE WITH That.

any kind, germane to me through any

In other rooms, in other houses,

other kind of linear or genitive or

all over the world, other bodies

collateral bond. To face the music

devoted to sex, or compost, or

at last. — Edna O’Brien, Night

holism, or Marxism, are forming

consanguinity,

affinity,

or

133

(a) factor

thousands of similar wheels: but

depleted; drained; drowsy; enervated;

what makes these wheels so fatally

exhausted; fatigued; groggy; sappedl; sleepy;

different from the one now run¬

sluggish; slumberous; somnolent; soporific;

ning at Hyde’s Mortimer is the

spent; tired; weary; worn out.

fact that all the others are running in wrong directions. — Nigel

fair and equitable An inescapable pair

Dennis, Cards of Identity

(see page 20). equitable; fair; just. ■ The key to maintaining that system is ensur¬

(a) factor A torpid term (see page 24).

ing that you are treated fairly and equi¬

■ I think the TV show was a contribut¬

tably. REPLACE WITH equitably or fairly.

ing factor to this tragedy. REPLACE WITH

contributed. ■ They thought the biggest

fair and square An inescapable pair (see

problem we were dealing with was a

page 20). aboveboard; creditable; equi¬

jealousy factor. REPLACE WITH jealousy.

table; fair; honest; honorable; just; lawful;

■ The key factor in the decline appears

legitimate;

to be the Irish-American voter’s willing¬

respectable; right; square; straigh forward;

ness to vote for candidates from other

upright; veracious; veridical.

open;

proper;

reputable;

ethnic groups. REPLACE WITH key to. See ALSO (an) element. ■ The presence of a

fair game A moribund metaphor (see

long umbilical cord is a contributory

page 21).

factor to the occurrence of nuchal cord. Replace with contributes.

fair is fair A quack equation (see page 23).

facts and figures An inescapable pair (see page 20).

fair share A torpid term (see page 24).

allocation; allotment; allowance; amount; facts

and information A wretched

apportionment; dole; lot; measure; part;

redundancy (see page 25). data; facts;

piece; portion; quota; ration; share. ■ We

information.

are setting out to get our fair share of the residential real estate mortgage business.

fade into

the sunset A moribund

metaphor (see page 21). disappear; dis¬

fair to middling A wretched redundan¬

perse; dissolve; evaporate; fade; vanish;

cy (see page 25). average; common; fair;

vaporize; volatilize.

mediocre; middling; moderate; ordinary; passable; tolerable.

fade into the woodwork A moribund metaphor (see page 21). depart; disap¬

fait accompli A foreign phrase (see page

pear; disperse; dissolve; evaporate; fade;

19).

vacate; vanish; vaporize; volatilize; with¬ draw. ■ It is easy to fade into the wood¬

fall between (through) the cracks A

work and never have to deal with those

moribund metaphor (see page 21). be

problems. Replace WITH disappear.

discounted; be disregarded; be elided; be forgotten; be ignored; be left out; be

fading fast A moribund metaphor (see page

21).

beat;

bushed; debilitated;

missed; be neglected; be omitted; be over¬ looked; 134

be skipped;

be slighted;

be

far and wide

snubbed; elapse; end; fail; go by; lapse;

fall; plummet; plunge; recede; sink; slide;

slid; slip. ■ Such a caring environment is

slip; subside; topple; tumble.

particularly important for students who

Cellucci said the bond rating fell through

have few other sources of support and

the floor in the late 1980s during the fis¬

who might well fall through the cracks in

cal crisis. Replace with collapsed.

a

less

personalized

school

■

But

setting.

REPLACE with be forgotten. H Between

fame and fortune A suspect superlative

groping

(see page 24). See ALSO the rich and

for

meaningful

full-time

employment and anguishing over the political

state

of our

country,

famous.

I’ve

allowed some things to fall between the

familiarity breeds contempt A popular

cracks. Replace with lapse.

prescription (see page 23).

fall flat on

(its)

face A moribund

When we first discussed my work¬

metaphor (see page 21). be unsuccessful;

ing on the books’ pages, Nathan

blunder; bomb; break down; bungle; col¬

argued that, if I ever achieved my

lapse; fail; fall short; falter; fizzle; flop;

ambition to become the books

fold; founder; mess up; miscarry; not suc¬

editor, I would end up hating

ceed; stumble; topple. ■ Some profession¬

books. Familiarity bred contempt.

al investors are betting the company will

— Elizabeth Buchan, Revenge Of

fall flat on its face. REPLACE WITH fail.

The Middle-Aged Woman

fall from grace A moribund metaphor

(the) family that prays together stays

(see page 21). collapse; decline; downfall;

together A popular prescription (see

failure; fall; misadventure; misfortune;

page 23).

offense; peccadillo; ruin; sin; transgression; wrongdoing.

fan (fuel) the fire (flames) A moribund metaphor (see page 21). activate; agitate;

fall in (into) line (place) A moribund

animate; arouse; awaken; encourage;

metaphor (see page 21). abide by; accede;

enkindle; enliven; exacerbate; excite; feed;

accommodate; accord; acquiesce; adapt;

foment; ignite; impassion; incite; inflame;

adhere to; agree; behave; comply; concur;

intensify; invigorate; make worse; nourish;

conform; correspond; follow; harmonize;

prod; provoke;

heed; mind; obey; observe; submit; yield.

revive; rouse; shake up; stimulate; stir up;

rejuvenate;

revitalize;

vitalize; worsen. fall

into

(my)

lap

A

moribund

metaphor (see page 21). ■ It just kind of

far and away A wretched redundancy

fell into my lap.

(see page 23). by far; much.

fall on deaf ears A moribund metaphor

far and wide An inescapable pair (see

(see page 21). disregard; ignore.

page 20). all around; all over; all through;

broadly; everyplace; everywhere; extensive¬ fall through the floor A moribund

ly; throughout; ubiquitously; universally;

metaphor (see page 21). collapse; crash;

widely. SEE ALSO high and wide; left and

decline; decrease; descend; dip; drop; ebb;

right. 135

far-reaching consequences (implications)

far-reaching consequences

(implica¬

by; fleshy; gigantic; heavy; hefty; huge;

tions) An inescapable pair (see page

immense;

large;

mammoth;

massive;

20).

obese; plump; portly; pudgy; rotund; round; squat; stocky; stout.

fashion statement A plebeian senti¬ ment (see page 23). Making a fashion

(as) fat as a pig An insipid simile.

statement is the concern of adolescents

ample; big; bulky; chubby; chunky; colos¬

and addle-brained adults who have yet

sal; corpulent; dumpy; enormous; fat; flab¬

to fashion for themselves a sense of

by; fleshy; gigantic; heavy; hefty; huge;

identity.

immense;

Their

habiliments

interest

them more than does their humanity. People so intent on being fashionable

large;

mammoth;

massive;

obese; plump; portly; pudgy; rotund; round; squat; stocky; stout.

make only misstatements. They but blither.

fat cat A moribund metaphor (see page 21).

billionaire; capitalist; financier;

fast and furious An inescapable pair

magnate; materialist; millionaire; mogul;

(see page 20).

multimillionaire;

nabob;

plutocrat;

tycoon. (as) fast as (her) legs can carry (her) An insipid simile, abruptly; apace; at

(the)

once; briskly; directly; expeditiously; fast;

metaphor (see page 21).

fat’s

in the fire A moribund

forthwith; hastily; hurriedly; immediately; instantaneously;

instantly;

posthaste;

fear and trembling An inescapable pair

promptly; quickly; rapidly; rashly; right

(see page 20). alarm; anxiety; apprehen¬

away; speedily; straightaway; svaiftly;

sion; consternation; dismay; dread; fear;

wingedly.

foreboding; fright; horror; panic; terror; trembling; trepidation.

fasten your seat belts A moribund metaphor (see page 21).

feast or famine An inescapable pair (see page 20).

faster than a speeding bullet (more powerful than a locomotive, able to

(a) feather in (his) cap A moribund

leap

metaphor (see page 21).

small

buildings

at

a

single

bound) An infantile phrase (see page

20).

accomplish¬

ment; achievement; feat; success; triumph; victory.

fast track A moribund metaphor (see

But 1 can remember that from

page 21).

quite early on, for some reason, Isabel

fast

trigger

finger

A

moribund

decided

that Edith was

rather a feather in her cap, some¬

metaphor (see page 21).

one that little bit special to be fed to

her

country neighbours

(as) fat as a cow An insipid simile.

rationed

ample; big; bulky; chubby; chunky; colos¬

Fellowes, Snobs

sal; corpulent; dumpy; enormous; fat; flab¬ 136

morsels.

—

in

Julian

(the) four corners of the earth (world)

feather

(their)

nest

A

moribund

metaphor (see page 21). ■ He repeated¬

fertile ground A moribund metaphor (see page 21).

ly denied allegations that he used his three years at the Denver-based thrift to

few and

feather his own nest.

redundancy (see page 25). exiguous; lim¬

far

between A wretched

ited; inadequate; infrequent; meager; rare; feed (you) a line A moribund metaphor

scant; scanty; scarce; sparse; uncommon;

(see page 21). deceive; dissemble; distort;

unusual. ■ Role models are few and far

equivocate; falsify; fib; lie; misconstrue;

between in those groups. REPLACE WITH

mislead;

scarce.

misrepresent;

pervert;

prevaricate. (has a) few screws loose A moribund feedback A torpid term (see page 24).

metaphor (see page 21). batty; cracked;

answers; data; feelings; ideas; information;

crazy; daft; demented; deranged; fey; fool¬

recommendations; replies; responses; sug¬

ish; goofy; insane; lunatic; mad; maniacal;

gestions; thoughts; views. ■ Your feedback

neurotic; nuts; nutty; psychotic; raving;

helps us continually improve. REPLACE

silly; squirrelly; strange; touched; unbal¬

WITH suggestions. ■ And as feedback is

anced; unhinged; unsound; wacky; zany.

obtained, it is the duty of the firm’s lead¬ ers to convey it to all members of the

(the) first step is always the hardest A

firm. Replace with ideas. See also

popular prescription (see page 23).

(the) bottom line; input; interface; output; (bid)

parameters.

a fond farewell An infantile

phrase (see page 20). feeling no pain A moribund metaphor (see page 21). besotted; crapulous; drunk;

(a) fool and his money are soon part¬

inebriated; intoxicated; sodden; stupefied;

ed A popular prescription (see page 23).

tipsy. (a)

force to be reckoned with An

moribund

infantile phrase (see page 20). adversary;

metaphor (see page 21). active; alive;

antagonist; challenger; competitor; con¬

animated; dynamic; energetic; exuberant;

tender; contestant; force; opponent; rival.

frisky; indefatigable; inexhaustible; invig¬

■ The

orated; lively; peppy; spirited; sprightly;

broadcast of Celtics games this season,

spry; tireless; unflagging; vibrant; vigor¬

and hot Fox network programming will

ous; vivacious; zestful; zesty.

make WFXT a force to be reckoned with.

feeling

(his)

oats

A

combination

of Walsh,

the

REPLACE WITH a contender. (the)

feeling’s

mutual An

infantile

phrase (see page 20).

(the) four corners of the earth (world) A moribund metaphor (see page 21). all

feel the pinch A moribund metaphor

over; everyplace; everywhere; the world

(see page 21).

over; throughout (the land); universally; worldwide. ■ These changes will affect

feel the heat A moribund metaphor

our American patients as well as those

(see page 21).

who come to the clinic from the four 137

fiddle while Rome burns

corners of the world. REPLACE WITH the

I recall the scent of some kind of

world over.

toilet powder — I believe she stole it from her mothers Spanish maid

fiddle while Rome burns A moribund

— a sweetish, lowly, musky per¬

metaphor (see page 21).

fume. It mingled with her own biscuity odor, and my senses were

(a) fifth wheel A moribund metaphor

suddenly filled to the brim; a sud¬

(see page 21). excessive; extra; extraneous;

den commotion in a nearby bush

immaterial; incidental; inconsequential;

prevented them from overflowing

insignificant;

.... — Vladimir Nabokov, Lolita

irrelevant;

needless;

nonessential; superabundant; superfluous; unimportant; unnecessary. ■ With his

fill in the blanks An infantile phrase

mother doing the cooking and other

(see page 20).

household chores, I would feel like a

fifth wheel. REPLACE WITH superfluous.

fill (his) shoes A moribund metaphor (see page 21).

fight a losing battle A moribund fill the bill A moribund metaphor (see

metaphor (see page 21).

page 21). 1. be appropriate; be apt; be fight

fire

with

fire

A

moribund

befitting; be felicitous; be fit; be fitting; be happy; be meet; be proper; be right; be

metaphor (see page 21).

seemly; be suitable; be suited. 2. be accept¬ fight like cats and dogs An insipid

able; be adequate; be qualified; be satis¬

simile 1. altercate; argue; disagree; dis¬

factory; be sufficient.

pute; feud; fight; quarrel; spat; squabble; wrangle. 2. battle; brawl; clash; fight;

fill to capacity A wretched redundancy

grapple; jostle; make war; scuffle; skir¬

(see page 25). fill. ■ Our free public

mish; tussle; war; wrestle.

facilities are filled to capacity, and there are long waiting lists for some programs.

filled to bursting

(overflowing)

moribund metaphor

A

Replace with filled.

(see page 21).

abounding; brimful; brimming; bursting;

filthy lucre A moribund metaphor (see

chock-full; congested; crammed; crowded;

page 21). money; riches; wealth.

dense; filled; full; gorged; jammed; jampacked; overcrowded; overfilled; overflow¬

final and irrevocable An inescapable

ing; packed; replete; saturated; stuffed;

pair (see page 20). final; firm; irrevoca¬

swarming; teeming.

ble; unalterable.

filled

to

the

brim

moribund

final chapter A moribund metaphor

metaphor (see page 21). abounding;

(see page 21). close; completion; conclu¬

brimful; brimming; bursting; chock-full;

sion;

congested;

denouement; end; ending; finale; finish;

crammed;

A

crowded; dense;

filled; full; gorged; jammed; jam-packed;

consummation;

termination.

overcrowded; overfilled; packed; replete; saturated; stuffed; swarming; teeming. 138

culmination;

first and foremost

final conclusion A wretched redundan¬

tion; difficulty; dilemma; mess; muddle;

cy (see page 25). ■ We have made no

ordeal; pickle; plight; predicament; prob¬

final conclusions on responsibility for the

lem; quandary; trial; trouble.

attacks in Kenya and Tanzania. Delete

final.

fine line A moribund metaphor (see page 21). ■ There is a very fine line

final culmination A wretched redun¬

between vision and delusion.

dancy (see page 25). culmination. ■ Owning a farm was the final culmina¬

fingers on the pulse of A moribund

tion of all our efforts. DELETE final.

metaphor (see page 21).

final decision A wretched redundancy

tive (launch) a salvo A moribund

(see page 25). decision. ■ That’s one of

metaphor (see page 21).

the things we have under consideration, but no final decision has been made.

(all) fired (hopped, psyched) up A

Delete final.

moribund metaphor (see page 21). afire;

aflame; anxious; ardent; burning; eager; (the) final (last) frontier A moribund

enthusiastic; excited; fanatic; fanatical;

metaphor (see page 21).

fervent;

fervid;

fiery;

impassioned;

inflamed; intense; perfervid; keen; pas¬ (that’s) the final (last) straw A mori¬

sionate; vehement; zealous.

bund metaphor (see page 21). fire

in

(his)

belly

A

moribund

(see page 21).

ambitious;

finalize A torpid term (see page 24).

metaphor

complete; conclude; consummate; end;

ardent; determined; dogged; driven; eager;

execute; finish; fulfill; made final; termi¬

enthusiastic; fervent; impassioned; moti¬

nate. ■ Delays in finalizing the state

vated; passionate; persistent; pushy; res¬

budget and its allocations to cities and

olute; strong-willed.

towns make a special town meeting nec¬ essary. Replace with completing. See

(a) firestorm of A moribund metaphor

ALSO utilize.

(see

page

21).

■

That

decision

unleashed a firestorm of protest in the finders keepers, losers weepers An

Capitol. See ALSO a barrage of.

infantile phrase (see page 20). firmly establish An inescapable pair find (some) middle ground A mori¬

(see page 20). Adverbs often modify

bund metaphor (see page 21). compro¬

other words needlessly. Here, firmly is

mise.

superfluous,

for establish

means

“to

make firm.’1 ■ The play firmly estab¬ fine and dandy An inescapable pair (see

lished him as a dramatist. DELETE fiirm-

page 20). all right; excellent; fine; good;

ly.

O.K.; well. See ALSO well and good. first and foremost A wretched redun¬ (a) fine (pretty) kettle of fish A mori¬

dancy (see page 25). chief; chiefly; first;

bund metaphor (see page 21). complica¬

foremost; initial; initially; main; mainly; 139

first and most important

most important; mostly; primarily; pri¬

fish or cut bait A moribund metaphor

mary; principal; principally. ■ First and

(see page 21).

foremost these people must have a com¬ REPLACE

(like a) fish out of water An insipid

WITH Most important. SEE ALSO first and

simile, awkward; blundering; bumbling;

most important.

bungling; clumsy; gawky; gauche; ham¬

mitment to public service.

handed; heavy-handed; inapt; inept; lub¬ first and most important A wretched

berly; lumbering; maladroit; uncoordinat¬

redundancy (see page 25). chief; chiefly;

ed;

first; foremost; initial; initially; main; mainly; most important; mostly; primari¬

unhandy; unskillful; unwieldy.

ly; primary; principal; principally. See ALSO first and foremost.

(bigger; other) fish to fry A moribund

uncouth;

ungainly;

ungraceful;

metaphor (see page 21).

first begin (start) A wretched redun¬

Now, I wish I could remember

begin; start. ■

Daddy’s reply to all her nagging,

dancy (see page 25).

When we first started exploring the idea,

but I had bigger fish to fry that

we didn’t even know if it was possible to

weekend and didn’t much care

do. Delete first.

that Missy had inexplicably fallen in love with her own uncle .... —

first line

of defense A moribund

Janis Owens,

metaphor (see page 21).

Fhe Schooling of

Claybird Catts

first of all A wretched redundancy (see page 25). first. ■ First of all, I am delighted about our progress in that area. REPLACE WITH First. SEE ALSO sec¬

(as) fit as a fiddle An insipid simile.

athletic; beefy; brawny; energetic; fit; good; hale; hardy; healthful; healthy; hearty; husky; lanky; lean; manly; muscu¬

ond of all.

lar; powerful; robust; shapely; sinewy; first (highest; number-one; top) pri¬

slender; solid; sound; stalwart; stout;

ority A torpid term

strong; sturdy; thin; trim; vigorous; virile;

(see page 24).

Nothing soulful can be said using these

well; well-built.

expressions, so when a U.S. cardinal dreariy sermonizes “The protection of

fit for a king A moribund metaphor

children must be our number-one prior¬

(see page 21). august; awe-inspiring; dis¬

ity,” we are hardly convinced that this is

tinguished; elegant; eminent; exalted;

his or the church’s principal concern.

exquisite; extraordinary; extravagant; glo¬

When we read, in some corporate pro¬

rious; grand; great; impressive; kingly; lux¬

motional piece, “Your satisfaction is our

urious; magnificent; majestic; monarchi¬

number-one priority,” we are likewise,

cal; nobel; opulent; princely; regal; royal;

and

sovereign; splendid; stately; sumptuous.

for

good

reason,

suspicious.

Mechanical expressions like first (high¬

est; number-one; top) priority defy ten¬

fitting and proper An inescapable pair

derness, resist compassion, and counter

(see page 20). appropriate; apt; befitting;

concern. SEE ALSO reach epidemic pro¬

portions.

felicitous; fit; fitting; happy; meet; proper; right; seemly; suitable; suited. ■ And it is 140

flowing with milk and honey

generally regarded as fitting and proper

parent; relative; sibling; sister; son. 2.

for women to do this. REPLACE WITH

depth; reality; substance.

fitting. flight of fancy A moribund metaphor fit to be tied A moribund metaphor

(see page 21). caprice; chimera; crotchet;

(see page 21). angry; cross; enraged; fum¬

daydream; delusion; dream; fancy; fanta¬

ing; furious; incensed; indignant; infuri¬

sy; hallucination; humor; illusion; imagi¬

ated; irate; mad; outraged; raging; wrath¬

nation; notion; phantasm; vagary; whim;

ful.

whimsy.

fix (her) wagon A moribund metaphor

flip (her) lid A moribund metaphor

(see page 21). 1. castigate; censure; chas¬

(see page 21). bellow; bluster; clamor;

ten; chastise; chide; criticize; discipline;

explode; fulminate; fume; holler; howl;

penalize; punish; rebuke; reprove; scold. 2.

rage; rant; rave; roar; scream; shout;

spank.

storm; thunder; vociferate; yell.

flaming inferno An infantile phrase

(on the) flip side (of the coin) A mori¬

(see page 20). blaze; conflagration; fire;

bund

inferno.

antithesis; contrary; converse; opposite;

metaphor

(see

page

21).

1.

reverse. 2. but; in contrast; conversely; flash in the pan A moribund metaphor

however; inversely; whereas; yet.

(see page 21). brief; ephemeral; evanes¬

cent; fleeting; momentary; short; short¬

(whatever) floats your boat A mori¬

lived; short-term; temporary; transient;

bund metaphor (see page 21).

transitory. (a) flood of A moribund metaphor (see ■ The evidence indicates

(as) flat as a board An insipid simile.

page 21).

even; flat; flush; horizontal; level; plane;

NAFTA will lead to a flood of auto

smooth.

exports

from

Mexico.

■ Should the doctors win,

the

United

States

to

(as) flat as a pancake An insipid simile.

labor leaders predict a flood ^/physicians

even; flat; flush; horizontal; level; plane;

signing up with unions. SEE ALSO a bar¬

smooth.

rage of.

flat

on

(his)

back

A

moribund

flotsam and jetsam An inescapable pair

metaphor (see page 21). afflicted; ailing;

(see page 20).

crippled; debilitated; defenseless; disabled;

refuse; rubbish; rubble; wrack; wreckage.

diseased; feeble; fragile; helpless; ill; inca¬

2. bits; fragments; modicums; odds and

pacitated; indisposed; infirm; not (feeling)

ends; particles; pieces; remnants; scraps;

well; sick; sickly; unhealthy; unwell; vale¬

shreds; snippets; trifles. 3. itinerants;

tudinarian; weak.

rovers; tramps; vagabonds; vagrants; wan¬

1. debris; litter; rack;

derers. (my) (own) flesh and blood A mori¬ bund metaphor (see page 21). 1. broth¬

flowing with milk and honey A mori¬

er; child; daughter; father; kin; mother;

bund metaphor (see page 21). 141

fly (ride) below (under) the radar (of)

fly (ride) below (under) the radar (of)

fly in the face of A moribund metaphor

A moribund metaphor (see page 21). 1.

(see page 21). buck; challenge; contradict;

disregarded; hidden; ignored; impercepti¬

defy; disobey; dispute; disregard; flout; go

ble; indiscernible; invisible; overlooked;

against; ignore; militate against; neglect;

undetectable; undetected; unheard of;

oppose; overlook; resist; violate. ■ This is

unknown; unnoticeable; unnoticed; unob¬

nonsensical and flies in the face y/Tisto-

served; unperceived; unrevealed; unseen.

ry

2.

discreet; inconspicuous; self-effacing;

and

basic

economic

principles.

Replace with contradicts.

unassuming; understated; unobtrusive. ■ The sport isn’t exactly riding under the

fly

radar in the United States anymore,

metaphor (see page 21). bar; barrier;

thanks

Lance

block; blockage; catch; check; deterrent;

Armstrong’s dominant reign in the Tour

difficulty; encumbrance; handicap; hin¬

de France. REPLACE WITH unnoticed. ■

drance; hitch; hurdle; impediment; inter¬

Flying under the radar are the Russians,

ference; obstacle; obstruction; rub; snag.

in

large

part

to

in

the

ointment A moribund

who may just be warming up for the medal

round.

REPLACE

WITH

Unassuming.

fly

off

the

handle

A

moribund

metaphor (see page 21). bellow; blow up;

bluster; clamor; explode; fulminate; fume; fly-by-night A moribund metaphor

holler; howl; rage; rant; rave; roar; scream;

(see page 21). irresponsible; undepend¬

shout; storm; thunder; vociferate; yell. ■

able; unreliable; untrustworthy.

To tell the truth, investors are flying off

the

handle

everywhere

you

look.

fly by the seat of (his) pants A mori¬

Replace with howling. Bl Meditation

bund metaphor (see page 21). be extem¬

makes me a much calmer person; I don’t

poraneous; be instinctive; be spontaneous;

fly off the handle so much. REPLACE

impromptu; improvise. H Administrators

WITH rant.

who fly by the seat of their pants typically rely on trial and error because there are

fly the coop A moribund metaphor (see

no overarching objectives and guide¬

page 21). abscond; clear out; decamp;

lines. REPLACE WITH are instinctive.

depart; desert; disappear; escape; exit; flee; fly; go; go away; leave; move on; part; pull

flying high A moribund metaphor (see page 21).

1. advantageous; auspicious;

out; quit; retire; retreat; run away; take flight; take off; vacate; vanish; withdraw.

blessed; charmed; enchanted; favored; felicitous; flourishing; fortuitous; fortu¬

fly (too) close to the sun A moribund

nate; golden; happy; in luck; lucky; propi¬

metaphor (see page 21). chance; dare;

tious; prosperous; successful; thriving. 2.

endanger; gamble; hazard; imperil; jeop¬

blissful; blithe; buoyant; cheerful; delight¬

ardize; make bold; peril; risk; venture.

ed; ecstatic; elated; enraptured; euphoric; exalted; excited; exhilarated; exultant;

(a) flurry of A moribund metaphor (see

gay; glad; gleeful; good-humored; happy;

page 21). M

intoxicated; jolly; jovial; joyful; joyous;

strong recovery in the last months of

jubilant;

1998 prompted a flurry y/charitable giv¬

merry;

mirthful;

pleased; rapturous; thrilled.

overjoyed;

The U.S. stock market’s

ing in December. See ALSO a barrage of. 142

footloose and fancy free

(a)

fly

on

the

wall A

moribund

out; quit; retire; retreat; run away; take

metaphor (see page 21).

flight; take off; vacate; vanish; withdraw.

foaming (frothing) at the mouth A

follow in (her) footsteps A moribund

moribund metaphor

metaphor (see page 21).

(see page 21).

angry; berserk; convulsive; crazed; deliri¬ ous;

demented;

deranged;

follow suit A moribund metaphor (see

enraged; feral; ferocious; fierce; frantic;

page 21). copy; do as much; follow; imi¬

frenzied; fuming; furious; hysterical; infu¬

tate; mimic. ■ NYNEX is expected to

riated; in hysterics; insane; incensed; irate;

follow suit in the near future. REPLACE

mad; maddened; maniacal; murderous;

WITH do as much. ■ When American

possessed; rabid; raging; ranting; raving;

Airlines slashed fares, TWA followed

savage; seething; wild; wrathful.

suit. Replace with did as much.

focus attention (concentration) on A

follow

wretched redundancy (see page 25).

metaphor (see page 21). abide by; accede;

concentrate on; focus on. ■ Microsoft has

accommodate; accord; acquiesce; adapt;

always focused its attention on software

adhere to; agree; behave; comply; concur;

products

conform; correspond; follow; harmonize;

and

demoniac;

software

standards.

REPLACE WITH focused on. ■ It is hardly

the

crowd

A

moribund

heed; mind; obey; observe; submit; yield.

magic to focus concentration on success instead of failure. REPLACE WITH concen¬

follow your instincts A popular pre¬

trate on. SEE ALSO focus effort (energy) on.

scription (see page 23).

focus effort (energy) on A wretched

food

redundancy (see page 25). concentrate

metaphor (see page 21). See ALSO (ids)

on; focus on. ■ This downsizing will cut

something to think about.

for

thought

A

moribund

our expenses and allow us to focus our customers.

food for worms A moribund metaphor

REPLACE WITH focus on. ■ Owners can

(see page 21). dead; deceased; defunct;

focus their energy on expanding the busi¬

departed; exanimate; expired; extinct;

ness to a point where it can function

extinguished; finished; gone; inanimate;

outside of a “nurtured” environment.

lifeless; no more; perished; terminated.

efforts

on

serving

our

Replace with focus on. See also focus

attention (concentration) on.

fools rush in where angels fear to tread A popular prescription (see page

focus in on A wretched redundancy

23).

(see page 25). focus on. ■ I have to focus

in on what I want to accomplish.

footloose and fancy free A moribund

Delete in.

metaphor

(see page 21).

autonomous; free;

at liberty;

independent;

self-

fold (their) tent A moribund metaphor

reliant; unattached; unbound; unconfined;

(see page 21). abscond; clear out; decamp;

unconstrained; unencumbered; unentan¬

depart; desert; disappear; escape; exit; flee;

gled;

fly; go; go away; leave; move on; part; pull

strained; unrestricted; unshackled; untied. 143

unfettered;

uninhibited;

unre¬

footprints in the sands of time

■ footprints in the sands of time A

A real beauty, with wood-s

moribund metaphor (see page 21).

wheels and navy mohair uphol¬ stery. He was getting it for a song,

foot the bill A moribund metaphor (see

from a widow who’d never learned

page 21). pay (for).

to drive her husbands car. — Anita Shreve, Sea Glass

To argue would mean she was offering to foot the bill, something

for better or for worse A torpid term

she had done so often over their

(see page 24).

years of living together that it had become expected of her. — Amy

wmmmm. gy But the family room, the only

Tan, The Bonesetter’s Daughter

room where any of us has ever spent any time, has always been, A

for better or for worse, the ulti¬

wretched redundancy (see page 25).

mate reflection of our true inclina-

effectively; essentially; in effect; in essence;

dons.

practically; virtually. ■ For all intents and

Heartbreaking Work of Staggering

purposes, the civil rights acts of 1964 and

Genius

for

all

intents

and

purposes

—

Dave

Eggers,

A

1965 signified the demise of official seg¬ regation in the United States. REPLACE

forever

and

a

day

A

moribund

WITH In effect. See ALSO for all practical

metaphor (see page 21). always; ceaseless¬

purposes; to all intents and purposes; to all

ly; constantly; continually; continuously;

practical purposes.

endlessly; eternally; everlastingly; ever¬ more; forever; forevermore; immortally;

for all practical purposes A wretched

indefinitely; interminably; permanently;

redundancy (see page 25). effectively;

perpetually;

essentially; in effect; in essence; practically;

unremittingly.

persistently;

unceasingly;

virtually. ■ Services are, for all practical purposes, sold as products to end users,

for every action there’s an equal and

so the distinction between services and

opposite reaction A popular prescrip¬

goods is artificial at best. REPLACE WITH

tion (see page 23).

essentially. See ALSO for all intents and purposes; to all intents and purposes; to all

for every negative there is a positive A

practical purposes.

popular prescription (see page 23).

for all (he was) worth A moribund

for everything there is a season A pop-

metaphor (see page 21).

ular prescription (see page 23).

for a song A moribund metaphor (see

forewarn A wretched redundancy (see

page 21). cheaply; economically; inexpen¬

page 25). warn. ■ Forewarn your clients

sively.

that they might be stared at by locals. Replace with Warn. See also advance

warning; warn in advance.

144

foul up (gum up; screw up) the works

forewarned is

forearmed A quack

because. SEE ALSO for the (simple) reason

equation (see page 23).

that.

for free A wretched redundancy (see

for the most part A wretched redun¬

page 25). free.

dancy (see page 25). almost all; chiefly;

commonly; generally; greatly; in general; forgive and forget A popular prescrip¬

largely; mainly; most; mostly; most often;

tion (see page 23).

much; nearly all; overall; normally; typi¬ cally; usually. ■ The search for solutions

fork in the road A moribund metaphor

to these crises has focused for the most

(see page 21).

part on the legal system. REPLACE WITH largely.

formative years A torpid term (see page 24). adolescence; childhood; immaturity;

for

juvenility.

wretched redundancy (see page 25). for

(with)

the purpose of -ing A

(-ing); so as to; to. ■ These analyses have forsooth A withered word (see page

been used for the purpose of criticizing

24). actually; indeed; in fact; in faith; in

the shortcomings of Western manage¬

reality; in truth; truly.

ment. REPLACE WITH for criticizing or to

criticize. ■ The other was the develop¬ moribund

ment in 1923 of a comparison micro¬

1. absurd; asi¬

scope that could be used for the purpose

nine; childish; comical; farcical; fatuous;

of determining whether or not a bullet

flighty; foolhardy; foolish; frivolous; giddy;

found at the scene of a crime was fired

idiotic; immature; inane; laughable; ludi¬

by a particular gun. REPLACE WITH for

crous; nonsensical; preposterous; ridicu¬

determining or to determine.

(it’s)

for

the

birds

A

metaphor (see page 21).

lous; senseless; silly. 2. barren; bootless; effete; feckless; feeble; fruitless; futile;

for

impotent; inadequate; inconsequential;

wretched redundancy (see page 25).

inconsiderable; ineffective; ineffectual;

because; considering; for; in that; since. ■

infertile; insignificant; inutile; meaning¬

Polls dominate political discourse for the

less; meritless; nugatory; null; of no value;

simple reason that “Everyone else has an

pointless; powerless; profitless; purposeless;

opinion;

sterile; trifling; trivial; unavailing; unim¬

Replace with because. See also for the

portant;

(simple) fact that.

unproductive;

unprofitable;

the

(simple)

the

reason

pollster

has

that

a

A

fact.”

unserviceable; unworthy; useless; vain; valueless; weak; worthless.

for your information An ineffectual phrase (see page 19). ■ For your infor¬

for the (simple) fact that A wretched

mation, he loves me, and I love him.

redundancy (see page 25). because; con¬

DELETE For your information.

sidering; for; in that; since. ■ Women received some assistance in the colonial

foul up (gum up; screw up) the works

period for the simple fact that American

A moribund metaphor (see page 21). 1.

Protestants strongly favored “peaceable”

agitate; confuse; disorder; disorganize; dis¬

and

quiet; disrupt; disturb; fluster; jar; jinx;

intact

families.

REPLACE WITH

145

free and easy

jolt; jumble; mix up; muddle; perturb;

gelid; glacial; hibernal; hyperborean; ice-

rattle; ruffle; shake up; stir up; unnerve;

cold; icy; nippy; polar; rimy; ivintry.

unsettle; upset. 2. blight; cripple; damage; disable; harm; hurt; impair; incapacitate;

(as) fresh as a daisy Am insipid simile.

lame; mar; mess up; rack; ruin; sabotage;

active;

spoil; subvert; undermine; vitiate; wrack;

dynamic; energetic; fresh; healthy; hearty;

wreck.

lively; peppy; refreshed; rested; rosy; ruddy;

alive;

animated;

blooming;

spirited; sprightly; spry; vibrant; vigorous; free and easy An inescapable pair (see

vivacious.

page 20). casual; carefree; easygoing; informal; insouciant; lighthearted; non¬

fret and fume An inescapable pair (see

chalant; relaxed; untroubled.

page 20).

free and gratis An infantile phrase (see

a friend in need (is a friend indeed) A

page 20). free.

popular prescription (see page 23).

(as) free as a bird An insipid simile.

frighten by (his) own shadow A mori¬

autonomous; free;

self-

bund metaphor (see page 21). alarm;

reliant; unattached; unbound; uncon-

appall; benumb; daunt; frighten; horrify;

fined;

intimidate; panic; paralyze; petrify; scare;

independent;

unconstrained;

unentangled;

unencumbered;

unfettered;

uninhibited;

shock; startle; terrify; terrorize; unnerve.

unrestrained; unrestricted; unshackled; untied.

frighten (scare) out of (her) wits A moribund metaphor (see page 21).

(as) free as the wind An insipid simile.

alarm; appall; benumb; daunt; frighten;

autonomous; free;

self-

horrify; intimidate; panic; paralyze; petri¬

reliant; unattached; unbound; uncon¬

fy; scare; shock; startle; terrify; terrorize;

fined;

unnerve.

independent;

unconstrained;

unentangled;

unencumbered;

unfettered;

uninhibited;

unrestrained; unrestricted; unshackled;

frighten the life out of A moribund

untied.

metaphor (see page 21). alarm; appall; benumb; daunt; frighten; horrify; intimi¬

free gift A wretched redundancy (see

date; panic; paralyze; petrify; scare; shock;

page 25). gift. ■ With every renewal,

startle; terrify; terrorize; unnerve.

you will receive a free gift. DELETE free. (go) from a simmer to a hard boil A (no) free lunch A moribund metaphor

moribund metaphor (see page 21).

(see page 21). from A to Z A moribund metaphor (see free ride A moribund metaphor (see

page 21). 1. all during; all over; all

page 21).

through; throughout. 2. altogether; com¬ pletely; entirely; fully; perfectly; quite;

freezing cold An inescapable pair (see page 20). algid; arctic; brumal; chilly;

roundly; thoroughly; totally; unreservedly; utterly; wholly.

cold; cool; freezing; frigid; frosty; frozen;

146

from the bottom (depths) of (my) heart

from beginning to end A moribund

put up with this kind of stuf{from dawn

metaphor (see page 21). 1. always; cease¬

to dusk. Replace WITH endlessly.

lessly; constantly; continually; continuous¬ ly; endlessly; eternally; everlastingly; ever¬

(the) (date) from hell A moribund

more; forever; forevermore; frequently;

metaphor (see page 21).

interminably; nonstop; permanently; per¬ petually; persistently; recurrently; regular¬

from hence A wretched redundancy

ly; repeatedly; unceasingly; unremittingly.

(see page 23). hence.

2. all during; all over; all through; throughout. 3. altogether; completely;

from

entirely; fully; perfectly; quite; roundly;

metaphor (see page 21). ■ You cant let

thoroughly; totally; unreservedly; utterly;

your convictions be shaken, or you’ll

wholly.

jump from pillar to post the moment

pillar to

post A moribund

times become difficult. from (the) cradle to (the) grave A moribund metaphor (see page 21). 1.

from rags to

always; ceaselessly; constantly; continually;

metaphor (see page 21).

riches A moribund

continuously; endlessly; eternally; everlast¬ ingly; evermore; forever; forevermore; fre¬

from

quently; interminably; nonstop; perma¬

metaphor (see page 21). all; all things;

nently; perpetually; persistently; recurrent¬

everything.

ly;

regularly;

repeatedly;

soup

to

nuts A

moribund

unceasingly;

unremittingly. 2. all during; all over; all

from start to finish A moribund

through; throughout.

metaphor (see page 21). 1. always; cease¬ lessly; constantly; continually; continuous¬

from darkness to light A moribund

ly; endlessly; eternally; everlastingly; ever¬

metaphor (see page 21).

more; forever; forevermore; frequently; interminably; nonstop; permanently; per¬

No longer a pariah, you were now

petually; persistently; recurrently; regular¬

a desired guest at parties, where

ly; repeatedly; unceasingly; unremittingly.

you were supposed to speak elo¬

2. all during; all over; all through;

quently about the struggle, to tear

throughout.

up and talk about the walk from the darkness into the light. — Lisa

from

stem

to

stern A moribund

Fugard, Skinners Drift

metaphor (see page 21). 1. all during; all over; all through; throughout. 2. altogeth¬

from dawn to (until) dusk A mori¬

er; completely; entirely; fully; perfectly;

bund metaphor (see page 21). all day;

quite; roundly; thoroughly; totally; unre¬

all the time; always; ceaselessly; constantly;

servedly; utterly; wholly.

continually; continuously; endlessly; eter¬ nally; everlastingly; evermore; forever;

from the bottom (depths) of (my)

forevermore; frequently; interminably;

heart A moribund metaphor (see page

nonstop; permanently; perpetually; persist¬

21). earnestly; fervently;genuinely; hearti¬

ently; recurrently; regularly; repeatedly;

ly; honestly; sincerely; unreservedly; whole¬

unceasingly; unremittingly. ■ She has to

heartedly. 147

from the frying pan into the fire

from the frying pan into the fire A

John and I used to talk about how

moribund metaphor (see page 21).

the current phase of the moon as well as the names of trees and

(straight) from the horse’s mouth A

flowers and birds -— at least the

moribund metaphor (see page 21).

local ones! -— should be front and center in peoples brains: maybe

from the word go An infantile phrase

such a connection to nature would

(see page 20).

help to make us more civilized. — Elizabeth

Berg,

The

Year

of

Pleasures

Even my life so far has been plain. More Daisy than Elizabeth from the word go. — Meg Rosoff, How

(on the) front burner A moribund

I Live Novj

metaphor (see page 21). cardinal; chief;

foremost; head; important; leading; main; from tip to toe A moribund metaphor

paramount; predominant; primary; prin¬

(see page 21). 1. all during; all over; all

cipal; prominent; topmost; uppermost. ■

through; throughout, 2. altogether; com¬

Preserving Yellowstone is probably a pri¬

pletely; entirely; fully; perfectly; quite;

ority for most Americans, but at the

roundly; thoroughly; totally; unreservedly;

moment it’s not on anyone’s front burner.

utterly; wholly.

REPLACE with paramount. ■ Procter & Gamble was faced with a front-burner

from top

to

bottom A moribund

metaphor (see page 21). 1. all during; all

actor suffering from a mysterious ail¬ ment. Replace with leading.

over; all through; throughout. 2. altogeth¬ er; completely; entirely; fully; perfectly;

fuel the fire of A moribund metaphor

quite; roundly; thoroughly; totally; unre¬

(see page 21). 1 .fire; ignite; inflame; kin¬

servedly; utterly; wholly.

dle. 2. galvanize; goad; incite; induce; needle; poke; prod; prompt; provoke; spur;

from whence A wretched redundancy

stimulate; urge. 3. activate; animate;

(see page 25). whence. ■ The dolphins

arouse; electrify; energize; enliven; excite;

were judged sufficiently healthy to be

inspirit; invigorate; motivate; quicken;

taken back to the sea from whence they

stimulate; stir; vitalize; vivify.

came. DELETE from. ■ And it all boiled over on talk radio — from whence it

full capacity A wretched redundancy

moved into the nations high schools

(see page 25). capacity. ■ Buses are run¬

and junior highs and into late-night tel¬

ning closer to full capacity than at any

evision. Delete from.

time since the strike began. DELETE^//.

front and center An inescapable pair

full

(see page 20). foremost; high; leading;

metaphor (see page 21).

frontal

assault

A

moribund

main; major; prominent; salient; top. full of (herself) A moribund metaphor (see page 21). egocentric; egoistic; egotis¬

tic; egotistical; narcissistic; self-absorbed; selfish; solipsistic. 148

a funny thing happened to me on the way to

full of beans A moribund metaphor

full of vim and vigor A moribund

(see page 21). 1. active; alive; animated;

metaphor (see page 21). active; alive;

dynamic; energetic; exuberant; frisky;

animated; dynamic; energetic; hearty;

indefatigable; inexhaustible; invigorated;

indefatigable; inexhaustible; lively; peppy;

lively; peppy; spirited; sprightly; spry; tire¬

spirited; sprightly; spry; tireless; unflag¬

less; unflagging; vibrant; vigorous; viva¬

ging; vibrant; vigorous; vivacious.

cious; zestful; zesty. 2. amiss; astray; deceived; deluded; erring; erroneous; falla¬

full plate A moribund metaphor (see

cious; false; faulty; inaccurate; incorrect;

page

in error; misguided; misinformed; mis¬

engaged; involved; obligated; occupied.

21).

booked;

busy;

employed;

lead; mistaken; not correct; not right; wrong.

full potential A wretched redundancy (see page 25). potential. ■ Youngsters

full of holes A moribund metaphor (see

with talents that range from mathemat¬

1. defective; faulty; flawed;

ical to musical are not challenged to

impaired; imperfect; marred; tainted. 2.

work to their full potential. DELETE full.

page 21).

baseless; captious; casuistic; casuistical; erroneous; fallacious; false; faulty; flawed;

(at) full speed (ahead) A moribund

groundless; illogical; inaccurate; incorrect;

metaphor (see page 21). abruptly; apace;

invalid; irrational; jesuitic; Jesuitical; mis¬

at once; briskly; directly; expeditiously;

taken; nonsensical; non sequitur; paralo-

fast; forthwith; hastily; hurriedly; imme¬

gistic; senseless; sophistic; sophistical; spe¬

diately;

cious; spurious; unfounded; unreasonable;

posthaste; promptly; quickly; rapidly; rash¬

unsound; untenable; untrue; unveracious;

ly; right away; speedily; straightaway;

wrong.

swiftly; wingedly.

full of hot air A moribund metaphor

(at) full steam (ahead) A moribund

(see page 21). 1. aggrandizing; bluster¬

metaphor (see page 21). abruptly; apace;

ing; boasting; bragging; coloring; crowing;

at once; briskly; directly; expeditiously;

elaborating; embellishing; embroidering;

fast; forthwith; hastily; hurriedly; imme¬

exaggerating; fanfaronading; gloating;

diately;

hyperbolizing; magnifying; overstating;

posthaste; promptly; quickly; rapidly; rash¬

swaggering. 2. amiss; astray; deceived;

ly; right away; speedily; straightaway;

deluded; erring; erroneous; fallacious;

swiftly; wingedly.

instantaneously;

instantaneously;

instantly;

instantly;

false; faulty; inaccurate; incorrect; in error; misguided; misinformed; mislead;

a funny thing happened to me on the

mistaken; not correct; not right; wrong.

way to An infantile phrase (see page 20). ■ But a funny thing happened on the

full of piss and vinegar A moribund

way to the Memorial Plaza.

metaphor (see page 21). active; alive;

animated; dynamic; energetic; hearty; indefatigable; inexhaustible; lively; peppy; spirited; sprightly; spry; tireless; unflag¬ ging; vibrant; vigorous; vivacious.

149

gain a foothold

gaze into a crystal ball A moribund

G

metaphor

(see page 21).

anticipate;

augur; divine; envision; forebode; forecast; foreknow; foresee; foretell; predict; prog¬ nosticate; prophesy; vaticinate. general consensus A wretched redun¬

gain a foothold A moribund metaphor

dancy (see page 25). consensus. M The

(see page 21).

general consensus is that house prices have hit bottom. DELETE general.

gain an advantage over A torpid term (see page 24).

beat; conquer; crush;

defeat; outdo; overcome; overpower; over¬

(the) genie is out of the bottle A mori¬ bund metaphor (see page 21).

whelm; prevail; quell; rout; succeed; tri¬ umph; trounce; vanquish; win.

(as) gentle as a lamb An insipid simile. affable; agreeable; amiable; amicable;

gain steam A moribund metaphor (see

compassionate; friendly; gentle; good-

page 21).

hearted; good-natured; humane; kind; kind-hearted; kindly; personable; pleas¬

game plan A moribund metaphor (see

ant; tender; tolerant.

page 21). action; course; direction; inten¬

tion; method; move; plan; policy; proce¬

gentleman A suspect superlative (see

dure; route; scheme; strategy.

page 24). Slipshod usage has reduced

gentleman to a vulgarism. Common or game, set, and match A moribund

crude people say gentleman when man

metaphor (see page 21).

would serve;

though gentleman may

sound dignified, it is actually dimwit-

garden variety A moribund metaphor

ted. Moreover, any man who doesn’t, in

(see page 21). average; common; com¬

revulsion, quiver at being called a gentle¬

monplace;

everyday; fair;

man is likely in jeopardy of becoming as

mediocre; middling; normal; ordinary;

vulgar as the word. ■ I am seeking a

passable; plain; quotidian; regular; rou¬

professional gentleman with diversified

tine; simple; standard; tolerable; typical;

interests. REPLACE WITH man. ■ One

uneven ful; unexceptional; unremarkable;

gentleman told me it is a fantasy world

usual; workaday.

and not to believe everything I hear.

customary;

Replace with man. See also lady.

gather together A wretched redundan¬ cy (see page 25). gather, ffl This sum¬

(the) genuine article A moribund

mers training provided all 1,500 youth

metaphor (see page 21). actual; authen¬

an opportunity to gather together from

tic; genuine; legitimate; pure; real; ster¬

around the country and to develop their

ling; true; unadulterated; unalloyed; veri¬ table.

skills and knowledge. DELETE together.

(I) gave (him) the best years of (my) life A plebeian sentiment (see page 23). 150

get in (my) hair

He had constantly to be reassured.

get (put) (all) (your) ducks in a row A

Was this the genuine article? Was

moribund metaphor

this the teal guaranteed height of a

arrange; categorize; classify; order; organ¬

Good

ize; prepare; ready; sort.

Time?

—

Christopher

Isherwood, Goodbye to Berlin

vt

a, yT

> jmm-

c

Everywhere

(see page 21).

- &

,

they’re

*

mm

' , m

smoothing

get (our) act together An infantile

down imperfections, putting hairs

phrase (see page 20). ■ They don’t have

in place, putting ducks in a row,

the luxury of five years to get their act

replacing

together.

Lethem, Motherless Brooklyn

get

(has)

a

fix

on

A

moribund

metaphor (see page 21). ascertain; assess;

get

(their)

divots.

—

Jonathan

feet wet A moribund

metaphor (see page 21).

comprehend; determine; evaluate; learn; get (your) foot in the door A mori¬

understand.

bund metaphor (see page 21).

get (has) a handle on A moribund metaphor (see page 21). 1. cope with;

get (my) goat A moribund metaphor

deal with. 2. ascertain; assess; compre¬

(see page 21). acerbate; anger; annoy;

hend; determine; evaluate; learn; under¬

bother; bristle; chafe; enrage; incense;

stand.

inflame; infuriate; irk; irritate; madden; miff; provoke; rile; roil; vex. ■ “In denial”

get a life An infantile phrase (see page

is one of those politically correct terms

20).

that gets my goat. REPLACE WITH infuri¬

ates me. get away with murder A moribund get (her) hackles up A moribund

metaphor (see page 21).

metaphor (see page 21). acerbate; anger; moribund

annoy; bother; bristle; chafe; enrage;

metaphor (see page 21). acerbate; anger;

incense; inflame; infuriate; insult; irk;

annoy; bother; bristle; chafe; enrage; exas¬

irritate; madden; miff; offend; provoke;

perate; gall; incense; inflame; infuriate;

rile; roil; vex.

get

(my)

back

up

A

irk; irritate; madden; miff; pique; pro¬ voke; rile; roil; vex.

get (your) house in order A moribund metaphor (see page 21).

get

(his)

dander up A moribund

metaphor (see page 21). acerbate; anger;

get in (my) hair A moribund metaphor

annoy; bother; bristle; chafe; enrage; exas¬

(see page 21). annoy; badger; bedevil;

perate; gall; incense; inflame; infuriate;

bother; chafe; distress; disturb; gall; grate;

irk; irritate; madden; miff; pique; pro¬

harass;

voke; rile; roil; vex.

hound; irk; irritate; nag; nettle; persecute;

harry;

hassle;

heckle;

hector;

pester; plague; provoke; rankle; rile; roil; get down to brass tacks A moribund

tease; torment; vex.

metaphor (see page 21).

151

get into the act

get into the act A moribund metaphor

get (go) on with (my) life A popular

(see page 21).

prescription (see page 23). SEE ALSO put

(it) behind (us). get in touch with (your) feelings A popular prescription (see page 23). be

get

out

of

Dodge

aware; be cognizant; be conscious; be

metaphor (see page 21). abscond; clear

insightful; be mindful; be perceptive; be

out; decamp; depart; desert; disappear;

sensitive.

escape; exit; flee; fly; go; go away; leave;

A

moribund

move on; part; pull out; quit; retire; get

off

(my)

back

A

moribund

retreat; run away; take flight; take off; vacate; vanish; withdraw. ■ The most

metaphor (see page 21).

sensible thing to do was get out of Dodge.

get (it) off (your) chest A moribund

Replace with leave.

metaphor (see page 21). acknowledge;

admit; affirm; allow; avow; concede; con¬

get (it) out of (your) system A mori¬

fess; disclose; divulge; expose; grant; own;

bund metaphor (see page 21). acknowl¬

reveal; tell; uncover; unveil.

edge; admit; affirm; allow; avow; concede; confess; disclose; divulge; expose; grant;

get off on the wrong foot A moribund

own; reveal; tell; uncover; unveil.

metaphor (see page 21).

(don’t) get (your) panties in a bunch get off the dime A moribund metaphor

A moribund metaphor (see page 21). 1.

(see page 21). 1. be certain; be decided;

agitated; anxious; aroused; displeased; dis¬

be decisive; be determined; be positive; be

quieted; excited; flustered; perturbed;

resolute; be sure. 2. budge; move; stir.

troubled; upset; worried. 2. acerbated; angered; annoyed; bothered; disturbed;

get

off the

ground A moribund

metaphor (see page 21).

begin; com¬

mence; embark on; inaugurate; initiate;

exasperated;

galled;

irked;

irritated;

miffed; nettled; provoked; rankled; riled; roiled; upset; vexed.

introduce; launch; originate; start. ■ Like all true entrepreneurs, they were eager

get (your) skates on A moribund

to get another project off the ground.

metaphor

Replace with launch.

advance; bestir; bustle; charge; dash; go

(see

page

21).

accelerate;

faster; hasten; hurry; quicken; run; rush; get on

(my)

nerves A moribund

speed up; sprint.

metaphor (see page 21). annoy; badger;

bedevil; bother; chafe; distress; disturb;

get the ax A moribund metaphor (see

gall; grate; harass; harry; hassle; heckle;

page 21). canned; discharged; dismissed;

hector; hound; irk; irritate; nag; nettle;

fired; let go; ousted; released; sacked; ter¬

persecute; pester; plague; provoke; rankle;

minated.

rile; roil; tease; torment; vex. get (start) the ball rolling A moribund get on the stick A moribund metaphor

metaphor (see page 21).

(see page 21). be active; be lively; move;

mence; embark on; inaugurate; initiate;

stir.

introduce; launch; originate; start. 152

begin; com¬

(it’ll) get worse before it gets better

get the better of A moribund metaphor

get-up-and-go A moribund metaphor

(see page 21). 1. beat; conquer; crush;

(see page 21). ambition; bounce; dash;

defeat; outdo; overcome; overpower; over¬

drive; dynamism; elan; energy; enthusi¬

whelm; prevail; quell; rout; succeed; tri¬

asm; initiative; liveliness; motivation;

umph; trounce; vanquish; win. 2. outma-

spirit; verve; vigor; vim; vitality; vivacity; zeal.

neuver; outsmart; outwit. My body had got the better of me

(full of) get up and go A moribund

and could no longer be trusted. —

metaphor (see page 21). 1. active; alive;

Drowning

animated; dynamic; energetic; exuberant;

Christina

Schwarz,

frisky; indefatigable; inexhaustible; invig¬

Ruth

orated; lively; peppy; spirited; sprightly; get (give) the bum’s rush A moribund metaphor (see page 21). chuck; eject;

spry; tireless; unflagging; vibrant; vigor¬ ous; vivacious; zestful; zesty. 2. ambitious; assiduous; busy; determined; diligent;

expel; fling; throw out.

hard-working; industrious; motivated; (I)

get

metaphor

the

picture

A

moribund

(see page 21).

appreciate;

apprehend; comprehend; discern; fathom; grasp; know; perceive; realize; recognize; see; understand. get

the

metaphor

word (see

perseverant; persevering; persistent; sedu¬ lous. get up on the wrong side of the bed A moribund metaphor (see page 21). bad-

tempered; cantankerous; crabby; cranky; out page

cross; disagreeable; grouchy; ill-humored; A

moribund

21).

advertise;

announce; broadcast; disseminate; pro¬

ill-natured; ill-tempered; irascible; irrita¬ ble; quarrelsome; peevish; petulant; sple¬ netic; sullen; surly; testy.

claim; promote; promulgate; publicize; publish; trumpet.

get (her) walking papers A moribund metaphor (see page 21). canned; dis¬

(let’s) get this show on the road A

charged; dismissed; fired; let go; ousted;

moribund metaphor

released; sacked; terminated.

(see page 21).

begin; commence; embark; inaugurate; initiate; launch; originate; start.

get wind of A moribund metaphor (see page 21). ascertain; become aware of; dis¬

get to the bottom of (this) A mori¬

cover; find out; hear about; learn.

bund metaphor (see page 21). appreci¬

ate; apprehend; comprehend; discern;

get (our) wires crossed A moribund

fathom; grasp; know; perceive; realize; rec¬

metaphor (see page 21). baffle; befuddle;

ognize; see; understand.

bewilder; confound; confuse; disconcert; flummox; mix up; muddle; nonplus; per¬

get under (my) skin A moribund

plex; puzzle.

metaphor (see page 21). acerbate; anger;

annoy; bother; bristle; chafe; disturb; exas¬

(it’ll) get worse before it gets better A

perate; gall; grate; irk; irritate; miff; net¬

plebeian sentiment (see page 23). ■

tle; provoke; rankle; rile; roil; upset; vex.

Things will get worse at the bank before

they get better. 153

gild (paint) the lily

gild (paint)

the lily A moribund

metaphor (see page 21). overdo; over¬

give (him) a run for (his) money A moribund metaphor (see page 21).

state. give away the store A moribund give (her) a bum steer A moribund bamboozle;

metaphor (see page 21).

befool; beguile; betray; bilk; bluff; cheat; con; deceive; defraud; delude; dupe; feint; fool; gyp; hoodwink; lead astray; misdi¬ rect; misguide; misinform; mislead; spoof; swindle; trick. give (her) a dose (taste) of (her) own medicine A moribund metaphor (see page 21).

give and take An inescapable pair (see page

collaboration; cooperation;

20).

metaphor (see page 21).

give (her) a wide berth (to) A mori¬ bund metaphor (see page 21). avoid; bypass; circumvent; dodge; elude; evade; shun; sidestep; skirt. give birth (to) A moribund metaphor (see page 21). bring about; cause; effect; generate; give rise to; inaugurate; initiate; introduce; occasion; produce; provoke; residt in. give credit where credit is due A pop¬ ular prescription (see page 23).

exchange; reciprocity. give (my) eyeteeth (right arm) for A give (them) an inch and (they’ll) take

moribund metaphor (see page 21).

a mile A moribund metaphor (see page

21). give (them) a piece of (his) mind A moribund metaphor

(see page 21).

admonish; animadvert; berate; castigate; censure; chasten; chastise; chide; condemn;

give it a rest A moribund metaphor (see page 21). 1. be silent; be still; hush; keep quiet; quiet; silence. 2. cease; close; com¬ plete; conclude; derail; desist; discontinue; end; finish; halt; quit; settle; stop; termi¬ nate.

criticize; denounce; denunciate; discipline; impugn;

objurgate;

remonstrate;

punish;

reprehend;

rebuke;

reprimand;

reproach; reprobate; reprove; revile; scold; upbraid; vituperate. She didn’t come down to give them a piece of her mind because it was no use fighting; they were sometimes able to get me some small job or other, through the influence

of

Jimmy’s

give it a shot (whirl) A moribund metaphor (see page 21). aim; attempt; endeavor; essay; exert; labor; moil; strain; strive; struggle; toil; try hard; undertake; work at. give it (take) (your) best shot A mori¬ bund metaphor (see page 21). aim; attempt; endeavor; essay; exert; labor; moil; strain; strive; struggle; toil; try; try hard; undertake; work at; work hard.

uncle

Tambow, who delivered the vote

It was all very well to tell yourself,

of his relatives in the ward and was

as he had been doing for years,

a pretty big wheel in Republican

that all you could do was give it

ward politics. — Saul Bellow, The

your best shot. — Jane Smiley,

Adventures ofAugie March

Moo 154

give the thumbs up (sign)

given the fact that A wretched redun¬

give (him) the cold shoulder A mori¬

dancy (see page 25). because; considering;

bund metaphor (see page 21). abuse;

for; in that; since; when. ■ Given the fact

affront; avoid; disdain; disregard; ignore;

that all kibbutz youth were inducted

insult; neglect; offend; outrage; overlook;

into the army and commingled with

rebuff; reject; scorn; shun; sidestep; slap;

tens of thousands of potential mates

slight; slur; skirt; sneer; snub; spurn.

from outside their kibbutz before they got married, the rate of 200 marriages

give the devil his due A moribund

from within the same kibbutz is far

metaphor (see page 21).

more than could be expected by chance. REPLACE with Since. ■ I’d be interested in being a guest, but I gather you can’t even consider it given the fact that I live in Cancun. Replace WITH since. See

give (her) the pink slip A moribund metaphor (see page 21). discharge; dis¬

miss; fire; lay off; sack; suspend; terminate; throw out.

ALSO because of the fact that; by virtue of

the fact that; considering the fact that; in consideration of the fact that; in view of the fact that; on account of the fact that. (it) gives (me) something to do A ple¬ beian sentiment (see page 23). SEE ALSO

(it) keeps (me) busy; (it) keeps (me) out of trouble; (ids) something to do. give (him) the back of (my) hand A moribund metaphor

(see page 21).

give (him) the runaround A moribund metaphor (see page 21). avoid; dodge;

doubletalk;

equivocate;

evade; fence;

hedge; palter; prevaricate; quibble; shuffle; sidestep; tergiversate; waffle. give (him) the third degree A mori¬ bund metaphor (see page 21). catechize;

cross-examine; examine; grill; inquire; interrogate; pump; question; quiz; test.

abuse; ajfront; disdain; insult; offend; out¬ give the thumbs down (sign) A mori¬

rage; scorn; slap.

bund metaphor (see page 21). decline;

give (her) the brush (brush-off) A moribund metaphor

(see page 21).

abuse; affront; avoid; disdain; disregard;

deny; disallow; disapprove; forbid; nix; prohibit; proscribe; refuse; reject; rule out; say no; turn down; veto.

ignore; insult; neglect; offend; outrage; overlook; rebuff; reject; scorn; shun; side¬

give the thumbs up (sign) A moribund

step; slap; slight; slur; skirt; sneer; snub;

metaphor (see page 21). accredit; affirm;

spurn.

allow; approve; authorize; back; bless; cer¬ tify; countenance; endorse; favor; permit;

give (him) the business A moribund

ratify; sanction; support.

metaphor (see page 21). admonish; ani¬

madvert; berate; castigate; censure; chas¬ ten; chastise; chide; condemn; criticize; denounce; denunciate; discipline; impugn; objurgate; punish; rebuke; remonstrate; reprehend; reprimand; reproach; repro¬ bate; reprove; revile; scold; upbraid; vitu¬ perate. 155

give (me) the time of day

give (me) the time of day A moribund

grate; fail; fall short; flop; founder; miscar¬

metaphor (see page 21). be affable; be

ry; topple. ■ All the biotech start-ups in

approachable; be cordial; be friendly; be

the Bioventures portfolio would likely

genial; be pleasant; be polite; be receptive;

go belly up if the veterinary school is shut

be responsive; be sociable.

down. Replace with fail.

In about an hour, I would be sit¬

God is love A quack equation (see page

ting across the table from the most

23).

attractive woman who had ever stooped so low as to give me the

go downhill A moribund metaphor

time of day. — Don Keith, The

(see page 21). decay; decline; degenerate;

Forever Season

destroy; deteriorate; disintegrate; ebb; erode; fade; fall off; languish; lessen; plum¬ moribund

met; ruin; wane; weaken; wither; worsen.

metaphor (see page 21). cease to exist;

■ The bad news is that during the sec¬

decease; depart; die; expire; pass away;

ond night,

pass on; perish.

went downhill. REPLACE WITH deteriorat¬

give

up

the

ghost

A

everybody’s performance

ed. (a) glimmer of hope A moribund metaphor (see page 21). anticipation;

(he) goes An infantile phrase (see page

expectancy; expectation; hope; hopefulness;

20). Only the adolescent or the addle-

optimism; possibility; promise; prospect;

brained prefer this gruesome goes to

sanguinity.

acknowledge; admit; announce; assert; asseverate; aver; avow; comment; confess;

gloom and doom An inescapable pair

cry; declare; disclose; divulge; exclaim;

(see page 20).

mention; note; observe; proclaim; pro¬ nounce; remark; reveal; say; state; utter. ■

go against the grain (of) A moribund

They say they don’t know anything, and

metaphor (see page 21). buck; challenge;

then they go, “if we hear anything, we’ll

contradict; defy; disobey; dispute; disre¬

call you.” Replace with say.

gard; flout; go against; ignore; neglect;

walked into the room, and she goes,

oppose; overlook; resist; violate. ■ Does

“Guess what?” REPLACE WITH exclaims.

the message go against the grain ^corpo¬

■ I asked what do you like about her,

rate philosophy? REPLACE WITPI flout.

and he went, “I don’t know.” REPLACE

m

He

WITH confessed. ■ And then he goes, “I

It is not in our makeup to inter¬

don’t want to see you any more.”

vene. This goes against the grain,

Replace with announces.

is entirely out of our character. — Kate Walbert, Our Kind

go for the gold An infantile phrase (see page 20).

go ahead, make my day An infantile phrase (see page 20).

go for the gusto An infantile phrase (see page 20).

go belly up A moribund metaphor (see page 21). break down; collapse; disinte¬ 156

go into orbit

go forward A torpid term (see page 24).

going, going, gone An infantile phrase

1. advance; continue; develop; go on;

(see page 20).

grow; happen; improve; increase; make headway; make progress; move on; occur;

going

proceed; progress; take place. 2. shall; will;

metaphor (see page 21).

great

guns

A

moribund

delete. ■ The way in which this is drafted

going on (19) An infantile phrase (see

will allow those takeovers to go forward,

page 20). ■ I’m 69 going on 70. ■ I’ve

which would allow for a greater efficien¬

been there 5 years, going on 6years.

cy and productivity. REPLACE WITH pro¬

ceed. ■ It is still our expectation that the

Elizabeth Costello is a writer, born

summit will go forward and be produc¬

in 1928, which makes her sixty-six

tive. Replace with occur. ■ We look

years old, going on sixty-seven. —

forward to going forward. REPLACE WITH

J. M. Coetzee, Elizabeth Costello

proceeding. See ALSO a step forward; a

step (forward) in the right direction; move forward; move (forward) in the right direction; proceed forward. Going forward is replacing auxiliary verbs like will and shall, which to the politicians and businesspeople who now rely on going forward, do not convey futurity as effectively. Going forward, to these dimwitted thinkers,

seems to

reveal the future more forcefully; yet distinctions in tense, mood, and voice may be forfeited along with a subtle, yet

■

'

'A

■

going to hell in a handbasket A mori¬ bund metaphor (see page 21). collapse;

corrode; crumble; decay; decline; degener¬ ate; destroy; deteriorate; disintegrate; ebb; erode; fade; fail; fall off; fester; flag; lan¬ guish; lessen; plummet; putrefy; regress; rot; ruin; stagnate; ulcerate; wane; weak¬ en; wither; worsen. ■ The typical reac¬ tion people seem to have is that public education is going to hell in a handbas¬

ket. Replace with deteriorating.

indispensable, sense of what it means to

going (have) to live with that for the

be human. ■ This highlights perhaps the great¬ est risk to the economy going forward.

rest of my life A plebeian sentiment (see page 23).

Delete going forward. ■ We need to train more Iraqi troops going forward.

go (send) into a tailspin A moribund

DELETE going forward. ■ I cant wait to

metaphor (see page 21). 1. be unsuccess¬

share ideas about what we can do going

ful; bomb; break down; collapse; fail; fall

forward. Delete going forward. ■ Going

short; falter; fizzle; flop; fold; founder;

forward, as the company has more

mess up; miscarry; not succeed; stumble;

mature branches,

topple. 2.

its profit margins

be ailing; be anxious; be

should benefit and widen a bit more.

unhealthy; be ill; be sick; be sickly; be

DELETE going forward. ■ The company

unwell.

will continue to face challenges going

forward. DELETE going forward. ■ This

go into orbit A moribund metaphor

is an excellent opportunity for both

(see page 21). 1. be delighted; be ecstatic;

companies and we look forward to

be elated; be enraptured; be euphoric; be

maintaining positive momentum going

exalted; be excited; be exhilarated; be exul¬

forward. DELETE going forward.

tant; be gay; be glad; be gleeful; be good-

157

go kicking and screaming

humored; be happy; be intoxicated; be

good and sufficient An inescapable

jolly; be jovial; be joyful; be joyous; be

pair (see page 20). adequate; good; satis¬

jubilant; be merry; be mirthful; be over¬

factory; sufficient.

joyed; be pleased; be rapturous; be thrilled. 2. be angry; be annoyed; be enraged; be

(as) good as gold An insipid simile.

exasperated; be furious; be incensed; be

best; excellent; exceptional; fine; finest;

infuriated; be irate; be irked; be irritated;

first-class; first-rate; good; great; optimal;

be mad; be raging; be wrathful.

optimum; superior; superlative.

go kicking and screaming A moribund

good, bad, and (or) indifferent A tor¬

metaphor (see page 21). antagonistically;

pid term (see page 24). ■ We really don’t

defiantly; disagreeably; grudgingly; recal-

know what the effect will be; it could be

citrantly; reluctantly; renitently; resistant-

good, bad, or indifferent.

ly; resistingly; unconsentingly; unwillingly. (the) good, (the) bad, and (the) ugly golden opportunity An inescapable

An infantile phrase (see page 20). ■

pair (see page 20). ■ We have a golden

Teach yourself to open up more and

opportunity to prevent this cycle from

share with your readership by forcing

continuing.

yourself to look at the good, bad, and

ugly of your life. (a) goldmine of (information) A mori¬ bund metaphor (see page 21). See ALSO

(the) good doctor An infantile phrase

a barrage of. ■ His diary is nonetheless a

(see page 20). ■ I think everything the

goldmine of information about earlier

good doctor has said is hogwash.

American gay social life.

good egg A moribund metaphor (see go (run) like the wind An insipid sim¬

page 21). agreeable; decent; ethical; forth¬

ile. abruptly; apace; at once; briskly;

right; honest; just;

directly; expeditiously; fast; forthwith;

straight; trustworthy; upright; virtuous.

moral; righteous;

hastily; hurriedly; immediately; instanta¬ neously; instantly; posthaste; promptly;

(a) good man is hard to find A popu¬

quickly; rapidly; rashly; right away; speed¬

lar prescription (see page 23).

ily; straightaway; swiftly; wingedly. (the) good news is (that) An infantile (has) gone with the wind A moribund

phrase (see page 20). ■ The good news is

metaphor (see page 21). 1. be forgotten;

that most students report that speaking

dead; disappeared; dissolved; evaporated;

gets easier as the term progresses.

past; vanished. 2. ephemeral; evanescent; fleeting; flitting; fugacious; fugitive; short¬

(the) good old days A suspect superla¬

lived; transient; transitory; volatile. ■ I

tive (see page 24). antiquity; history; the

would retain some of what I read, and

past;yesterday. ■ Were going back to the

then it would very likely be gone with the

good old days on gas prices.

wind. Replace with vanish. (a) good read An infantile phrase (see page 20). This is a hideous expression 158

go (send) over the edge

that only the very badly read — those,

be reckless; be thoughtless; be unmindful;

that is, who read merely to be enter¬

be unthinking. 2. acerbate; anger; annoy;

tained — could possibly verbalize. The

bother; bristle; chafe; enrage; incense;

people who use this phrase are the peo¬

inflame; infuriate; irk; irritate; madden;

ple who read best-selling authors (See) ■

miff; provoke; rile; roil; vex.

This bookstore caters to those looking for a good read in paperback. REPLACE

go

WITH a readable paperback. ■ While

metaphor (see page 21). beat; best; bet¬

Foley’s piece on football stadiums was a

ter; defeat; eclipse; exceed; excel; outclass;

good read, it is entirely off the mark in megaplex.

outdo; outflank; outmaneuver; outpace; outperform; outplay; outrank; outrival;

REPLACE WITH entertaining. ■ It is hard

outsmart; outstrip; outthink; outwit; over¬

to make air-conditioning repair a good

come; overpower; overshadow; prevail;

read. REPLACE WITH captivating. SEE ALSO a (mustj read.

rout; surpass; top; triumph; trounce; van¬ quish; whip; win.

good riddance to bad rubbish An

goose egg A moribund metaphor (see

infantile phrase (see page 20).

page 21). cipher; naught; zero.

good (great) stuff When we need to use

(his) goose is cooked A moribund

the word stuff to describe something we

metaphor (see page 21).

terms

of

the

proposed

(her)

one

better A moribund

like, something we also call good or

great, we might wonder if we have lost

(kill) (the) goose that lays the golden

all sense of what is likable and what not.

egg A moribund metaphor (see page

Stuff best describes the nondescript

21).

and uneventful, the poor, the ordinary,

go overboard A moribund metaphor

and the pathetic.

(see page 21). exaggerate; hyperbolize;

good things come in small packages A

overdo; overreact; overstress; overstate.

popular prescription (see page 23).

go (send) over the edge A moribund (and a) good time was had by all An

metaphor (see page 21). 1. be unsuccess¬

infantile phrase (see page 20).

ful; bomb; break down; collapse; fail; fall short; falter; fizzle; flop; fold; founder;

moribund

mess up; miscarry; not succeed; stumble;

metaphor (see page 21). careless; emo¬

topple. 2. be ailing; be anxious; be

tional; foolhardy; hasty; headlong; heed¬

unhealthy; be ill; be sick; be sickly; be

less; impulsive; incautious; indiscreet; pre¬

unwell. 3. acerbate; anger; annoy; bother;

cipitate;

bristle; chafe; enrage; incense; inflame;

go

off

half-cocked

rash;

A

reckless;

thoughtless;

unmindful; unthinking.

infuriate; irk; irritate; madden; miff; pro¬ voke; rile; roil; vex.

go off the deep end A moribund metaphor (see page 21). 1. be careless; be

Jack is their guide: young and

emotional; be foolhardy; be hasty; be head¬

irreverent, thank God. Reverence

long; be heedless; be impulsive; be incau¬

would send Paul over the edge. —

tious; be indiscreet; be precipitate; be rash;

Julia Glass, Three Junes 159

go (head) south

go (head) south A moribund metaphor

go through the ceiling (roof) A mori¬

(see page 21). collapse; crash; decline;

bund metaphor (see page 21). bellow;

decrease; descend; dip; drop; ebb; fail; fall;

bluster; clamor; explode; fulminate; fume;

plummet; plunge; recede; regress; retire;

holler; howl; rage; rant; rave; roar; scream;

sink; slide; slip; subside; topple; tumble. ■

shout; storm; thunder; vociferate; yell.

And it is possible that the market rc\2cy go

south before the shares can be offered.

go through the mill A moribund

Replace WITH fall. U Obviously, any of

metaphor (see page 21).

these could cause your spirits to go south temporarily. REPLACE WITH ebb. ■ He

go (shoot) through the roof A mori¬

expressed some concern for her job if

bund metaphor (see page 21). ascend;

the

relationship

should

go

south.

Replace with fail.

balloon; billow; bulge; climb; escalate; expand; go up; grow; improve; increase; inflate; mount; multiply; rise; skyrocket;

moribund

soar; surge; swell. ■ Some people thought

metaphor (see page 21). ■ Average citi¬

it was an extravagance at a time when

zens who regularly go the extra mile to

billings aren’t exactly going through the

make this a better world are everywhere.

roof. REPLACE WITH soaring. ■ My qual¬

go

the

extra

mile

A

ity of life has gone through the ra^since

go their separate ways A moribund metaphor

(see page 21).

break up;

he quit his job. REPLACE WITH improved

immeasurably.

divorce; part; separate; split up. go to bat for A moribund metaphor go the way of all flesh A moribund

(see page 21). abet; advance; advocate;

metaphor (see page 21). cease to exist;

aid; assist;

decease; depart; die; end; expire; pass

defend; espouse; fight for; further; help;

away; pass on; perish.

support; uphold. ■ All I want to say is

back;

bolster;

champion;

that it is easier to go to bat for people

go the way of the dinosaur A mori¬

when

bund metaphor (see page 21). become

Replace with defend.

they recognize they’re wrong.

extinct; cease to exist; disappear; vanish. go

toe to

toe with A moribund

go the whole hog An infantile phrase

metaphor (see page 21). battle; compete;

(see page 20). do completely; do entirely;

contend; fight; struggle; vie.

do fully; do thoroughly; do totally; do utterly; do wholly; do wholeheartedly.

(we) got off on the wrong foot A mori¬ bund metaphor (see page 21).

Perhaps it was that if I was going to have a predawn wedding in a

go to pieces A moribund metaphor (see

crimson dress, I might as well go

page 21).

the whole hog and be hovering at

destroy; deteriorate; disintegrate; ebb;

an unsuspecting witness’s bedside

erode; fade; fall off; languish; lessen; ruin;

as he woke. — Suzannah Dunn,

wane; weaken; wither; worsen.

The Queen of Subtleties

160

decay; decline; degenerate;

(pure) gravy

go to pot A moribund metaphor (see

evaporate; exterminate; fade; obliterate;

decay; decline; degenerate;

pulverize; rack; ravage; raze; ruin; shatter;

destroy; deteriorate; disintegrate; ebb;

smash; undo; vanish; vaporize; volatilize;

erode; fade; fall off; languish; lessen; ruin;

wrack; wreck. ■ Everything I worked for

wane; weaken; wither; worsen.

over the last ten years is going up in

page 21).

smoke. REPLACE WITH evaporating. go

to

(her)

reward

A

moribund

metaphor (see page 21). cease to exist;

go

decease; depart; die; expire; pass away;

metaphor (see page 21). abide by; accede

pass on; perish.

to; accept; accommodate; acquiesce; adapt

with

the

flow

A

moribund

to; adhere to; adjust to; agree to; assent; be go (run) to seed A moribund metaphor

agreeable;

be

complacent;

bend;

be

(see page 21). decay; decline; degenerate;

resigned; bow; comply with; concede to;

deteriorate; devitalize; disintegrate; ebb;

concur; conform; consent to; fit; follow;

erode; fade; fall off; languish; lessen; ruin;

reconcile; submit; succumb; yield. ■ We

wane; weaken; wither; worsen.

have to go with the flow. REPLACE WITH

acquiesce. go to the dogs A moribund metaphor (see page 21). decay; decline; degenerate;

(as) graceful as a swan An insipid sim¬

destroy; deteriorate; disintegrate; ebb;

ile. agile; graceful; limber; lissome; lithe;

erode; fade; fall off; languish; lessen; ruin;

lithesome; nimble; supple.

wane; weaken; wither; worsen. grace (us) with (his) presence A torpid A moribund

term (see page 24). ■ Most of these

metaphor (see page 21). 1. battle; brawl;

essays first appeared in The New Yorker,

clash; fight; grapple; jostle; scuffle; skir¬

which Liebling graced with his presence

mish; tussle; war; wrestle. 2. advocate;

between 1935 and 1963.

go

to

the mat

aid; assist;

back;

(for)

champion; defend;

espouse; help; protect; shield; support;

(like)

Grand

Central

Station

An

uphold. 3. argue; dispute; fight; quarrel;

insipid simile.

wrangle.

brimming; bursting; chock-full; congested;

1. abounding; brimful;

crammed; crowded; dense; filled; full; go up in flames A moribund metaphor

gorged; jammed; jam-packed; overcrowd¬

(see page 21). annihilate; break down;

ed; overfilled; overflowing; packed; replete;

crumble; demolish; destroy; deteriorate;

saturated; stuffed; swarming; teeming. 2.

die; disintegrate; dissolve; end; eradicate;

busy; hectic.

exterminate; obliterate; pulverize; rack; ravage; raze; ruin; shatter; smash; undo;

(the) grass is (always) greener (on the

wrack; wreck.

other side of) A popular prescription (see page 23).

go up (the chimney) in smoke A mori¬ bund metaphor (see page 21). annihi¬

(pure)

late; break down; crumble; demolish;

(see page 21). 1. benefit; earnings; gain;

destroy; deteriorate; die; disappear; disin¬

money; proceeds; profit. 2. a benefit; a

tegrate; dissipate; dissolve; end; eradicate;

bonus; a dividend; a gift; a gratuity; a 161

gravy A moribund metaphor

gravy train

lagniappe; an extra; a perk; a perquisite; a

(the) great American novel A suspect

pourboire; a premium; a tip.

superlative (see page 24).

And he’d like being told the good

(the)

news.

metaphor (see page 21). afterlife; eterni¬

He’d

smile,

maybe.

Anything you win for nothing,

great

beyond

A

moribund

ty; everlastingness.

anything that falls into your lap, it’s all gravy, right? — Joyce Carol

(go) great guns A moribund metaphor

Oates, Blonde

(see page 21). abruptly; briskly; expedi¬

tiously; fast; hastily; hurriedly; posthaste; gravy train A moribund metaphor (see

promptly;

quickly;

rapidly;

speedily;

page 21).

straightaway; swifly; wingedly.

grease (her) palm with silver A mori¬

green around the gills A moribund

bund metaphor (see page 21). 1. bribe;

metaphor (see page 21). 1. afflicted; ail¬

induce; pay; suborn. 2. compensate; pay;

ing; diseased; ill; indisposed; infirm; not

recompense; tip.

(feeling)

well; sick; sickly; suffering;

unhealthy; unsound; unwell; valetudinar¬ grease the skids A moribund metaphor (see page 21). arrange; get ready; organ¬

ian. 2. nauseated; nauseous; queasy; sick; squeamish; vomiting.

ize; prepare; set up. (as) green as grass An insipid simile. 1. great A suspect superlative (see page 24). That which is called great is seldom more than good, and that which is good is scarcely mentionable. Great expecta¬

tions often turn out to be slight realiza¬ tions, and great stuff is seldom more than stuff.

Great is also, of course, a hugely

aquamarine; emerald; green; greenish; teal; verdant; virescent. 2. adolescent; art¬ less; awkward; callow; green; guileless; immature; inexperienced; inexpert; ingen¬ uous; innocent; juvenile; naive; raw; sim¬ ple; undeveloped; unfledged; unseasoned; unskilled;

unskillful;

unsophisticated;

overworked word. Consider this laugh¬

untaught; untrained; unworldly; young;

able sentence: ■ When I think of their

youthful.

golf course, the first word that comes to mind is great. Alternatives to the quotidian great

green-eyed

monster

A

moribund

metaphor (see page 21). envy; jealousy.

include consequential; considerable; con¬

summate; distinguished; eminent; excel¬ lent; exceptional; exemplary; exquisite; extraordinary; fine; flawless; grand; ideal; illustrious; impeccable; imposing; impres¬ sive; magnificent; marvelous; matchless; momentous; nonpareil; notable; notewor¬ thy; perfect; preeminent; remarkable; select; splendid; superb; superior; superla¬ tive; supreme; transcendent; weighty; won-

green light A moribund metaphor (see page 21). allowance; approval; assent;

authority; authorization; blessing; con¬ sent; freedom; leave; liberty; license; per¬ mission; permit; power; sanction; war¬ rant. Like red light, the expression green

light appeals to people who grasp the meaning of colorful visuals and expres¬ sive pictures more easily than they do 162

guesstimate

polysyllabic words

and complicated

thoughts. Some people upgrade simple

(get in on the) ground floor A mori¬ bund metaphor (see page 21).

or straightforward ideas to unintelligible ones;

others degrade substantive or

nuanced ideas to unsophisticated ones.

ground zero A moribund metaphor (see page 21).

Green light is an example of the latter, but both tactics suggest an insincere

grow (spread) like a cancer An insipid

mind, an unknowable heart.

simile, augment; breed; duplicate; grow;

■ The Baby Bells — which already

increase; metastasize; multiply; mush¬

have the green light to go into just about

room; procreate; proliferate; propagate;

any other venture — have railed against

reproduce; snowball; spread; swell.

the remaining restrictions since they were imposed. REPLACE WITH permis¬

sion. ■ The FBI was given the green light by the Justice Department to continue its investigation. Replace WITH author¬

ization. ■ Why would we be surprised

(doesn’t) grow on trees A moribund metaphor (see page 21). exiguous; limit¬

ed; inadequate; infrequent; meager; rare; scant; scanty; scarce; sparse; uncommon; unusual.

when others take that message as a green

light to lie, cheat, steal, and do whatever will

benefit

them?

REPLACE

WITH

license. See ALSO red light. green with envy A moribund metaphor (see page 21). covetous; desirous; envious;

grudging; jealous; resentful.

gruesome twosome An infantile phrase (see page 20). guardedly optimistic A torpid term (see page 24).

confident; encouraged;

heartened; hopeful; optimistic; rosy; san¬ guine. ■ Firefighters are guardedly opti¬

grim reaper A moribund metaphor (see

mistic that they have the blaze under control.

page 21). death.

DELETE guardedly.

■ Were

guardedly optimistic that this synthetic grin and bear it A popular prescription

compound may work. DELETE guarded¬

(see page 23).

ly. See ALSO cautiously optimistic.

grind to a halt A moribund metaphor

guardian angel A suspect superlative

(see page 21). cease; close; complete; con¬

(see page 24). liberator; redeemer; rescuer;

clude; end; finish; halt; settle; stop; termi¬

savior.

nate. ■ Once it becomes apparent that no payment is forthcoming, construc¬

guesstimate An infantile phrase (see

tion activity can quickly grind to a halt.

page 20). appraisal; assessment; estimate;

Replace with halt.

estimation; guess; impression; opinion. ■ If you would like a guesstimate of time

grist

for

the

mill

A

moribund

metaphor (see page 21).

required for your site, we would be happy to give you one. REPLACE WITH

estimate. ■ Yet with just a few moments gross exaggeration An inescapable pair

of thought you can make a surprisingly

(see page 20). embellishment; exaggera¬

good guesstimate. Replace WITH guess. ■

tion; hyperbole; overstatement.

They were asked to guess what the con163

(as) guilty as sin

tents were and guesstimate how many

(anyone with) half a brain A mori¬

objects were in the envelope. REPLACE

bund metaphor (see page 21).

WITH guess.

Guesstimate is a perfectly ridiculous merger that people who are uncomfort¬

half a loaf is better than none A mori¬ bund metaphor (see page 21).

able with using guess will turn to. Most of us prefer knowing to not knowing, or

half-baked

at least we prefer letting others believe

metaphor (see page 21). bad; blemished;

Guesstimate,

defective; deficient; faulty; flawed; ill-con¬

these people reason, adds intelligence

ceived; imperfect; inadequate; incomplete;

and respectability to their wild guess,

inferior; malformed; poor; unsound.

we

are

knowledgeable.

(idea)

A

moribund

their unsubstantiated estimate. (go at it) hammer and tongs A mori¬ (as) guilty as sin An insipid simile, at

bund metaphor (see page 21). actively;

fault; blamable; blameful; blameworthy;

aggressively; dynamically; emphatically;

censurable; condemnable; culpable; guilty;

energetically; fast; ferociously; fervently;

in error; reprehensible.

fiercely; forcefully; frantically; frenziedly; furiously; hard; intensely; intently; might¬

(a) guilty conscience needs no accuser

ily; passionately; powerfully; robustly; sav¬

A popular prescription (see page 23).

agely; spiritedly; strenuously; strongly; vehemently; viciously; vigorously; violent¬ ly; wildly; with vigor. Fie’d always been of the hammer-

H

and-tongs school. She tau* necessity

of

stillness.

—

Ian

McEwan, Amsterdam. handed to (her) on a silver platter A (a) hailstorm of A moribund metaphor

moribund metaphor (see page 21).

(see page 21). ■ Thus, President Gerald R.

Ford’s

1974

pardon

of former

hand and

(in)

glove A moribund

President Richard M. Nixon provoked a

metaphor (see page 21). amiable; amica¬

hailstorm ^/criticism and may have con¬

ble; attached; brotherly; chummy; close;

tributed to Mr. Ford’s defeat two years

confidential; devoted; familiar; friendly;

later by Jimmy Carter. SEE ALSO a bar¬

inseparable; intimate; loving; thick.

rage of. (goes)

hand in hand A moribund

hale and hearty An inescapable pair

metaphor (see page 21). be indissoluble;

(see page 20). energetic; fine; fit; good;

be indivisible; be inseparable; be together.

hale; healthful; healthy; hearty; robust; sound; strong; vigorous; well.

164

(as) happy as a clam (at high tide)

beginning religion and education

smart and good-intentioned each

went hand in hand. — Chinua

of us is or thinks he is. — Richard

Achebe, Things Fall Apart

Ford, The Sportswriter

hand over fist A moribund metaphor

hang in there A moribund metaphor

(see page 21). apace; briskly; expeditious¬

(see page 21). carry on; get along; man¬

ly; fast; hastily; hurriedly; posthaste;

age; succeed. ■ Even though profits

quickly; rapidly; speedily; swifily; winged-

remain down, most firms are still hang¬

ly.

ing in there. REPLACE WITH succeeding. ■ I’m hanging in there. REPLACE WITH

(my)

hands are tied A moribund

managing.

metaphor (see page 21).

hang like a cloud (over) An insipid (the) hand that rocks the cradle (rules

simile. 1. becloud; cloak; darken; eclipse;

the world) A popular prescription (see

mask; obscure; shroud; veil. 2. belittle;

page 23).

confound; degrade; demean; embarrass; humiliate; lower; shame. ■ Their parents’

handwriting (is) on the wall A mori¬

divorce hangs like a cloud over their lives.

bund metaphor (see page 21). divina¬

Replace with

tion; foreboding; forewarning; indication;

nothing that Jesus does not understand

omen; portent; prediction; premonition;

about the heartache that hangs like a

presage; presentiment; sign; signal; warn-

cloud over the history of our lives.

ing.

REPLACE WITH darkens. ■ The after-

beclouds. ■ There is

math of the bitter July incident hangs

hang (hold) (on) by a thread A mori¬

like a cloud over professors, students,

bund metaphor (see page 21). ■ The

and administrators alike. REPLACE WITH

small towns in western Massachusetts

embarrasses. SEE ALSO cast a shadow

are holding on by a thread.

(over).

hang fire A moribund metaphor (see

hang on every word A moribund

page 21). 1. be delayed; be slow. 2. be

metaphor (see page 21). attend to; hark;

undecided; be unsettled.

hear; hearken; heed; listen; pay attention; pay heed.

hang

(your)

hat on A moribund

metaphor (see page 21).

hang over (our) heads A moribund metaphor

(see page 21).

hang over;

hang (our) hats A moribund metaphor

impend; loom; menace; overhang; over¬

(see page 21). dwell; inhabit; live; reside;

shadow; threaten; tower over.

stay. (these things) happen to other peo¬ It is not the same as Hoving Road

ple, not to (me) A plebeian sentiment

where we all once hung our hats,

(see page 23).

but things change in ways none of no matter how

(as) happy as a clam (at high tide) An

much we know or how

insipid simile, blissful; blithe; buoyant;

us can expect, damn

165

(as) happy as a lark

cheerful; delighted; ecstatic; elated; enrap¬

hard and fast (rule) A moribund

tured; euphoric; exalted; excited; exhila¬

metaphor (see page 21). absolute; bind¬

rated; exultant; gay; glad; gleeful; good-

ing;

humored; happy; intoxicated; jolly; jovial;

entrenched; established; exact; exacting;

joyful; joyous; jubilant; merry; mirthful;

fast; firm; fixed; hard; immutable; inflex¬

overjoyed; pleased; rapturous; thrilled.

ible; invariable; permanent; resolute;

certain;

defined;

dogmatic;

rigid; set; severe; solid; steadfast; strict; (as) happy as a lark An insipid simile.

stringent;

unalterable;

unbending;

blissful; blithe; buoyant; cheerful; delight¬

uncompromising; unyielding. ■ Events

ed; ecstatic; elated; enraptured; euphoric;

are happening too quickly in Eastern

exalted; excited; exhilarated; exultant;

Europe to make hard and fast plans at

gay; glad; gleeful; good-humored; happy;

this point. REPLACE WITH firm.

intoxicated; jolly; jovial; joyful; joyous; jubilant;

merry;

mirthful;

overjoyed;

(as) hard as a rock An insipid simile. 1. adamantine; firm; granitelike; hard;

pleased; rapturous; thrilled.

petrified; rock-hard; rocklike; rocky; solid; They are happy as larks, they shine

steellike; steely; stonelike; stony. 2. athletic;

with

—

beefy; brawny; burly; firm; fit; hale;

The Time

hardy; hearty; husky; manly; mighty; mus¬

HHI

cular; powerful; puissant; robust; rugged;

their luck,

their joy.

Audrey Niffenegger,

Travelers Wife

sinewy; solid; stalwart; stout; strapping;

(as) happy as Larry An insipid simile.

strong; sturdy; tough; vigorous; virile;

blissful; blithe; buoyant; cheerful; delight¬

well-built. 3. constant; dependable; deter¬

ed; ecstatic; elated; enraptured; euphoric;

mined; faithful; fast; firm; fixed; inex¬

exalted; excited; exhilarated; exultant;

orable; inflexible; loyal; obdurate; resolute;

gay; glad; gleeful; good-humored; happy;

resolved; rigid; solid; stable; staunch;

intoxicated; jolly; jovial; joyful; joyous;

steadfast;

jubilant;

unflinching; unwavering; unyielding.

merry;

mirthful;

overjoyed;

steady;

stern;

tenacious;

pleased; rapturous; thrilled. (as) hard as nails An insipid simile. happy camper An infantile phrase (see

1. athletic; beefy; brawny; burly; firm; fit;

page 20). blissful; blithe; buoyant; cheer¬

hale; hardy; hearty; husky; manly; mighty;

ful; delighted; ecstatic; elated; enraptured;

muscular; powerful; puissant; robust;

euphoric; exalted; excited; exhilarated;

rugged; sinewy; solid; stalwart; stout;

exultant;

good-

strapping; strong; sturdy; tough; vigorous;

humored; happy; intoxicated; jolly; jovial;

virile; well-built. 2. constant; dependable;

joyful; joyous; jubilant; merry; mirthful;

determined; faithful; fast; firm; fixed;

overjoyed; pleased; rapturous; thrilled. ■

inexorable; inflexible; loyal; obdurate; res¬

The six families who bought in to the

olute;

project, all at full price, are not happy

staunch; steadfast; steady; stern; tenacious;

campers these days.

unflinching; unwavering; unyielding.

gay;

glad;

gleeful;

REPLACE WITH

resolved;

rigid;

solid;

stable;

pleased. hard (tough) nut to crack A moribund (a) hard (tough) act to follow A mori¬

metaphor (see page 21).

bund metaphor (see page 21).

backbreaking; 166

1. arduous;

burdensome;

difficult;

has both feet on the ground

exhausting; fatiguing; hard; herculean;

compassionate;

laborious; not easy; onerous; severe; strenu¬

good-hearted; humane; kind; kind-heart¬

ous; toilful; toilsome; tough; troublesome;

ed; kindly; sensitive; sympathetic; under¬

trying;

standing.

wearisome.

2.

impenetrable;

big-hearted; generous;

incomprehensible; inexplicable; inscrut¬ able; mysterious; obscure; unexplainable;

has a heart of gold A moribund

unfathomable; ungraspable; unintelligi¬

metaphor

ble; unknowable.

benevolent; compassionate; big-hearted;

(see page 21).

beneficent;

generous; good-hearted; good-natured; hard (rough) on the eyes A moribund

humane; kind; kind-hearted; kindly; sen¬

metaphor (see page 21). coarse; homely;

sitive; sympathetic; understanding.

ill-favored; plain;

ugly;

unattractive;

unbeautiful; uncomely; unsightly.

has a heart of stone A moribund metaphor (see page 21). apathetic; cal¬

hard (tough) row to hoe A moribund

lous; chilly; cold; cool; detached; dispas¬

metaphor (see page 21). arduous; back¬

sionate; distant; emotionless; figid; gla¬

breaking; burdensome; difficult; exhaust¬

cial; hard; hardhearted; harsh; heartless;

ing; fatiguing; hard; herculean; laborious;

hostile; icy; impassive; indifferent; passion¬

not easy; onerous; severe; strenuous; toilful;

less;

toilsome;

unemotional; unfeeling; unfiendly; unre¬

tough;

troublesome;

trying;

pitiless;

reserved;

unconcerned;

wearisome.

sponsive.

hard to believe A torpid term (see page

has an effect on A wretched redundan¬

24). beyond belief; beyond comprehension;

cy (see page 25). acts on; affects; bears on;

doubtful; dubious; farfetched; implausi¬

influences; sways; works on. ■ That’s one

ble; improbable; incomprehensible; incon¬

of the problems that has an effect on

ceivable; incredible; inexplicable; ques¬

everyone’s quality of life. REPLACE WITH

tionable; remote; unbelievable; unimagin¬

affects. See also effect.

able; unlikely; unrealistic. has an impact on A wretched redun¬ hard (tough) to swallow A moribund

dancy (see page 25). acts on; affects; bears

metaphor (see page 21). 1. beyond belief;

on; influences; sways; works on. ■ That

beyond comprehension; doubtful; dubious;

too had an impact on the jury. REPLACE

farfetched;

with swayed. See also impact.

implausible;

improbable;

incomprehensible; inconceivable; incredi¬ ble; inexplicable; questionable; remote;

has

a

swelled

head A moribund

unbelievable;

unimaginable; unlikely;

metaphor (see page 21). arrogant; cava¬

unrealistic. 2. disagreeable; distasteful;

lier; conceited; disdainful; egocentric; ego¬

indigestible; unpalatable; unpleasant.

tistic; egotistical; haughty; lofty; pompous; pretentious; proud; narcissistic; self-cen¬

has a finger in every pie A moribund

tered; self-important; self-satisfied; super¬

metaphor (see page 21).

cilious; superior; vain.

has a heart as big as all outdoors An

has both feet on the ground A mori-

insipid simile,

beneficent; benevolent;

bund metaphor (see page 21). 167

busi-

has (his) hands hill

nesslike; careful; cautious; circumspect;

charge; in command; in control; manage;

expedient; judicious; politic; practical;

manipulate; master; misuse; order; over¬

pragmatic; prudent; realistic; reasonable;

power; oversee; predominate; prevail; reign

sensible; utilitarian.

over; rule; superintend; tyrannize; use.

has

hands full A moribund

hat in hand A moribund metaphor (see

metaphor (see page 21). booked; busy;

page 21). diffidently; humbly; meekly;

employed; engaged; involved; obligated;

modestly; respecfully; unassumingly.

(his)

occupied. haul (rake) over the coals A moribund has (him) in the palm of (my) hand A

metaphor (see page 21). admonish; ani¬

moribund metaphor (see page 21). be in

madvert; berate; castigate; censure; chas¬

charge; be in command; be in control.

ten; chastise; chide; condemn; criticize; denounce; denunciate; discipline; excori¬

has the patience of Job A moribund

ate;

fulminate

against;

imprecate;

accepting;

impugn; inveigh against; objurgate; pun¬

accommodating; acquiescent; complacent;

ish; rebuke; remonstrate; reprehend; repri¬

complaisant; compliant; cowed; deferen¬

mand; reproach; reprobate; reprove; revile;

tial; docile; dutiful; easy; forbearing; gen¬

scold; swear at; upbraid; vituperate.

metaphor

(see

page

21).

tle; humble; long-suffering; meek; mild; obedient; passive; patient; prostrate; quiet;

have a conniption (fit) A moribund

reserved; resigned; stoical; submissive; sub¬

metaphor (see page 21). bellow; bluster;

servient; timid; tolerant; tractable; unas¬

clamor; explode; fulminate; fume; holler;

suming; uncomplaining; yielding.

howl; rage; rant; rave; roar; scream; shout; storm; thunder; vociferate; yell.

has to do with A wretched redundancy (see page 25). concerns; deals with; is

have a good (nice) day (evening) A

about; pertains to; regards; relates to. ■

plebeian sentiment (see page 23). We

The most recent academy committee

are bovine creatures who find that for¬

mission has to do with climate-monitor¬

mulas rather than feelings suit us well

ing satellites. REPLACE WITH concerns.

enough; indeed, they suit us mightily. How pleasant it is not to have to think

has two left feet A moribund metaphor

of a valid sentiment when a vapid one

(see page 21). awkward; blundering;

does so nicely; how effortless to rely on

bumbling;

triteness rather than on truth.

gauche;

bungling;

clumsy; gawky;

ham-handed;

heavy-handed;

Dimwitticisms veil our true feelings

inapt; inept; lubberly; lumbering; mal¬

and avert our real thoughts. SEE ALSO

adroit; uncoordinated; uncouth; ungainly;

common courtesy.

ungraceful;

unhandy;

unskillful;

unwieldy.

have

a

hemorrhage

A

moribund

metaphor (see page 21). bellow; bluster;

has (him) under (her) thumb A mori¬

clamor; explode; fulminate; fume; holler;

bund metaphor (see page 21). adminis¬

howl; rage; rant; rave; roar; scream; shout;

ter; boss; command; control; dictate;

storm; thunder; vociferate; yell.

direct; dominate; domineer; govern; in 168

(has a good) head on (his) shoulders

have (take) a listen An infantile phrase

(the) haves A moribund metaphor (see

(see page 20). listen. As inane as it is

page 21). affluent; comfortable; moneyed;

insulting, have (take) a listen obviously

opulent; privileged; prosperous;

says nothing that listen alone does not.

wealthy; well-off; well-to-do.

rich;

Journalists and media personalities who use this offensive phrase ought to be

(you) have to learn to walk before

silenced;

(you) can run A popular prescription

businesspeople,

dismissed;

public officials, pilloried.

(see page 23).

■ But some fans will take a walk and

take a listen to the sales pitch, intrigued

(you) have to love (yourself) before

by such generous offers and possibility

(you) can love another A popular pre¬

of making such a huge profit. REPLACE

scription (see page 23).

WITH listen. ■ It has been far too long since I have had the opportunity to hear

(you) have (your) whole life ahead of

the Seneca Chamber Orchestra, so I

(you) A popular prescription (see page

went over to Christ Church United

23).

Methodist to have a listen, and boy, has it grown. REPLACE WITH listen. ■ Take a

(stand) head and shoulders above (the

listen and decide for yourself. REPLACE

rest) A moribund metaphor (see page

WITH Listen. ■ But first we will take a

21). abler; better; exceptional; greater;

listen to attorney Frederic Woocher

higher; more able (accomplished; adept;

arguing against the law. REPLACE WITH

capable; competent; qualified; skilled; tal¬

listen.

ented); outstanding; standout; superior; superlative. ■ By now, a few names

have (me) by the ears A moribund

should clearly be heads and shoulders

metaphor (see page 21). clasp; cleave

above all others. REPLACE WITH better

(to); clench; clutch; grab; grasp; grip; hold;

than.

secure; seize. head

for

the

hills

A

moribund

In spite of the recent falls in the

metaphor (see page 21). abscond; clear

value of the Nasdaq index and the

out; decamp; depart; desert; disappear;

value of Amazon stock, the new

escape; exit; flee; fly; go; go away; leave;

technology had the city by the ears

move on; part; pull out; quit; retire;

.... — Salman Rushdie, Fury

retreat; run away; take flight; take off; vacate; vanish; withdraw.

(the) have-nots A moribund metaphor (see page 21). bankrupt; broke; destitute;

head in the clouds and feet on the

distressed; impecunious; impoverished;

ground A moribund metaphor (see

indigent; insolvent; needy; penniless; poor;

page 21).

poverty- stricken; underprivileged. ■ You, me, and many others can afford to pay a

head into the home stretch A mori¬

little more for health insurance if it gives

bund metaphor (see page 21).

some to the have-nots. REPLACE WITH

indigent.

(has a good) head on (his) shoulders A moribund metaphor (see page 21). 169

head on the block

able; adroit; apt; astute; bright; brilliant;

mouth;

belittle;

besmirch;

bespatter;

capable; clever; competent; discerning;

blacken; calumniate; defame; defile; deni¬

effective; effectual; efficient; enlightened;

grate; denounce; depreciate; deride; dis¬

insightful; intelligent; judicious; keen;

parage; impugn; insult; libel; malign; pro¬

knowledgeable; learned; logical; luminous;

fane; revile; scandalize; slander; slap; slur;

perceptive; perspicacious; quick; rational;

smear; sully; taint; traduce; vilify; vitiate.

reasonable; sagacious; sage; sapient; sensi¬ ble; sharp; shrewd; smart; sound; under¬

hear by (via) the grapevine A mori¬

standing; wise.

bund metaphor (see page 21).

head

on

the

block A

moribund

metaphor (see page 21).

heart and soul A moribund metaphor (see page 21). 1. altogether; completely; entirely; fully; perfectly; quite; roundly;

head over heels A moribund metaphor (see page 21). altogether; ardently; com¬

pletely; deeply; earnestly; entirely; fervent¬ ly; fully; intensely; passionately; perfectly; quite; roundly; thoroughly; totally; unre¬ servedly; utterly; wholly; zealously.

metaphor (see page 21). besotted; crazed;

infatuated;

lovesick;

wholly. 2. earnestly; fervently; genuinely; heartily; honestly; sincerely; unreservedly; wholeheartedly. (a)

heartbeat

away

A

moribund

metaphor (see page 21).

head over heels (in love) A moribund haunted;

thoroughly; totally; unreservedly; utterly;

mad;

obsessed; possessed; smitten. Even in his Mammon days, he always leaned to the general while I tumbled head over heels into the

(my) heart bleeds for (you) A mori¬ bund metaphor (see page 21). commiser¬

ate; empathize; feel bad; feel sorry; pity; sympathize. (his) heart is in the right place A moribund metaphor (see page 21). be

well-intentioned.

particular; he loved ideas and 1 personalities; he was all for argu¬

(you) hear what I’m saying? An inef¬

ment and I yearned for gossip. —

fectual phrase (see page 19). ■ She’s the

Louis Auchincloss, The Rector of

one who did it, not me. You hear what

Justin

I’m saying? DELETE You hear what I’m saying? See ALSO (you) know what I

(as) healthy as a horse An insipid sim¬

mean? (you) know what I’m saying; (you)

ile. athletic; beefy; brawny; energetic; fine;

know what I’m telling you? (do) you know?.

fit; good; hale; hardy; hearty; healthful; healthy; husky; lanky; lean; manly; mus¬ cular; powerfid; robust; shapely; sinewy;

(I) hear you An infantile phrase (see

slender; solid; sound; stalwart; strong;

page 20). appreciate; apprehend; compre¬

sturdy; thin; trim; vigorous; virile; well;

hend; grasp; see; understand.

well-built. (the) heat is on A moribund metaphor heap dirt (scorn) on A moribund metaphor (see page 21). asperse; bad-

(see page 21). be coerced; be compelled; be

forced; be pressured. 170

here today, gone tomorrow

heaven on earth A moribund metaphor

cantankerous; choleric; churlish; crabby;

(see page 21). ambrosial; angelic; beatif¬

cranky; cross; curmudgeonly; disagreeable;

ic; blissful; delightful; divine; enchanting;

dyspeptic; grouchy; gruff; grumpy; ill-

glorious; godlike; godly; heavenly; joyful;

humored; ill-tempered; irascible; irritable;

magnificent; resplendent; splendid; sub¬

mad; peevish; petulant; quarrelsome;

lime.

short-tempered; splenetic; surly; testy; vexed.

(as) heavy as lead An insipid simile. bulky; heavy; hefty; weighty.

hem and haw An inescapable pair (see page 20).

(through) hell and high water A mori¬

dally; dawdle; hesitate; vacillate; waver.

bund metaphor (see page 21). adversity; affliction; calamity; catastrophe; difficulty;

hemorrhage red ink A moribund

distress; hardship; misadventure; misfor¬

metaphor (see page 21).

tune; ordeal; trial; tribulation; trouble; woe.

(like a) herd of elephants An insipid simile.

hell (hellbent) for leather A moribund metaphor (see page 21).

breakneck;

(right) here and now An inescapable

brisk; fast; hasty; hurried; immediate;

pair (see page 20). currently; now; nowa¬

madcap; prompt; quick; rapid; rash;

days; presently; the present; today.

speedy; swift; wild; winged. ■ Connors clearly thought that he had more to gain

here’s the thing An ineffectual phrase

by pursuing his hell-for-leather expan¬

(see page 19). ■ Here's the thing, whoev¬

sion in the region.

er is mayor must be able to work with the community. DELETE Here’s the thing.

hell has no fury like

(a woman

scorned) An insipid simile.

■ Here’s the thing, men don’t even know that we’re different. DELETE Here’s the thing. See ALSO that’s the thing; the thing

hell on earth A moribund metaphor

about (of) it is; the thing is.

(see page 21). chthonian; chthonic; hell¬ ish; impossible; infernal; insufferable;

here,

there,

and

insupportable; intolerable; painful; plu-

wretched redundancy (see page 25). all

tonic; sulfurous; unbearable; uncomfort¬

over;

able; unendurable; unpleasant; stygian;

ubiquitous.

everywhere;

everywhere

A

omnipresent;

tartarean. ■ Being a stepmother is hell on earth. REPLACE WITH hellish. See

here today, gone tomorrow An infan¬

ALSO a living hell.

tile phrase (see page 20). brief; ephemer¬ al; evanescent; fleeting; flitting; fugacious;

hell on wheels A moribund metaphor

fugitive; impermanent; momentary; pass¬

(see page 21). 1. boisterous; disorderly;

ing; short; short-lived; temporary; tran¬

feral; obstreperous; rambunctious; riotous;

sient; transitory; volatile. ■ I still love it

roistering; rowdy; uncontrolled; undisci¬

even though nothing is as here today,

plined; unrestrained; unruly; untamed;

gone tomorrow as a job in TV. REPLACE

wild. 2. angry; bad-tempered; bilious;

WITH fleeting. ■ In politics, issues that

171

here to stay

are here today are gone

■ You have a sharp mind for business

tomorrow.

REPLACE with are ephemeral.

and know how to relate to those who are self-employed or who work in uncon¬

here to stay An infantile phrase (see

ventional careers (because, hey, you’re

page 20), constant; deep-rooted; endur¬

part of the group!).

ing; entrenched; established; everlasting; fixed; lasting; long-lived; permanent;

hide (their) heads in the sand A mori¬

secure; stable; unending. ■ They ques¬

bund metaphor (see page 21). brush

tioned whether ability grouping is here

aside; avoid; discount; disregard; dodge;

to stay. Replace with permanent.

duck; ignore; neglect; omit; pass over; recoil from; shrink from; shun; shy away

hero A suspect superlative (see page 24).

from; turn away from; withdraw from. ■

Seldom someone who strives valorously

Even when informed of the problem,

to achieve a noble goal, hero has come to

some denominations are continuing to

mean anyone who simply does his job

hide their heads in the sand.

or, perhaps, doing it, dies. As often, hero is used to describe a person who behaves

(neither) hide nor (or) hair A mori¬

ethically or suitably — merely, as he was

bund metaphor (see page 21). nothing;

told or taught.

sign; soupgon; trace; vestige.

Only comic book characters and car¬ toon creatures, today, define the word

(left) high and dry An inescapable pair

well.

(see page 20). abandoned; alone; desert¬

■ The

brother of former POW

Jessica Lynch is calling his sister a hero.

ed; forgotten; helpless; left; powerless; stranded.

■ A two-year-old boy who dialed 999

:

5

" v\

..

' s' '; ;

.

.;

.

after his mother suffered an epileptic fit

His voice trailed off, he didn’t

was today hailed a “little herd" by police

know where; it left him high and

in England. ■ Juventus goal hero David

dry, just staring at Ikmen like a

Trezeguet says his teammates are confi¬

fool. — Barbara Nadel, Belshaz¬

dent they can reach the Champions

zars

League final after last night’s 2-1 defeat by Real Madrid. ■ A Brazilian bulldoz¬

high and low An inescapable pair (see

er driver has become a national hero

page 20). all around; all over; all through;

after refusing to knock down a house

broadly; everyplace; everywhere; extensive¬

shared by a single mother and her seven

ly; throughout; ubiquitously; universally;

children. H A male nurse who died of

widely. See ALSO far and wide; lefi and

SARS was yesterday given a hero’s funer¬

right.

al attended by Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa.

high and mighty An inescapable pair (see page 20). arrogant; cavalier; conceit¬

hey An infantile phrase (see page 20).

ed; condescending; contemptuous; despot¬

As a substitute for hello or hi, hey is a

ic; dictatorial; disdainful; dogmatic; dom¬

cheerless one. Perhaps the best way to

ineering; haughty; imperious; insolent;

discourage people from using hey is to

lofiy; overbearing; overweening; patroniz¬

respond with a hearty diddle, diddle?

ing; pompous; pretentious; scornful; self-

172

hit over the head

important; supercilious; superior; vainglo¬

prevail; progress; prosper; succeed; thrive;

rious.

triumph; win.

(as) high as a kite An insipid simile. 1.

hit (strike; touch) a nerve A moribund

agitated; aroused;

metaphor (see page 21).

ebullient;

effusive;

enthused; elated; excitable; excited; exhila¬ rated; expansive; impassioned; inflamed;

hit (him) (straight) between the eyes

overwrought; stimulated. 2. besotted; cra¬

A moribund metaphor (see page 21).

pulous; drunk; inebriated; intoxicated;

amaze; astonish; astound; awe; dazzle;

sodden; stupefied; tipsy.

dumbfound; flabbergast; overpower; over¬ whelm; shock; startle; stun; stupefy; sur¬

high (top) man on the totem pole A moribund metaphor

prise.

(see page 21).

administrator; boss; brass; chief; com¬

hit

(rock)

bottom

mander; director; executive; foreman;

metaphor

head; headman; leader; manager; master;

broke; destitute; distressed; impecunious;

(high) muckamuck; officer; official; over¬

impoverished; indigent; insolvent; penni¬

seer; president; principal; superintendent;

less; poor; poverty-stricken.

(see

page

A

moribund

21).

bankrupt;

supervisor. hitch (your) wagon to a star A mori¬ (give)

high

marks

A

moribund

bund metaphor (see page 21). be ambi¬

tious; be determined; be motivated; be

metaphor (see page 21).

striving. high on the hog A moribund metaphor (see page 21).

extravagantly; lavishly;

luxuriantly. ■ It’s the state officials who

hit

(close to)

home A moribund

metaphor (see page 21).

are living high on the hog. REPLACE WITH

hit (me) like a ton of bricks An insipid

extravagantly.

simile, amaze; astonish; astound; awe;

high-water

mark

A

moribund

confound; daze; dazzle; dumbfound; flab¬ bergast; overpower; overwhelm; shock;

metaphor (see page 21).

stagger; startle; stun; stupefy; surprise. ■ highway

robbery

A

moribund

metaphor (see page 21).

The report hit Congress like a ton of

bricks.

REPLACE

WITH

overwhelmed

Congress. hindsight is 20/20 A quack equation (see page 23).

hit or miss A moribund metaphor (see page 21). aimless; arbitrary; capricious;

hired gun A moribund metaphor (see

casual; erratic; haphazard; incidental;

page 21). 1. assassin; killer; mercenary;

inconsistent; infrequent; irregular; lax;

murderer. 2. adviser; authority; consult¬

loose; occasional; odd; offhand; random;

ant; counselor; expert; guru; specialist.

sporadic; uncontrolled; unplanned.

hit a home run A moribund metaphor

hit

(see page 21). advance; fare well; flourish;

metaphor (see page 21). 173

over

the

head

A

moribund

hit pay dirt

hit pay dirt A moribund metaphor (see

hit the sack A moribund metaphor (see

page 21). flourish; get rich; prevail; pros¬

page 21). doze; go to bed; nap; rest; retire;

per; succeed; thrive; triumph; win.

sleep; slumber.

hit the ce iling A moribund metaphor

hit the skids A moribund metaphor

(see page 21). bellow; bluster; clamor;

(see page 21). decay; decline; degenerate;

explode; fulminate; fume; holler; howl;

destroy; deteriorate; disintegrate;

rage;

erode; fade; fall off languish; lessen; ruin;

rant; rave;

roar; scream; shout;

ebb;

storm; thunder; vociferate; yell.

wane; weaken; wither; worsen.

hit the ground running A moribund

hit (him) while (he’s) down A mori¬

metaphor (see page 21). ■ I get up in

bund metaphor (see page 21).

the morning and hit the ground running.

(as) hoarse as a crow An insipid simile. hit the hay A moribund metaphor (see

grating; gravelly; gruff guttural; harsh;

page 21). doze; go to bed; nap; rest; retire;

hoarse; rasping; raspy; throaty.

sleep; slumber.

hoist with (his) own petard A mori¬ hit the jackpot A moribund metaphor

bund metaphor (see page 21).

(see page 21). flourish; get rich; prevail; prosper; succeed; thrive; triumph; win.

(can’t) hold a candle (to) A moribund metaphor (see page 21).

1. compare;

hit the nail (squarely) on the head A

equal; equate; liken-; match; measure up;

moribund metaphor (see page 21). be

meet; rival.

correct; be right.

third-party utilities are available to

2.

be inferior.

■ Various

improve this situation, but only one of

hit the road A moribund metaphor (see

them holds a candle to the NetWare

page 21). abscond; clear out; decamp;

SALVAGE utility. Replace with rivals.

depart; desert; disappear; escape; exit; flee;

■ When it comes to hosting wackos, the

fly; go; go away; leave; move on; part; pull

oft-maligned Web can’t hold a candle to

out; quit; retire; retreat; run away; take

AM radio. REPLACE WITH compare to.

flight; take off; vacate; vanish; withdraw.

hold a gun to A moribund metaphor hit the roof A moribund metaphor (see

(see page 21). coerce; command; compel;

page 21). 1. be angry; be annoyed; be

constrain; demand; dictate; force; insist;

enraged; be exasperated; be furious; be

make; order; pressure; require.

incensed; be infuriated; be irate; be irked; be irritated; be mad; be raging; be wrath¬

hold

ful. 2. bellow; bluster; clamor; explode;

metaphor (see page 21). administer; boss;

fulminate; fume; holler; howl; rage; rant;

command; control; dictate; direct; domi¬

rave; roar; scream; shout; storm; thunder;

nate; govern; in charge; in command; in

vociferate; yell.

control;

1!

He

hit the

REPLACE WITH became enraged.

roof.

all

the

manage;

cards

A

moribund

manipulate;

master;

order; overpower; oversee; predominate; prevail; reign over; rule; superintend.

174

hold true

hold (their) feet to the fire A mori¬

hold the fort A moribund metaphor

bund metaphor (see page 21). coerce;

(see page 21). 1. defend; guard; protect.

command; compel; constrain; demand;

2. look after.

enforce; force; goad; impel; importune; incite; induce; insist; instigate; make;

hold the phone A moribund metaphor

oblige; press; pressure; prod; push; require;

(see page 21). be patient; hold on; pause;

spur; urge. ■ The task now for those sen¬

slow down; wait.

ators who truly support reform is to

hold their colleagues’ feet to the fire and

hold the purse strings A moribund

bring this bill up

metaphor (see page 21). administer; boss;

again and again.

REPLACE with pressure their colleagues. ■ He campaigns by movement-building: helping candidates, running ads to pro¬ mote tax cuts, and holding congressional

Republicans feet to the fire. REPLACE

command; control; dictate; direct; domi¬ nate; govern; in charge; in command; in control; manage; manipulate; master; order; overpower; oversee; predominate; prevail; reign over; rule; superintend.

WITH prodding congressional Republicans.

hold (your) fire A moribund metaphor (see page 21). 1. be silent; be still; hush;

keep quiet; quiet; silence. 2. be closed¬ mouthed; be quiet; be reticent; be silent; be speechless; be taciturn; be uncommu¬ nicative. hold

(their)

hold

(my)

breath

A

moribund

metaphor (see page 21). agitated; anx¬

ious; eager; edgy; excitable; excited; fidg¬ ety; frantic; jittery; jumpy; nervous; ill at ease; on edge; restive; restless; skittish; uncomfortable; uneasy. Still, though I’d already unlatched

ground A moribund

the door for her, I felt unprepared

metaphor (see page 21). 1. hold fast;

for her arrival, needing to back

stand firm. 2. assert; command; decree;

away and sit again in my leather

dictate; insist; order; require.

chair. I was holding my breath,

hold (my) hand A moribund metaphor

waiting for her to go away. —

(see page 21). accompany; escort;guide. ■

Elizabeth Rosner,

The intent of this text is to hold your

Light

The Speed of

hand through the learning process. Replace with guide you.

hold

(your)

tongue

A

moribund

metaphor (see page 21). 1. be silent; be

hold (her) head up (high) A moribund

still; hush; keep quiet; quiet; silence. 2. be

metaphor (see page 21). be proud; show

closed-mouthed; be quiet; be reticent; be

self-respect.

silent; be speechless; be taciturn; be uncommunicative.

hold on for dear life A torpid term (see page 24). clutch; grab; grasp; hold; seize.

hold true A wretched redundancy (see page 25). hold. ■ What holds true for

hang (hold) on to your hat A mori¬

them may not hold true for others.

bund metaphor (see page 21). be careful;

Delete true.

be cautious; be prepared; be wary; look out; take heed; watch out. 175

hold water

hold water A moribund metaphor (see

honesty is the best policy A popular

page 21). hold; is true; is valid. ■ We

prescription (see page 23).

have to ask if the ancient ideas of the roles of bonds still hold water. REPLACE

(the) honeymoon is over A moribund

WITH hold.

metaphor (see page 21).

moribund

hook, line, and sinker A moribund

metaphor (see page 21). be patient; calm

metaphor (see page 21). altogether; com¬

down; hang on; hold on; pause; slow

pletely; entirely; fully; perfectly; roundly;

down; wait.

quite; thoroughly; totally; unreservedly;

hold

your

horses

A

utterly; wholly. home free A moribund metaphor (see page 21). guarded; protected; safe; secure;

hoot and holler An inescapable pair

sheltered;

(see page 20). bay; bawl; bellow; blare;

shielded;

undamaged;

caterwaul; clamor; cry; holler; hoot; howl;

unharmed; unhurt; unscathed.

roar; screak; scream; screech; shout; shriek; home is where the heart is A popular

shrill; squawk; squeal; vociferate; wail; ; yell; yelp;

prescription (see page 23).

homely as a mud fence An insipid sim¬

hope and expect

ile. coarse; homely; ill-favored; plain; ugly;

wretched redundancy (see page 25).

unattractive;

hope; expect (expectation); trust. ■ I hope

unbeautiful;

uncomely;

unsightly.

(expectation) A

and expect you’ll be seeing a lot more of this. Replace with expect or hope.

(down) (the) home stretch A mori¬ bund metaphor (see page 21).

hope and pray An inescapable pair (see page 20). ■ I hope and pray that in

(as) honest as the day is long An

future features of this sort, the Globe

insipid simile, aboveboard; blunt; can¬

puts the emphasis where it belongs.

did; direct; earnest; faithful; forthright; frank; genuine; honest; reliable; sincere;

hope for the best A popular prescrip¬

straightforward; trustworthy; truthful;

tion

upright; veracious; veridical.

encouraged; be heartened; be hopeful; be

(see page 23).

be confident; be

optimistic; be positive; be rosy; be san¬ honest truth A wretched redundancy

guine.

(see page 23). honesty; truth. H If you want the honest truth, I am in love with

hope for the best but expect the worst

him. Replace with truth.

A popular prescription (see page 23). ■ Since governments can never know how

honestly and truly An inescapable pair

stable the oil-exporting countries are,

(see page 20). ■ I honestly and truly

governments of importing countries

believed he was the best I could hope

should hope for the best but prepare for

for. Replace WITH honestly or truly.

the worst.

176

hot little hands

(just) hope (it’ll) go away A popular

tional; unexampled; unique; unnatural;

prescription (see page 23).

unorthodox; unparalleled; unprecedented; unusual; weird.

hopeless romantic An inescapable pair (see page 20).

(the) hostess with the mostess An infantile phrase (see page 20).

hopes and dreams An inescapable pair (see page 20).

hot air A moribund metaphor (see page 21). aggrandizement; bluster; boasting;

hope springs eternal A popular pre¬

braggadocio; bragging; bravado; crowing;

confident;

elaboration; embellishment; embroidery;

encouraged; heartened; hopeful; opti¬

exaggeration; fanfaronade; gasconade;

mistic; rosy; sanguine.

gloating;

scription

(see

page

23).

hyperbole;

overstatement;

rodomontade; swaggering. hopping mad An inescapable pair (see agitated; alarmed; angry;

hot and bothered An inescapable pair

annoyed; aroused; choleric; enraged; fierce;

(see page 20). agitated; anxious; aroused;

fuming; furious; incensed; inflamed; infu¬

bothered;

riated; irate; irritable; mad; maddened;

turbed; excited; flustered; perturbed; trou¬

raging; splenetic.

bled; upset; worried.

(a) hop, skip, and a jump A moribund

hot and heavy An inescapable pair (see

metaphor (see page 21).

page 20). aggressive; dynamic; emphatic;

page

20).

displeased;

disquieted;

dis¬

energetic; ferocious; fervent; fierce; force¬ hornets nest A moribund metaphor

ful; frantic; frenzied; furious; intense;

(see page 21). complexity; complication;

mighty; passionate; powerful; robust; sav¬

difficulty;

age; spirited; strenuous; strong; vehement;

dilemma;

entanglement;

imbroglio; labyrinth; maze; muddle; per¬

vicious; vigorous; violent.

plexity; plight; predicament; problem; puzzle; quagmire; tangle. ■ Senator

(as) hot as fire An insipid simile.

Dodd called the jurisdictional issue a

aflame; blazing; blistering; boiling; burn-

hornet's nest but said he was ready to

ing; fiery; flaming; heated; hot; ovenlike;

tackle it. REPLACE WITH imbroglio.

roasting; scalding; scorching; searing; sim¬ mering; sizzling; steaming; sweltering; tor¬

horse of a different (another) color A

rid; tropical; warm.

moribund metaphor (see page 21). aber¬

rant; abnormal; anomalistic; anomalous;

(as) hot as hades (hell) An insipid sim¬

atypical; bizarre; curious; deviant; differ¬

ile. aflame; blazing; blistering; boiling;

ent; distinct; distinctive; eccentric; excep¬

burning; fiery; flaming; heated; hot; oven¬

tional; extraordinary; fantastic; foreign;

like; roasting; scalding; scorching; searing;

grotesque;

simmering; sizzling; steaming; sweltering;

individual;

idiosyncratic;

independent;

individualistic;

irregular;

torrid; tropical; warm.

novel; odd; offbeat; original; peculiar; puzzling; quaint; queer; rare; remarkable;

hot little hands A moribund metaphor

separate; singular; uncommon; unconven¬

(see page 21). 177

hotly contested

hotly contested An inescapable pair

how goes it? (how’s it going? how you

(see page 20).

doing?) An ineffectual phrase (see page 19). These phrases are uttered by the

hot potato A moribund metaphor (see

unalert and inert. How goes it? how’s it

page 21). card; character; eccentric; excep¬

going? and how you doing? are gratuitous

tion; original.

substitutes for a gracious hello.

hot ticket A moribund metaphor (see

how much (do) you want to bet? An

page 21). card; character; eccentric; excep¬

infantile phrase (see page 20).

tion; original. hue and cry An inescapable pair (see hot to trot A moribund metaphor (see

page 20). clamor; commotion; din; hub¬

page 21). 1. concupiscent; horny; lascivi¬

bub; noise; outcry; protest; racket; shout;

ous; lecherous; lewd; libidinous; licentious;

tumult; uproar.

lustful; prurient. 2. anxious; eager; impa¬ huff and puff An inescapable pair (see

tient; ready; willing.

page 20). 1. blow; breathe heavily; gasp;

hot under the collar A moribund

huff; pant; puff; wheeze. 2. bellow; blus¬

agitated;

ter; clamor; explode; fulminate; fume;

alarmed; angry; annoyed; aroused; choler¬

holler; howl; rage; rant; rave; roar; scream;

ic;

shout; storm; thunder; vent; vociferate;

metaphor

(see

page

21).

enraged; fierce; fuming; furious;

incensed; inflamed; infuriated; irate; irri¬

yell.

table; mad; maddened; raging; splenetic. (a) house divided against itself cannot stand A popular prescription (see page 23).

(like a) house of cards An insipid sim¬ breakable; broken-down; crumbly;

huge throng A wretched redundancy

decrepit; dilapidated; flimsy; fragile; fran¬

(see page 25). throng. B A huge throng of

gible; friable; precarious; ramshackle; rick¬

young people attended the concert.

ety; shabby; shaky; tottering; unsound;

Delete huge.

ile.

unstable; unsteady; unsure; wobbly. B He argued

that

the

government’s

case

against them is a house of cards. REPLACE

hugs and kisses An inescapable pair (see page 20).

WITH rickety.

human nature being what it is An how could this have happened? A ple¬

ineffectual

beian sentiment (see page 23).

Human nature being what it is, most of

phrase

(see

page

19)

B

us would rather speak our own mind

how did (I) get into this? A plebeian

than listen to what someone else says.

sentiment (see page 23).

DELETE Human nature being what it is. B Human nature being what it is, when people place demands on others, their 178

I can’t believe I’m telling you this

initial

reaction

is

to

rebel,

DELETE

(as) hungry as a bear An insipid simi¬

■

le. esurient; famished; gluttonous; greedy;

Human nature being what it is, getting

hungry; insatiable; omnivorous; rapa¬

an extra day made everybody slow

cious; ravenous; starved; starving; vora¬

Human nature being what it is.

down.

DELETE Human nature being

cious.

what it is. (as) hungry as a horse An insipid sim¬ (my)

humble

abode An

infantile

ile. esurient; famished; gluttonous; greedy;

phrase (see page 20). ■ I recently had

hungry; insatiable; omnivorous; rapa¬

the opportunity to visit CMD’s head¬

cious; ravenous; starved; starving; vora¬

quarters in Boulder, Colorado, not far

cious.

from my humble abode. REPLACE WITH

home.

hunt with the hounds and run with the hares A moribund metaphor (see

humongous An infantile phrase (see

page 21).

page 20). big; brobdingnagian; colossal;

elephantine; giant;

enormous;

gigantic;

grand;

gargantuan; great;

huge;

immense; large; mammoth; massive; mon¬ strous; prodigious; stupendous; titanic; tremendous; vast. Not quite a misusage, humongous is altogether a monstrosity. And though

hurdle to clear A moribund metaphor (see page 21). bar; barrier; block; block¬

age; check; deterrent; difficulty; encum¬ brance; handicap; hindrance; hurdle; impediment;

interference;

obstacle;

obstruction.

it’s not fair to say that people who use the word are monstrous as well, at some point we come to be — or at the least

hurl insults A moribund metaphor (see page 21).

are known by — what we say, what we

hustle and bustle An inescapable pair

write. ■

My

appetite

was

humongous.

(see page 20). bustle; commotion; hustle;

REPLACE WITH enormous. ■ We were up

stir. ■ Macau presents a restful alterna¬

against a humongous insurance compa¬

tive to the hustle and bustle of Hong

ny. Replace with colossal. ■ My feeling

Kong. REPLACE WITH bustle or hustle.

is that there is a humongous gap between justice for the rich and the poor and working class. REPLACE WITH huge. ■

I

The players should recognize the excep¬ tion for what it is: a humongous bargain¬ ing chip. Replace with titanic. Before you know it you are paying a humongous divorce settlement to a woman who had more than once declared that she was an

I can’t believe I’m telling you this A

innocent who had no understand¬

plebeian sentiment (see page 23). Only

ing of money matters. —

the foolish or the unconscious, unaware

Bellow, Ravelstein

Saul

of or ambivalent about the words they 179

I can’t get no satisfaction

use or why they use them, can exclaim /

well. I don’t know.

can’t believe I’m telling you this. Language

For

a

person

to

conclude

his

use, the essence of being human, entails

expressed thoughts and views with /

certain responsibilities — care and con¬

don’t know would nullify all he seemed

sciousness among them; otherwise, it’s

to know if it weren’t that I don’t know is

all dimwitted. See ALSO I don’t know

less an admission of not knowing than it

why Fm telling you this.

is an apology for presuming to.

I can’t get no satisfaction An infantile

I don’t know if (whether) I’m coming

phrase (see page 20).

or going A moribund metaphor (see page 21). baffled; befuddled; bewildered;

icing

on

cake

moribund

confounded; confused; disconcerted; flum¬

metaphor (see page 21). a benefit; a

moxed; mixed up; muddled; perplexed;

bonus; a dividend; a gift; a gratuity; a

puzzled.

the

A

lagniappe; an extra; a perk; a perquisite; a pourboire;

a

premium;

a

tip.

■

Accreditation is still only icing on the

I don’t know, what do you want to do? An infantile phrase (see page 20).

cake and does not guarantee a depart¬ ment any rewards beyond the recogni¬

I don’t know why I’m telling you this

a

A plebeian sentiment (see page 23). SEE

tion

of

peers.

REPLACE

WITH

perquisite. Dr.

Pierce

ALSO I can’t believe I’m telling you this. and

Deena

had

I (just) don’t think about it A plebeian

returned to our Sunday school

sentiment (see page 23). SEE ALSO you

class, buoying my spirits. And sev¬

think too much.

eral of the alumni from the Live Free or Die class had stopped

if and when A wretched redundancy

attending, which was icing on the

(see page 23). if; when. ■ If and when a

cake. — Philip Gulley, Life Goes

conflict should arise, it should be taken

On: A Harmony Novel

care of as soon as possible to protect the harmonious

environment.

REPLACE

(an) idea whose time has come An

WITH If or when. See ALSO if, as, and

infantile phrase (see page 20). ■ The

when; when and if; when and whether;

good-news section is an idea whose time

when, as, and if; whether and when.

has come. if, as, and when A wretched redundan¬ idle rich An inescapable pair (see page 20).

cy (see page 25). if; when. See ALSO if

and when; when and if; when, as, and if; when and whether; whether and when.

I don’t know A plebeian sentiment (see page 23). ■ New passion is sweet, but

if at first you don’t succeed (try, try

after you know someone for a while, it

again) A popular prescription (see page

fades. I don’t know. ■ I know who I am

23).

— I have a good sense of that — but I will never know you, or anyone else, as 180

I’ll tell you (something)

I feel (understand) your pain The peo¬

if you can’t stand the heat, stay out of

ple who spout about how empathic they

the kitchen A popular prescription (see

are {I feel your pain; I know how you feel)

page 23).

are often the same people who have scant notion of what it is to be sensitive,

if you don’t know, I’m not going to

kindhearted,

tell you An infantile phrase (see page

even

responsive.

The

emphasis is on showing empathy, which

20).

we do more for our own welfare than for others’; it’s socially obligatory to be, or

ignorance is bliss A plebeian sentiment

pretend to be, empathic. Ultimately

(see page 23).

empathy will be thought no more high¬ ly of than sympathy now is. SEE ALSO

I (I’ve) got to (have to) tell you (some¬

Fm sorry.

thing) An ineffectual phrase (see page 19). Like Fll tell you (something), Vll tell

if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it A popular

you what, Fm telling you, and let me tell

prescription (see page 23).

you (something), I (Fve) got to (have to) tell you (something) is a mind-numbing

if it feels good, it can’t be bad A pop¬

expression spoken only by people who

ular prescription (see page 23).

are unaware of how foolish they sound — and of how foolish they are. These

if it isn’t one thing, it’s another A ple¬

are the same people who are wont to

beian sentiment (see page 23). SEE ALSO

begin other sentences with Look or

its one thing after another.

Listen, Hey or Okay. ■ L got to tell you, he was the only person I could discuss my

if it’s (not) meant to be, it’s (not)

frustrations with. DELETE I got to tell

meant to be A popular prescription (see

you. ■ Fve got to tell you something, I’m

page 23).

so proud of you. DELETE Fve got to tell

you something. ■ I have to tell you, the if it sounds too good to be true, it

emerging country rates are up 21 per¬

(probably) is A popular prescription

cent. Delete L have to tell you.

(see page 23).

I just work here A plebeian sentiment if the shoe fits (wear it) A moribund

(see page 23).

metaphor (see page 21).

I’ll bet you any amount of money An if the truth be (were) known (told) An

infantile phrase (see page 20).

ineffectual phrase (see page 19).

ill-gotten gains An inescapable pair (see if you can’t beat them, join them A

page 20).

popular prescription (see page 23).

I’ll tell you (something) An ineffectual if you can’t say something nice, don’t

phrase (see page 19). This phrase — like

say anything A plebeian sentiment (see

I got to (have to) tell you (something); Fll

page 23). See ALSO be nice.

tell you what; Fm telling you; let me tell you (something) — is mouthed by unim181

I’ll tell you what

pressive men and irritating women, the

not in love with him. REPLACE WITH /

one no more able, no more elegant than

love him. SEE ALSO be nice; excuse me?

the other. M You got off easy, I’ll tell you. Delete I’ll tell you. ■ I’ll tell you some¬

I’m bored (he’s boring) A plebeian sen¬

thing, they look like the greatest team

timent (see page 23). Being boring is

ever. Delete I’ll tell you something. ■ I’ll

preferable to being bored. The boring

tell you something, if it doesn’t work out,

are often thoughtful and imaginative;

you’ve always got a job here. DELETE I’ll

the bored, thoughtless and unimagina¬

tell you something. ■ The publisher got a

tive.

I’ll tell you.

We would do well to shun those who

Delete I’ll tell you. See also I got to

whine about how bored they are or how

(have to) tell you (something); I’ll tell you

boring another is. It’s they, these bored

what; I’m telling you; let me tell you

ones, who in their eternal quest for

(something).

entertainment

sharp

letter from me,

and

self-oblivion

are

most suited to causing trouble, courting

I’ll tell you what An ineffectual phrase

turmoil, and coercing talk. SEE ALSO (it)

(see page 19). ■ I’ll tell you what, let’s

keeps (me) busy.

pause for a commercial and then you can tell us your story. DELETE I’ll tell you

I mean A grammatical gimmick (see

what. 6S I’ll tell you what, I’m not bitter

page 19). Elliptical for “what I mean to

against women, but I sure judge them

say,” I mean is said by those who do not

quicker now. DELETE I’ll tell you what.

altogether know what they mean to say

See ALSO I got to (have to) tell you (some¬

■ Nobody deserves to die like that. /

thing); I’ll tell you (something); I’m telling

mean, he didn’t stand a chance. DELETE

you; let me tell you (something).

I mean. M I mean, being in the enter¬ tainment field is not easy; I mean, I

I love (him) but I’m not in love with

work hard at my job and still have per¬

(him) A popular prescription (see page

formances to give. Delete I mean. H I

23). The need to distinguish between

enjoy the outdoors; I mean, how can

loving someone and being in love with

you live here and not enjoy it? DELETE /

someone is fundamentally false. That

mean. ■ I mean, if you were in the

there are different kinds of love is noth¬

movies or on TV, I mean, many more

ing that any discerning person has to be

people would be interested. DELETE /

reminded of.

mean.

Some who make such a distinction may do so to ease their conscience, to

imitation is the sincerest form of flat¬

absolve themselves for not loving some¬

tery A popular prescription (see page

one who likely loves them and whom

23).

they surely feel gratitude or obligation to. In these instances, saying I love (him)

I’m not perfect (you know) A plebeian

but I’m not in love with (him) is simply a

sentiment (see page 23). Even though

way of feeling good about having made

(I’m) a perfectionist (See) is A suspect

someone feel bad.

superlative (see page 24) — meaning

Love, like few other words, ought not

that people who proclaim this do not

to be trifled with. H I love him but I’m

easily disabuse themselves of the notion 182

in a bind

of being perfect — I’m not perfect (you

blow up after I’m done talking, but I’m

know) is A plebeian sentiment (see page

sorry. See ALSO excuse me?; nice; thank

23) — meaning that people who pro¬

you.

claim this all too easily excuse them¬

Another common usage of I’m sorry

selves for being imperfect. ■ I have

is when people hear another speak of

some deep-seated anger. Hey, Im not

some difficulty. This is the height of

perfect, you know. See ALSO (Im) a per¬

dimwitted English, for the people who

fectionist; nobody s perfect.

say I’m sorry — an expression precisely as untrue as it is trite — likely have no

I’m not stupid (you know) A plebeian

more empathy in their hearts than there

sentiment (see page 23). ■ I’m not stu¬

are syllables in the sentence. SEE ALSO /

pid, you know; I’m 24 years old, and I’ve

feel (understand) your pain.

been around.

I’m telling you An ineffectual phrase impact (on) (v) An overworked word

(see page 19). ■ It has more twists and

(see page 22). act on; affect; bear on;

turns than Route 66, I’m telling you.

influence; sway; work on. ■ Let’s look at

DELETE I’m telling you. ■ I’m telling you,

two important trends that may impact

there are people who take this seriously.

the future of those languages. REPLACE

Delete I’m telling you. See also I got to

WITH influence. ■ Everybody’s district is

(have to) tell you (something); I’ll tell you

impacted in a different way. REPLACE

(something); I’ll tell you what; let me tell

WITH affected. See ALSO has an impact

you (something).

on. in a big (major) way A torpid term (see implement An overworked word (see

page 24). acutely; a great deal; badly; con-

page 22). accomplish; achieve; carry out;

sumedly;

complete; execute; fulfill; realize.

extremely; greatly; hugely; immensely;

enormously;

exceedingly;

intensely; largely; mightily; prodigiously; I’m sorry A plebeian sentiment (see

seriously; strongly; very much. ■ He wants

page 23). No simple apology, the ple¬

to meet me in a big way. REPLACE WITH

beian Im sorry pretends to soothe while

very much. M It hurt me in a big way.

it actually scolds. Even though it may

Replace with badly. See also in the

seem like an apology — often for some¬

worst way.

thing that requires nothing of the sort — I’m sorry is said, unapologetically, in

The photographer had barked

a tone of resentment.

“Smile!” I’d overcompensated in a big way. —- Susan Isaacs, After All

Traditionally, a woman’s emotion —

These Years

for women have been, more than men, reluctant to express anger,

bare and

unbounded — resentment more and

in a bind A moribund metaphor (see

more of late finds favor with men and

page 21).

women alike.

pressed; imperiled; in a bind; in a dilem¬

at risk; endangered; hard-

■ Nine years old is too young to be

ma; in a fix; in a jam; in a predicament;

left alone, I’m sorry. ■ I have to disagree.

in a quandary; in danger; in difficulty; in

I’m sorry. ■ I know you guys are going to

jeopardy; in peril; in trouble; jeopardized. 183

in (the) absence of

in (the) absence of A wretched redun¬

Before. See ALSO in advance of; previous

dancy (see page 25). absent; having no;

to; subsequent to.

lacking; minus; missing; not having; with no; without. ■ In the absence of these

in a (the) family way A moribund

articulated linkages, changes introduced

metaphor (see page 21). anticipating;

will be difficult to monitor. REPLACE

enceinte; expectant; expecting; gravid;

WITH Absent.

parturient; pregnant; with child.

in a class by (itself) A moribund

in a (blue) funk A moribund metaphor

metaphor (see page 21). different; excep¬

(see page 21). aggrieved; blue; cheerless;

tional;

incomparable;

dejected; demoralized; depressed; despon¬

inimitable; matchless; nonpareil; notable;

dent; disconsolate; discouraged; disheart¬

noteworthy; novel; odd; original; peculiar;

ened; dismal; dispirited; doleful; down¬

peerless; remarkable; singular; special;

cast; downhearted; dreary; forlorn; funere¬

strange; uncommon; unequaled; unexam¬

al; gloomy; glum; grieved; low; melan¬

pled; unique; unmatched; unparalleled;

choly; miserable; morose; mournful; plain¬

unrivaled; unusual; without equal.

tive; sad; sorrowful; unhappy; woebegone;

extraordinary;

woeful. (head) in a (the) cloud(s) A moribund metaphor (see page 21). absent; absent-

in a good mood A torpid term (see

minded; absorbed; abstracted; bemused;

page 24). blissful; blithe; buoyant; cheer¬

captivated; daydreaming; detached; dis¬

ful; cheery; content; contented; delighted;

tracted; distrait; dreamy; engrossed; enrap¬

elated; excited; gay; glad; gleeful; happy;

tured; faraway; fascinated; immersed;

jolly; joyful; joyous; merry; pleased; san¬

inattentive; in thought; lost; mesmerized;

guine; satisfied. See ALSO positive feelings.

oblivious; preoccupied; rapt; spellbound. in a heartbeat A moribund metaphor It brought it all back to me. Celia

(see page 21). abruptly; apace; at once;

Langley. Celia Langley standing in

briskly; directly; expeditiously; fast; forth¬

front of me, her hands on her hips

with; hastily; hurriedly; immediately;

and her head in a cloud. —

instantaneously;

Andrea Levy, Small Island

promptly; quickly; rapidly; rashly; right

instantly;

posthaste;

away; speedily; straightaway; swiftly; in a delicate condition A moribund

wingedly.

metaphor (see page 21). anticipating;

enceinte; expectant; expecting; gravid;

Bless me, father, for I have sinned,

parturient; pregnant; with child.

I have lied to my husband, left him never knowing he will have a

in a dogs age A moribund metaphor

child, and would do it all again in

(see page 21).

a heartbeat. -— Ann

Patchett,

Patron Saint of Liars in advance of A wretched redundancy (see page 25). ahead of; before. ■ In

in a jam A moribund metaphor (see

advance (^introducing our guest, let me

page 21).

tell you why he’s here. REPLACE WITH

pressed; imperiled; in a bind; in a dilem-

at risk; endangered; hard-

(stuck) in a rut

ma; in a fix; in a jam; in a predicament;

in any way; in some way; in the least;

in a quandary; in danger; in difficulty; in

somehow; someway. That anyone uses

jeopardy; in peril; in trouble; jeopardized.

this expression is wondrous. To discern¬ ing listeners and readers, in any way,

in a lather A moribund metaphor (see

shape, form, or fashion, as well as similar

page 21). agitated; distraught; disturbed;

assemblages, is as rickety as it is ridicu¬

excited; nervous; shaken; uneasy; upset.

lous. B If students are asked to leave the

in a manner of speaking A wretched

University, their return certainly should

redundancy (see page 25). as it were; in

not be celebrated in any way, shape,

a sense; in a way; so to speak. ■ Your con¬

form, or fashion. DELETE in any way,

tractor is correct in a manner of speaking.

shape, form, or fashion. B Do you feel

Replace with in a sense.

being on television will help you in any

way, shape, or form? REPLACE WITH A

somehow. B That control is no longer

wretched redundancy (see page 25). as

there, not in any way, shape, or form.

such; in itself (in themselves). B This

Replace with at all. fl He wants some¬

trend is interesting in and of itself hut is

thing that doesn’t resemble the land¬

also quite instructive. REPLACE WITH in

mark in any way, shape,

itself. B All the benefits are worthwhile

Replace with in the least. See also in

in and of themselves, but they have the

every way, shape, and (or) form; in no

additional benefit of translating into

way, shape, form, or fashion.

in

and

of itself

(themselves)

or fashion.

improved cost efficiency. REPLACE WITH

in a pickle A moribund metaphor (see

in themselves.

page 21). at risk; endangered; hard-

in a nutshell A moribund metaphor

pressed; imperiled; in a bind; in a dilem¬

(see page 21). briefly; concisely; in brief;

ma; in a fix; in a jam; in a predicament;

in short; in sum; succinctly; tersely.

in a quandary; in danger; in difficulty; in jeopardy; in peril; in trouble; jeopardized.

One thing leads to another; that is, houses lead to commodes, and

Well, if he was in a pickle in regard

then commodes lead to houses,

to his followers, why the hell

which lead to land, which leads to

should she make it easy for him?

dairy cattle, which lead to cheese,

— Susan Isaacs, Red, White and

which leads to pizza pies, which

Blue

lead

to

manicotti

and

veal

Parmesan, which lead to wine,

in a pig’s eye A moribund metaphor

which leads to love, which leads to

(see page 21). at no time; by no means;

babies,

and commodes.

hardly; in no way; never; no; not at all;

That was Gordon Baldwin in a

not ever; not in any way; not in the least;

nutshell. — Jane Smiley, Good

scarcely; unlikely.

houses,

Faith (stuck) in a rut A moribund metaphor in any way, shape, form, or fashion

(see page 21). bogged down; caught; cor¬

An infantile phrase (see page 20). at all;

nered; enmeshed; ensnared; entangled; 185

in a (constant) state of flux

entrapped; netted; mired; snared; stuck;

in cold blood A moribund metaphor

trapped.

(see page 21). deliberately; intentionally;

knowingly; mindfully; on purpose; prein a (constant) state of flux A torpid

meditatively; willfully.

term (see page 24). capricious; change¬

able; erratic; ever-changing; fluid; vari¬

in connection with A wretched redun¬

able.

dancy (see page 25). about; as for; as to;

concerning; for; in; of; on; over; regarding; in a timely fashion (manner; way) A

respecting; to; toward; with. ■ The police

wretched redundancy (see page 25). in

wanted to talk to him in connection with

time; promptly; quickly; rapidly; right

a fur store robbery.

away; shortly; soon; speedily; swiftly; time¬

about. E In connection with the hiring

ly. SI He believes in getting the job done

incidents, this was the first time he

in a timely fashion and is very commit¬

denied any wrongdoing. REPLACE WITH

ted to achieving that goal.

Concerning.

(off) in a world of (his) own A mori¬ bund metaphor (see page 21). absent;

absent-minded; bemused;

absorbed;

captivated;

abstracted;

daydreaming;

detached; distracted; distrait; dreamy; engrossed; enraptured; faraway; fascinat¬ ed; immersed; inattentive; lost; mesmer¬ ized; oblivious; preoccupied; rapt; spell¬ bound.

REPLACE WITH

in consideration of the fact that A wretched redundancy (see page 25).

because; considering; for; in that; since. B In consideration of the fact that we have to

have

something

submitted

by

January 15, we have get to started on this. Replace with Since. See also

because of the fact that; considering the fact that; by virtue of the fact that; given

in (her) birthday suit A moribund metaphor (see page 21). bare; disrobed;

the fact that; in view of the fact that; on account of the fact that.

naked; nude; stripped; unclothed; uncov¬ in (my) corner A moribund metaphor

ered; undressed.

(see page 21).

in

close

(near)

proximity

to

A

wretched redundancy (see page 25).

incredible An overworked word (see

close by; close to; in proximity; near; near¬

page 22). 1. beyond belief; beyond com¬

by. ■ Cities were born out of the desire

prehension; doubtful; dubious; implausi¬

and necessity of human beings to live

ble; imponderable; improbable; incompre¬

and work in close proximity to each

hensible;

other. Replace with close to. ■ In those

questionable; unfathomable; unimagin¬

cases, the verb will be in agreement with

able;

the subject that is closest in proximity to

astounding; breathtaking; extraordinary;

the verb. REPLACE WITH closest to.

fabulous; fantastic; marvelous; miracu¬

inconceivable;

unthinkable.

2.

inexplicable; astonishing;

lous; overwhelming; prodigious; sensation¬ in (the) clover A moribund metaphor

al; spectacular; wonderful; wondrous.

(see page 21). affluent; moneyed; opulent;

Like the platitudinous unbelievable

prosperous; rich; successful; wealthy; welloff; well-to-do.

(See), this word is very much overused. One of the hallmarks of dimwitted 186

in each others’ pocket

language is the unimaginativeness of

indicate A torpid term (see page 24).

those who use it. We would do well to

Indicate has virtually devoured every

try to distinguish ourselves through our

word that might be used instead of it.

speech and writing rather than rely on

More

designative

acknowledge;

ers are wont to use. Those who speak as

announce; argue; assert; avow; bespeak;

others speak, inescapably, think as oth¬

betoken; claim; confess; comment; concede;

ers think. ■ But that someone would

contend; declare; disclose; divulge; expose;

shoot a two-year-old child is incredible.

feel; hint; hold; imply; insinuate; inti¬

unimaginable. E All

mate; maintain; make known; mention;

these

people

are

incredibly

brave.

REPLACE WITH astonishingly.

affirm;

include

the words and phrases that so many oth¬

Replace with

admit;

words

allow;

note; point out; profess; remark; reveal; say; show; signal; signify; state; suggest; tell; uncover; unveil. B He indicated that

incumbent upon A torpid term (see

he would be fine. REPLACE WITH said. B

page 24). binding; compelling; compulso¬

People have provided us with docu¬

ry; essential; imperative; mandatory; nec¬

ments that indicate that veterans were

essary; obligatory; required; requisite;

exposed. REPLACE WITH reveal. B They

urgent.

have indicated that they do not under¬ stand the managed competition propos¬

in (his) cups A moribund metaphor

als and don’t want to. REPLACE WITH

(see page 21). besotted; crapulous; drunk;

confessed. B Last week’s decision of the

inebriated; intoxicated; sodden; stupefied;

Federal Reserve Board indicated that

tipsy.

minority-lending records will

be an

issue for many years to come. REPLACE

indebtedness A torpid term (see page

WITH signaled.

24). debt.

individual(s) (») A torpid term (see indelible impression An inescapable

page 24). anybody; anyone; everybody;

pair (see page 20). To describe some¬

everyone; man; men; people; person; some¬

thing considered unforgettable with a

body; someone; those; woman; women;

cliche — an unoriginal, a forgettable,

you. B This individual needs to be

phrase — is indeed dimwitted. B The

stopped. Replace with woman. B He

tundra will make an indelible impression

seemed like a friendly enough individ¬

on you. B War has made an indelible

ual. Replace with person.

impression on international art move¬ ments, as well as on Australian art.

in due course (time) A torpid term (see page 24). at length; eventually; in time;

It was never published, but I saw it

ultimately; yet.

once and it made an indelible impression

on

my

Sherwood Anderson,

—

in each others’ pocket A moribund

Winesburg,

metaphor (see page 21). 1. indissoluble;

mind.

Ohio

indivisible; inseparable; involved; togeth¬ er. 2. dependent; reliant.

in-depth analysis An inescapable pair (see page 20). 187

in every way, shape, form, or fashion

in every way, shape, form, or fashion

are going to make it are Caucasian males

An infantile phrase (see page 20). alto¬

are in for a rude awakening.

gether; completely; entirely; fully; quite; roundly; thoroughly; in all ways; in every

in for a (pleasant) surprise A torpid

way; perfectly; totally; unreservedly; utter¬

term (see page 24). ■ If she had set out

ly; wholly. ■ For centuries, since the first

to write a story about a spoiled brat, she

African ancestors were brought here,

was in for a surprise.

whites have tried to imitate blacks in

every way, shape, form, or fashion and I’m

in full swing A moribund metaphor

tired of it. REPLACE WITH in all ways. ■

(see page 21).

Ffe supports her in every way, shape, and

form. Replace with thoroughly. See

in harms way A moribund metaphor

ALSO in any way, shape, form, or fashion;

(see page 21). exposed; insecure; obnox¬

in no way, shape, form, or fashion.

ious; unguarded; unprotected; unsafe; unsheltered; unshielded; vulnerable.

in excess of A wretched redundancy (see page 25). above; better than; beyond;

in high gear A moribund metaphor (see

faster than; greater than; larger than;

page 21). abruptly; apace; briskly; direct¬

more than; over; stronger than. ■ In excess

ly; expeditiously; fast; hastily; hurriedly;

of 10 candidates wanted to make the

immediately; instantaneously; instantly;

town of Andover both their profession

posthaste; promptly; quickly; rapidly; rash¬

and their home. REPLACE WITH More

ly; speedily; swiftly; wingedly.

than. M Police said Mr. Howard was driving in excess of 90 miles per hour.

Rosemary was in high gear. She

Replace with faster than.

was mounting a campaign to woo the chairman of the committee

in extremis A foreign phrase (see page

that would vote the bill out to the

19). decaying; declining; deteriorating;

full Senate or decide to let it die

disintegrating; dying; ebbing; expiring;

ignominiously. —- Marge Piercy,

fading; failing; near death; sinking; wan¬

The Third Child

ing. in hot water A moribund metaphor inextricably tied An inescapable pair

(see page 21). at risk; endangered; hard-

(see page 20). ■ In good times and in

pressed; imperiled; in danger; in difficulty;

bad, our future and our fortunes are

inextricably tied together.

in jeopardy; in peril; in trouble; jeopard¬ ized.

in fine fettle A moribund metaphor

in its (their)

(see page 21). energetic; fine; fit; good;

redundancy (see page 25). all; complete;

hale; hardy; healthful; healthy; hearty;

completely; entire; entirely; every; full;

robust; sound; strong; trim; vigorous; well.

fully; roundly; whole; wholly. ■ This

entirety A wretched

would leave Wednesday, either partially

in for a rude awakening (shock) A tor¬

or in its entirety,

pid term (see page 24). ■ The compa¬

Replace with entirely.

nies that still think the only ones who 188

for coordination.

in point of fact

inject (new) life into A moribund

away; speedily; straightaway; suddenly;

metaphor (see page 21). animate; ener¬

swiftly; unexpectedly; wingedly.

gize; enliven; inspirit; invigorate; vitalize.

in no way, shape, form, or fashion An in less than no time A moribund

infantile phrase (see page 20). at no

metaphor (see page 21). abruptly; apace;

time; by no means; in no way; never; no;

at once; briskly; directly; expeditiously;

not; not at all; not ever; not in any way;

fast; forthwith; hastily; hurriedly; imme¬

not in the least. ■ The gas contributed in

diately;

no way,

instantaneously;

instantly;

shape,

or form to the fire.

posthaste; promptly; quickly; rapidly; rash¬

Replace with not at all. ■ In no way,

ly; right away; speedily; straightaway; sud-

shape, or form did she resemble a 63-

denly; swiftly; unexpectedly; wingedly.

year-old woman. REPLACE WITH In no way. ■ In no way, shape, form, or fashion

(keep)

(us)

in

line A

moribund

was there any wrongdoing or misappro¬

acquiescent;

priation of funds. Replace with Never.

amenable; behaving; biddable; compliant;

See ALSO in any way, shape, form, or fash¬

docile; dutiful; in conformity; law abid¬

ion; in every way, shape, and (or) form.

metaphor (see page 21).

ing; obedient; pliant; submissive; tame;

in one ear and out the other A mori¬

tractable; yielding.

bund metaphor (see page 21). forgetful;

in loco parentis A foreign phrase (see

heedless; inattentive; lethean; neglectful;

page 19).

negligent; oblivious; remiss; thoughtless; unmindful; unthinking.

in (our) midst A wretched redundancy (see page 25). amid; among. ■ There are

I hand them over, glad to be

growing numbers of crazy people in our

relieved of them.

midst. Replace with among us.

understand them better than I.

Maybe she’ll

Anchee’s explanations, I’m afraid,

in nature A wretched redundancy (see

went in one ear and out the other.

page 25). ■ He said the diaries are per¬

— Dennis Danvers, The Watch

sonal in nature. DELETE in nature. ■ Laws

governing freedom to

protest

politically obviously are political

in

(get) in on the ground floor A mori¬ bund metaphor (see page 21).

nature. DELETE in nature.

in

over

(my)

head A

moribund

(as) innocent as a newborn babe

metaphor (see page 21).

1.

overbur¬

(child) An insipid simile, artless; guile¬

dened; overextended; overloaded; over¬

less; ingenuous; innocent; naive; simple.

whelmed. 2. in arrears; in debt.

in nothing (no time) flat A torpid term

(he’s) in (his) own world A moribund

(see page 24). abruptly; apace; at once;

metaphor (see page 21). self-absorbed;

briskly; directly; expeditiously; fast; forth¬

self-involved; solipsistic.

with; hastily; hurriedly; immediately; posthaste;

in point of fact A wretched redundan¬

promptly; quickly; rapidly; rashly; right

cy (see page 25). actually; indeed; in fact;

instantaneously;

instantly;

189

input

in faith; in reality; in truth; truly. U In

in (high) relief A moribund metaphor

point of fact, we do all the wrong things,

(see page 21). clearly; conspicuously; dis¬

and we have for years. REPLACE WITH In

tinctly; manifestly; markedly; noticeably;

fact. ■ In point of fact, Krakatoa is west

obviously; perceptibly; plainly; prominent¬

of Java, but east apparently sounded

ly; unmistakably; visibly.

better to Hollywood. REPLACE WITH

Actually. ■ There aren’t, in point of fact,

in (with) respect to A wretched redun¬

one or two buildings; there are two

dancy (see page 25). about; as for; as to;

exactly. DELETE in point of fact.

concerning; for; in; of; on; over; regarding; respecting; to; toward; with. ■ Some his¬

input A torpid term (see page 24). data;

tory with respect to the origins and evo¬

feelings; ideas; information; recommenda¬

lution of the AS/400 will then be dis¬

tions; suggestions; thoughts; views. ■ We

cussed. Replace with on.

would appreciate input from anyone who has knowledge in the above areas. ■

in

seventh

heaven

A

moribund

Of

metaphor (see page 21). blissful; blithe;

course, discretion must be used in eval¬

buoyant; cheerful; delighted; ecstatic; elat¬

uating their inputs since sales reps are

ed; enraptured; euphoric; exalted; excited;

biased toward lowering prices and push¬

exhilarated; exultant; gay; glad; gleeful;

ing volume. REPLACE WITH suggestions.

good-humored; happy; intoxicated; jolly;

See ALSO (the) bottom line; feedback;

jovial; joyful; joyous; jubilant; merry;

interface; output; parameters.

mirthful; overjoyed; pleased; rapturous;

Replace

with

information.

thrilled. inquiring minds (want to know) An infantile phrase (see page 20).

in short order A torpid term (see page 24). abruptly; apace; at once; briskly;

in (with) reference to A wretched

directly; expeditiously; fast; forthwith;

redundancy (see page 25). about; as for;

hastily; hurriedly; immediately; instanta¬

as to; concerning; for; in; of; on; over;

neously; instantly; posthaste; promptly;

regarding; respecting; to; toward; with. ■

quickly; rapidly; rashly; right away; speed¬

With reference to the latest attempt to

ily; straightaway; swiftly; wingedly.

forge statehood for the District of Columbia, I favor our ancestors’ con¬

in short supply A torpid term (see page

cept that the District ought to be an

24). exiguous; inadequate; meager; rare;

entity unto itself. REPLACE WITH As for.

scant; scanty; scarce; sparse; uncommon; unusual.

in (with) regard to A wretched redun¬ dancy (see page 25). about; as for; as to;

inside (and) out A moribund metaphor

concerning; for; in; of; on; over; regarding;

(see page 21).

respecting; to; toward; with. ■ With

entirely; fully; perfectly; quite; roundly;

regard to the StataQuest, I am expecting

thoroughly; totally; unreservedly; utterly;

the first six chapters sometime this

wholly.

altogether; completely;

week. Replace with Regarding.

(an) inspiration to us all A suspect superlative (see page 24). How inspira190

intestinal fortitude

tional could anyone be when he is described with

such

an

binding; stimulating; taking; tantalizing.

uninspired

Not only An overworked word (see

expression? ■ He’s been an inspiration to

page 22), interesting is also a worsened

us all.

one, for it connotes uninteresting as often as it denotes interesting. SEE ALSO

in spite of the fact that A wretched

that’s interesting.

redundancy (see page 25). although; but; even if; even though; still; though; yet. ■

interface A torpid term (see page 24).

This is true in spite of the fact that a sep¬

See ALSO (the) bottom line; feedback;

arate symbol has been designated for

input; output; parameters.

input and output operations. REPLACE WITH even though. See ALSO despite the

in terms of A wretched redundancy (see

fact that; regardless of the fact that.

page 25). This phrase is most often a plodding replacement for words like

Right

away after

the

move

I

about; as for; as to; concerning; for; in; of;

longed for it, in spite of the fact

on; regarding; respecting; through; with.

that I’d been in a conspicuous

And with some slight thought,

position, the kid of a proselytizing

phrase frequently can be pared from a

socialist schoolteacher and a city-

sentence. ■ In terms of what women

slicker piano-playing mother. —

need to know about men, I have learned

Jane Hamilton, Disobedience

a lot. Replace with Regarding. ■ A key

the

element in terms ^/quality health care is

in (within) striking distance A mori¬

going to be having the best in terms of

bund metaphor (see page 21).

the education and continuing educa¬ tional abilities to train the best in this

integral part An inescapable pair (see

country. REPLACE WITH of DELETE in

page 20). This is another example of

terms of the. ■ For further information,

one word modifying another to little or

you would want to read outside sources

no purpose.

that analyze your competitors in terms of their products. REPLACE WITH your com-

integrate together A wretched redun¬

peti tors’ p ro ducts.

dancy (see page 25). integrate. ■ The cost of the transmitters can be signifi¬

intestinal fortitude An infantile phrase

cantly reduced if all the lasers can be

(see page 20). boldness; bravery; courage;

integrated together on a single substrate.

daring; determination; endurance; fear¬

Delete together.

lessness; firmness; fortitude; grit; guts; hardihood; hardiness; intrepidity; mettle;

interesting An overworked word (see

nerve; perseverance; resolution;

page 22). absorbing; alluring; amusing;

spirit;

arresting; bewitching; captivating; charm¬

tenacity. ■ It takes a little luck and a lot

ing; curious; diverting; enchanting; engag¬

of intestinal fortitude to break into a

ing; engrossing; entertaining; enthralling;

game. REPLACE WITH daring. ■ Voters

enticing; exciting; fascinating; gripping;

will need intestinal fortitude to make it

intriguing; invigorating; inviting; pleas¬

to election day. REPLACE WITH fortitude.

ing; provocative; refreshing; riveting; spell¬ 191

spunk;

stamina;

resolve;

steadfastness;

in the affirmative

in the affirmative A wretched redun¬

posthaste; promptly; quickly; rapidly; rash¬

dancy (see page 25). affirmatively; favor¬

ly; right away; speedily; straightaway; sud¬

ably; positively; yes. ■ The answer is in

denly; swiftly; unexpectedly; wingedly. ■

the affirmative. REPLACE WITH yes.

Self-indulgent,

run-on sentences will

earn you a rejection slip in the blink of an in

the

altogether

A

moribund

metaphor (see page 21). bare; disrobed;

eye. REPLACE WITH quickly earn you a rejection slip.

naked; nude; stripped; unclothed; uncov¬ in the buff A moribund metaphor (see

ered; undressed.

page 21). bare; disrobed; naked; nude;

in the arms of Morpheus A moribund

stripped; unclothed; uncovered; undressed.

metaphor (see page 21). asleep; dozing;

dreaming; napping; sleeping; slumbering;

in

(on)

the

cards

unconscious.

metaphor (see page 21). certain; des¬

A

moribund

tined; expected; fated; foreordained; fore¬ in the back of (my) mind A moribund

seeable; imminent; impending; liable;

metaphor (see page 21). subconsciously;

likely; possible; probable; ordained; pre¬

subliminally. ■ I always knew, in the

arranged; predestined; predetermined; pre¬

back of my mind, that something was

dictable; sure. ■ I think that kind of

bothering him. REPLACE WITH subcon¬

complexity is not in the cards. REPLACE

sciously.

WITH likely.

(it’s) in the bag A moribund metaphor

in the chips A moribund metaphor (see

(see page 21). assured; certain; definite;

page 21).

guaranteed; incontestable; incontrovert¬

prosperous; rich; wealthy; well-off; well-to-

ible; indisputable; indubitable; positive;

do.

affluent; moneyed; opulent;

secure; sure; unquestionable. in the clear A moribund metaphor (see in

the

ballpark

of A

moribund

page 21). 1. absolved; acquitted; blame¬

metaphor (see page 21). about; around;

less; clear; excused; exonerated; faultless;

close to; more or less; near; nearly; or so;

guiltless; inculpable; innocent; irreproach¬

roughly; some. ■ Estimates put the cost

able; unblamable; unblameworthy; vindi¬

of each TAO work time gained or lost in

cated. 2. guarded; protected; safe; secure;

the ballpark of $3 million per year.

sheltered; shielded. 3. debt-free; debtless.

Replace with around. See also in the

neighborhood of; in the vicinity of.

in the closet A moribund metaphor (see page 21). clandestine; concealed; con¬

in the black A moribund metaphor (see

fidential; covert; hidden; private; secret;

page 21). debt-free; debtless.

secluded; shrouded; surreptitious; under¬ cover; unspoken; veiled.

in the blink of an eye A moribund metaphor (see page 21). abruptly; apace;

in the cold light of reason A moribund

at once; briskly; directly; expeditiously;

metaphor (see page 21).

fast; forthwith; hastily; hurriedly; imme¬ diately;

instantaneously;

instantly; 192

(down) in the dumps

(keep)

in

the

dark A

moribund

future. Replace with one day. See also

metaphor (see page 21). ignorant; incog¬

in the immediate future; in the near

nizant;

future; in the not-too-distant future.

insensible;

unacquainted; unaware;

mystified;

nescient;

unadvised;

unapprised;

unenlightened;

unfamiliar;

uninformed; uninitiated; unintelligent;

uninstructed;

unknowing;

untaught; unversed.

in the doghouse A moribund metaphor (see page 21). in disfavor; in disgrace.

unschooled;

■ They told me

in

the

doldrums

A

moribund

everything; I was never kept in the dark.

metaphor (see page 21). 1. dead; dor¬

REPLACE WITH uninformed.

mant; dull; immobile; immovable; inac¬ tive; inanimate; indolent; inert; inopera¬

in the dead of night A moribund

tive; languid; latent; lethargic; lifeless; list¬

metaphor (see page 21).

less;

motionless; phlegmatic; quiescent;

quiet; sluggish; stagnant; static; stationary; Some of it she told him anyway,

still; stock-still; torpid; unresponsive. 2.

that it was extremely urgent she

aggrieved; blue; cheerless; dejected; demor¬

communicate with a friend in

alized; depressed; despondent; disconsolate;

Tijuana, that quite possibly it was

discouraged; disheartened; dismal; dispir¬

a matter of life and death, which is

ited; doleful; downcast; downhearted;

why she had taken it upon herself

dreary; forlorn; funereal; gloomy; glum;

to wake him in the dead of night

grieved;

and for that, together with the

morose; mournful; plaintive; sad; sorrow¬

breaking of his window, she had apologized

profusely.

—

low;

melancholy;

miserable;

ful; unhappy; woebegone; woeful.

Kem

in

Nunn, Tijuana Straits

the

driver’s

seat A

moribund

metaphor (see page 21). administer; boss;

in the depths of depression (despair)

command; control; dictate; direct; domi¬

A moribund metaphor (see page 21).

nate; govern; in charge; in command; in

aggrieved; blue; cheerless; dejected; demor¬

control;

alized; depressed; despondent; disconsolate;

order; overpower; oversee; predominate;

discouraged; disheartened; dismal; dispir¬

prevail; reign over; rule; superintend. ■

ited; doleful; downcast; downhearted;

Buyers are most definitely in the driver’s

dreary; forlorn; funereal; gloomy; glum;

seat. REPLACE WITH in charge. ■ Unlike

grieved;

miserable;

traditional pension plans, which your

morose; mournful; plaintive; sad; sorrow¬

employer controls, 401 (k) plans put you

ful; unhappy; woebegone; woeful.

in the driver’s seat. REPLACE WITH in con¬

low;

melancholy;

manage;

manipulate;

master;

trol.

in the distant future A wretched redundancy (see page 25). at length;

(down) in the dumps A moribund

eventually; finally; in the end; in time;

metaphor (see page 21). aggrieved; blue;

later; one day; over the (months); over

cheerless; dejected; demoralized; depressed;

time; someday; sometime; ultimately; with

despondent; disconsolate; discouraged; dis¬

■

with

heartened; dismal; dispirited; doleful;

Mexico could result in a true North

downcast; downhearted; dreary; forlorn;

American common market in the distant

funereal; gloomy; glum; grieved; low;

time.

A

similar

agreement

193

In the event (that)

melancholy; miserable; morose; mournful;

mayor in New York and ask him to

plaintive; sad; sorrowful; unhappy; woebe¬

make a decision. REPLACE WITH this

gone; woeful.

week. See ALSO in the distant future; in the near future; in the not-too-distant

in the event (that) A wretched redun¬

future.

dancy (see page 25). if; should. ■ In the event you think I am overreacting, let

in (on) the issue (matter; subject) of A

me call attention to the realities of the

wretched redundancy (see page 25).

contemporary

about; as for; as to; concerning; for; in; of;

workplace.

REPLACE

on; over; regarding; respecting; to; toward;

WITH If or Should.

with. ■ This state used to be a leader on

in the final (last) analysis A wretched

the issue ^/health reform. REPLACE WITH

redundancy (see page 25). in the end;

in. ■ On the matter ^quality in teach¬

ultimately.

ing, he proposed a more symbiotic rela¬ tionship between classroom time and

in the first place A wretched redundan¬

research. REPLACE WITH As for.

cy (see page 25). first. ■ In the first place, I don’t want to, and in the second place, I

in the know A moribund metaphor (see

can’t afford to. REPLACE WITH First; sec¬

page 21). 1. able; adept; apt; capable;

ond. See also in the second place.

competent; conversant; deft; dexterous; experienced; expert; familiar; practiced;

in the flesh A moribund metaphor (see page 21). 1. alive. 2. in person; present.

in the fullness of time A moribund metaphor (see page 21). at length; even¬ tually; in time; ultimately; yet.

proficient; seasoned; skilled; skillful; veter¬ an. 2. adroit; astute; bright; brilliant; clever; discerning; effective; effectual; effi¬ cient; enlightened; insighful; intelligent; judicious; keen; knowledgeable; learned; logical; luminous; perceptive; perspica¬ cious; quick; rational; reasonable; saga¬ cious;

Here in the fullness of time would lie

Kaiser

himself.

—

Evelyn

sage;

sapient;

shrewd; smart; sound;

sensible;

sharp;

understanding;

wise.

Waugh, The Loved One

(live) in the lap of luxury A moribund in the heat of battle A moribund metaphor (see page 21).

metaphor (see page 21). affluent; mon¬ eyed; opulent; prosperous; rich; wealthy; well-off; well-to-do.

in the heat of the moment A mori¬ bund metaphor (see page 21).

in (over) the long run (term) A wretched redundancy (see page 25). at

in the immediate future A wretched

length; eventually; finally; in the end; in

redundancy (see page 25). at once; at

time; later; long-term; one day; over the

present; before long; currently; directly;

(months); over time; someday; sometime;

immediately; in a (week); next (month);

ultimately; with time. ■ In the long run,

now; presently; quickly; shortly; soon;

that may be the most important thing.

straightaway; this (month). ■ I will, in

Replace with Over time. See also in

the immediate future, contact my fellow

(over) the short run (term).

in the process of -ing

in

the

market

for

A

moribund

phone equivalent of a superhighway to

metaphor (see page 21). able to afford;

every home and

desire; looking for; need; ready to buy;

WITH Before long. See ALSO in the distant

require; seeking; want; wish for.

future; in the immediate future; in the

business.

REPLACE

near future. in the midst of A wretched redundancy (see page 25). amid; among; between;

in the not-too-distant past A wretched

encircled by; encompassed by; in; inside; in

redundancy (see page 25). before; earlier;

the middle of; surrounded by. ■ The

formerly; not long ago; once; recently. ■ In

United States, in the midst of increasing

the not-too-distant past, women were

tension over Korea, is softening its tone

expected to be home, be nice, be sexy,

on China. REPLACE WITH amid. ■ My

and be quiet. REPLACE WITH Not long

profound conviction is that anytime we

ago. See ALSO in the past; in the recent

are together, Christ is in the ?nidst of us.

past.

Replace with among.

in the offing A moribund metaphor in the money A moribund metaphor

(see page 21). approaching; at hand;

(see page 21). affluent; moneyed; opulent;

close;

prosperous; rich; wealthy; well-off; well-to-

imminent; impending; looming; near;

do.

nearby.

in the near future A wretched redun¬

in the past A wretched redundancy (see

dancy (see page 25). before long; directly;

page 25). ■ I’m just saying what we did

eventually;

one day;

do in the past. Delete in the past. ■ We

presently; quickly; shortly; sometime; soon.

can remember in the past when we

■ I’m looking forward to the possibility

sometimes had two or three representa¬

that you might review my work in the

tives. Delete in the past. See ALSO in the

near future. REPLACE WITH soon. See

not-too-distant past; in the recent past.

in

time;

later;

coming; expected; forthcoming;

ALSO in the distant future; in the immedi¬

in the picture A moribund metaphor

ate future; in the not-too-distant future.

(see page 21). SEE ALSO not in the pic¬

in the neighborhood of A wretched redundancy

(see

page

25).

ture.

about;

around; close to; more or less; near; nearly;

in the pink A moribund metaphor (see

or so; roughly; some. ■ The rebels may

page 21). energetic; fine; fit; good; hale;

have killed in the neighborhood of ten

hardy; healthful; healthy; hearty; robust;

people. Replace with close to. See also

sound; strong; vigorous; well.

in the ballpark of; in the vicinity of. in the pipeline A moribund metaphor in

the

not-too-distant

future

A

(see page 21).

wretched redundancy (see page 25).

before long; directly; eventually; in time;

in the process of -ing A wretched

later; one day; presently; quickly; shortly;

redundancy (see page 25). as; while;

sometime; soon. ■ In the not-too-distant

delete. Even though in the process of

future, Americans will have the tele¬

seems to add significance to what is 195

in (within) the realm of possibility

— and to who is saying it — subtracts from both. ■ The is in the process of making a to the northeast. DELETE in the process of ■ I’m in the process tf/going on a lot of interviews. DELETE in the process of ■ The office is still in the process of collecting facts. DELETE in the

ment has taken steps in the right direc¬

process of

in the saddle A moribund metaphor (see page 21). administer; boss; com-

being said it plainly hurricane slow turn

In the process of taking his jacket off, the Artiste thrust his thick chest forward. — Tom Wolfe, A Man in Full

S* H r

life111 I' IBISI

in (within) the realm of possibility A wretched redundancy (see page 25). believable;

conceivable;

conjecturable;

tion. Replace with to make them less unwieldy.

in the right place at the right time An infantile phrase (see page 20). See ALSO

in the wrong place at the wrong time.

^ mand; control; dictate; direct; dominate; govern; in charge; in command; in con¬ trol; manage; manipulate; master; order; overpower; oversee; predominate; prevail; reign over; rule; superintend.

in the same boat A metaphor (see page 21).

moribund

doable; feasible; imaginable; likely; plau¬ sible; possible; practicable; supposable; thinkable; workable. ■ Appointment of a

“civilian” generalist public administrator possessing some public safety back¬ ground is also within the realm of possi¬ bility. Replace with possible. H I’m afraid it is within the realm of possibility that that many warheads may be miss¬ ing. Replace with conceivable. in the recent past A wretched redun¬ dancy (see page 25). before; earlier; for¬

in the second place A wretched redun¬ dancy (see page 25). second. H In the sec¬ ond place, I sincerely believe that the merger has given it another chance to become the quality institution these stu¬ dents deserve. REPLACE WITH Second.

merly; lately; not long ago; of late; once;

See also in the first place.

recent; recently. ■ In the recent past, such

performers were on the fringes of American culture. REPLACE WITH

in (over) the short run (term) A wretched redundancy (see page 25). at

Recently. See ALSO in the not-too-distant

present; before long; currently; directly;

past; in the past.

eventually; in time; later; next (month); now; one day; presently; quickly; shortly;

in the red A moribund metaphor (see page 21). in arrears; in debt.

short-term; sometime; soon; this (month).

in the right direction A torpid term (see page 24). ■ Furthermore, when onerous regulations are brought to the attention of senior officials, the govern¬

WITH soon. See ALSO in (over) the long

■ I hope were able to do something about this in the short term. REPLACE run (term).

196

in the way of

in the soup A moribund metaphor (see

exploded with a terrific concen¬

page 21). at risk; endangered; hard-

trated violence, striking him dead

pressed; imperiled; in a bind; in a dilem¬

to

ma; in a fix; in a jam; in a predicament;

wounded man and practically

in a quandary; in danger; in difficulty; in

annihilating the empty sledge in

jeopardy; in peril; in trouble; jeopardized.

the twinkling of an eye. — Joseph

the

ground,

finishing

the

Conrad, Under Western Eyes in the spotlight A moribund metaphor (see page 21).

in the vicinity of A wretched redun¬ dancy (see page 25). about; around; close

in the swim A moribund metaphor (see

to; more or less; near; nearly; or so; rough¬

page

busy;

ly; some. ■ The final phase prohibits

employed; engaged; engrossed; immersed;

smoking anywhere in the vicinity of the

involved; occupied; preoccupied; wrapped

main

building’s

up in.

WITH

near. ■ The public puts its

21).

absorbed;

active;

entrance.

REPLACE

approval of Clinton’s conduct in the in the swing of things A moribund

vicinity of 70 percent. REPLACE WITH

metaphor (see page 21). in step; in sync;

around. SEE ALSO in the ballpark of; in

in tune.

the neighborhood of.

in the thick of (it) A moribund

in the wake of A moribund metaphor

metaphor (see page 21). 1. amid; among;

(see page 21). after; behind; ensuing; fol¬

encircled; encompassed; in the middle;

lowing; succeeding See ALSO (hot) on the

surrounded. 2. absorbed; active; busy;

heels of; reach epidemic proportions.

employed; engaged; engrossed; immersed; involved; occupied; preoccupied; wrapped

in

the

wastebasket

A

moribund

up in.

metaphor (see page 21). abandoned; dis¬ carded; dismissed; jettisoned; rejected;

in the trenches A moribund metaphor

repudiated; thrown out; tossed out.

(see page 21). in the way of A wretched redundancy in the twinkling (wink) of an eye A

(see page 25). ■ They don’t think they’ll

moribund metaphor (see page 21).

meet much in the way of resistance.

abruptly; apace; at once; briskly; directly;

DELETE in the way of. ■ The result is a

expeditiously; fast; forthwith; hastily; hur¬

staggering investment in foreign-orient-

riedly;

instantaneously;

ed training with little in the way of

instantly; posthaste; promptly; quickly;

return on investment. DELETE in the

rapidly; rashly; right away; speedily;

way of. ■ They didn’t have much in the

straightaway; suddenly; swiftly; unexpect¬

way of money DELETE in the way of. ■

edly; wingedly.

The result is that this disorganized

immediately;

interview usually provides little in the It actually struck the Minister-

way ^/Valuable information. DELETE in

President on the shoulder as he

the way of.

stooped over his dying servant, then

falling

between

his

feet 197

in the worst (possible) way

in the worst (possible) way A torpid

the fact that you couldn’t pay your bills,

term (see page 24). acutely; a great deal;

you became a prostitute? REPLACE WITH

badly; consumedly; exceedingly; extremely;

Because. SEE ALSO because of the fact that;

greatly; hugely; immensely; intensely;

considering the fact that; by virtue of the

mightily; prodigiously; seriously; very

fact that; given the fact that; in considera¬

much. ■ The Eagles want to win in the

tion of the fact that; on account of the fact

worst way. REPLACE WITH very much.

that.

See also in a big way.

(a lot of) irons in the fire A moribund in the wrong place at the wrong time

metaphor (see page 21). 1. assignments;

An infantile phrase (see page 20). An

chores; duties; involvements; jobs; projects;

ascription of meaningfulness for those

responsibilities;

who unhappily speak it, it is an acce¬

potentialities; prospects.

tasks.

2. possibilities;

dence to meaninglessness for those who sadly hear it. Along with in the right

I second that emotion An infantile

place at the right time (See), this phrase

phrase (see page 20).

is evidence of what reason has been reduced to. ■ That little girl was just in

I shall return An infantile phrase (see

the wrong place at the wrong time.

page 20).

in this day and age A moribund

(money) isn’t everything A popular

metaphor (see page 21). at present; cur¬

prescription (see page 23). H Price is

rently; now; presently; these days; today. ■

important, but price isn’t everything.

In this day and age, we need to train medical students to see beyond the front

it doesn’t take (you don’t have to be) a

door of the hospital and to see the

rocket scientist (an Einstein; a PhD)

broader issues. REPLACE WITH Today.

to (know) An infantile phrase (see page 20). We can be reasonably certain that

in (their) time of need A torpid term

the people who use this expression are

(see page 24). ■ The ultimate benefici¬

not rocket scientists, not Einsteins, not

aries are those who turn to the Clinic in

PhDs. We can be less certain that the

their time of need.

people who use this phrase are not dullwitted, not obtuse, not brainless. ■ It

in two shakes (of a lamb’s tail) A mori¬

doesn't take a rocket scientist to see that a

bund metaphor (see page 21). abruptly;

brutal police attack on a peaceful march

apace; at once; briskly; directly; expedi¬

is unacceptable and outrageous. ■ It

tiously; fast; forthwith; hastily; hurriedly;

doesn’t take a rocket scientist to under¬

immediately; instantaneously; instantly;

stand that high standards and a quality

posthaste; promptly; quickly; rapidly; rash¬

education should rank over diversity. ■

ly; right away; speedily; straightaway; sud¬

It doesn’t take an Einstein to know that

denly; swiftly; unexpectedly; wingedly.

when kids see Mark McGwire they’re going to head to the mall and buy the

in view of the fact that A wretched

supplements. ■ It doesn’t take a rocket

redundancy (see page 25). because; con¬

scientist to figure out what’s going on

sidering; for; in that; since. ■ In view of

here. ■ It doesn’t take a PhD to realize

198

(so) ... it isn’t (even) funny

that the problem with the lagoon is

ment. DELETE It is important to note

what it contains — trash and polluted

that. See ALSO it is interesting to note

water. See ALSO alive and kicking.

(that); it is significant to note (that).

it felt (seemed) like a lifetime An

it is important to realize (that) An

insipid simile. SEE ALSO it felt (seemed)

ineffectual phrase (see page 19). ■ It is

like an eternity.

important to realize that analogical rea¬ soning is used to explain and clarify,

it felt (seemed) like an eternity An

whereas causal reasoning is used to

insipid simile. ■ Although it took 10

prove. DELETE It is important to realize

hours to convince the man to come

that.

down, it felt like an eternity. SEE ALSO it

it is important to remember (that) An

felt (seemed) like a lifetime.

ineffectual phrase (see page 19). ■ It is

it has been brought to (my) attention

important to remember that all three

An ineffectual phrase (see page 19). ■ It

phases are important to your success.

has been brought to my attention that we

DELETE It is important to remember that.

have no record of your order. REPLACE WITH I have been told. See ALSO it has

it is important to understand (that)

come to (my) attention.

An ineffectual phrase (see page 19). M It

is important to understand that turning it has come to (my) attention An inef¬

the grid lines on and off changes only

fectual phrase (see page 19). ■ It has

the display on the monitor and not the

come to our attention that the number 3 is very popular. REPLACE WITH We have

learned. ■ It has come to my attention that your deposit was received too late to be disbursed to your creditors this month. DELETE It has come to my atten¬

tion that. SEE also it has been brought to (my) attention.

printout.

Delete It is important to

understand that. See ALSO you have to understand (that). it is interesting to note (that) An inef¬ fectual phrase (see page 19). ■ It is inter¬

esting to note that although the sex hor¬ mone makes men more subject to bald¬ ness than women, it is more acceptable for women to wear wigs. DELETE It is

it is important to note (that) An inef¬ fectual

phrase

(see

page

19).

Attachments like it is important to note

(that) and it is interesting to note (that)

interesting to note that. ■ It is interesting to note that in America bylines were largely an outcome of false reporting in another war, the Civil War. DELETE It is

suggest that whatever follows them is

interesting to note that. See ALSO it is

probably not so important or interest¬

important to note (that); it is significant

ing.

to note (that).

Only people who mistrust the

import or interest of their own state¬ ments use phrases like these — clear sig¬

(so) ... it isn’t (even) funny An infantile

nals that their meaning is likely without

phrase (see page 20). ■ We’ve got so

merit,

much overcapacity in

their message likely without

the securities

allure. ■ It is important to note that you

business it isn’t funny. ■ I’m so sick of

can change these settings for any docu¬

her it isn’t funny. 199

it isn’t over till it’s over

it isn’t over till it’s over A popular pre¬

should be noted that not all parents

scription (see page 23).

require an extensive interview. DELETE

It should be noted that. ■ In terms of it is significant to note (that) An inef¬

who conducts investigations, it should be

fectual phrase (see page 19). M It is sig¬

noted that patrol personnel also may be

nificant to note that the original database

used as investigators. DELETE it should

has not been altered. DELETE It is signif¬

be noted that.

icant to note that. See ALSO it is impor¬ tant to note (that); it is interesting to note

it must (should) be pointed out (that)

(that).

An ineffectual phrase (see page 19). M It

should be pointed out that when you send it is what it is A quack equation (see

this type of letter you must follow

page 23).

through with the filing in the court, or it can be looked on as a threat. DELETE

it is worth noting (that) An ineffectu¬

It should be pointed out that.

al phrase (see page 19). ■ It is worth not¬

ing that he regarded her as “one of the

it must (should) be realized (that) An

finest writers of fiction.” DELETE It is

ineffectual phrase (see page 19). ■ It

worth noting that.

should be realized that uncoupling is complete

when

the

partners

have

it just happened An infantile phrase

defined themselves and are defined by

(see page 20). As an explanation for how

others as separate and independent of

circumstances or incidents unfold, none

each other. DELETE It should be realized

is more puerile. And though we might

that.

excuse children such a sentiment, it is

it must (should) be understood (that)

rarely they who express it.

It just happened is a phrase used by

An ineffectual phrase (see page 19). ■ It

those too slothful or too fearful to know

should be understood that a quitting con¬

what has happened. ■ It wasn’t some¬

cern assumption would be clearly dis¬

thing I planned; it just happened. H

closed

What can I say? It just happened. SEE

DELETE It should be understood that.

on

the

financial

statement.

ALSO because (that’s why); whatever hap¬

pens happens.

it never ends A plebeian sentiment (see page 23).

it makes you (stop and) think A ple¬ it never rains, but it pours A mori¬

beian sentiment (see page 23).

bund metaphor (see page 21).

it must (should) be mentioned (that) An ineffectual phrase (see page 19). ■ It

I told you (so) An infantile phrase (see

should be mentioned that hiperspace is

page 20).

used

by authorized

programs

only.

DELETE It should be mentioned that.

it’s a bird, it’s a plane, (it’s Superman) An infantile phrase (see page 20).

it must (should) be noted (that) An ineffectual phrase (see page 19). ■ It 200

it’s more fun than a barrel of monkeys

it’s a dirty job, but someone’s got to

it’s always darkest just before dawn A

do it A popular prescription (see page

popular prescription (see page 23).

23).

it’s always something A plebeian senti¬ it’s a dream come true A moribund

ment (see page 23).

metaphor (see page 21). ■ To be men¬ tioned in the same sentence as Bette

it’s an art A suspect superlative (see

Davis — it’s a dream come true.

page 24). ■ Parallel parking is not easy;

its an art. ■ Creating a seamless event it’s a free country An infantile phrase

involves skill and experience; it’s an art.

(see page 20). This expression is one

■ Congress is involved with changing

that only fettered thinkers could possi¬

the bankruptcy system; its an art with

bly use. One of the difficulties with

no exact formula. ■ Admissions is not a

dimwitticisms is that, because they are

precise science, it’s an art.

so familiar, people will most often use them thoughtlessly. Manacled as people

it’s a nice place to visit but I wouldn’t

are to these well-worn phrases, original

want to live there A popular prescrip¬

thoughts and fresh words are often

tion (see page 23).

unreachable.

■ If owners of eating

establishments want to allow smoking,

it’s a two-way street A moribund

let them do so — it’s a free country. ■ It’s

metaphor (see page 21).

a free country. It’s what makes America great. ■ It’s a free country, and no one

it’s a whole different ballgame A mori¬

tells me what to say!

bund metaphor (see page 21).

it’s a jungle (out there) A moribund

it’s better than nothing A popular pre¬

metaphor (see page 21).

scription (see page 23).

it’s all Greek to me An infantile phrase

it’s better to have loved and lost than

(see page 20). abstract; abstruse; ambigu¬

never to have loved at all A popular

ous; arcane; blurred; blurry; cloudy; con¬

prescription (see page 23).

fusing; cryptic; deep; dim; esoteric; impen¬ etrable; inaccessible; incoherent; incom¬

it’s like a death in the family An

prehensible; indecipherable; indistinct;

insipid simile.

muddy; murky; nebulous; obscure; puz¬ zling; recondite; unclear; unfathomable;

it’s like losing a member of the family

unintelligible; vague.

An insipid simile.

it’s a long story A torpid term (see page

it’s more fun than a barrel of monkeys

2‘4). It’s a long story—cipher for I don’t

A moribund metaphor (see page 21).

want to tell you — is a mannerly expres-

amusing; comical; entertaining; funny;

sion that we use to thwart the interest of

hilarious; humorous; hysterical; riotous;

a person in whom we are not much

risible; side-splitting.

interested. SEE ALSO that’s for me to know

and you to find out. 201

it’s not over till (until) it’s over

it’s not over till (until) it’s over A

it will all come out in the wash A

quack equation (see page 23). People say

moribund metaphor (see page 21).

it’s not over till (until) it's over in earnest, as if it were a weighty remark, a solemn

it works both ways A popular prescrip¬

truth when, of course, it’s nothing but

tion (see page 23).

dimwitted. We might have an occasion¬ al insight, even a revelation, if we didn’t persistently speak, and think in terms of, this kind of rubbish. ■ But it isn’t

J

over till it’s over, and right now we have a statement from Dubai Ports World and little else.

it’s not over till (until) the fat lady sings An infantile phrase (see page 20). (made) (her) jaw drop A moribund it’s (been) one of those days A plebeian

metaphor (see page 21). amaze; astonish;

sentiment (see page 23).

astound; awe; confound; dumbfound; flabbergast; jar; jolt; overwhelm; shock;

it’s one thing after another A plebeian

start; startle; stun; stupefy; surprise. ■

sentiment (see page 23). See ALSO if it

There are a couple levels that are truly

isn’t one thing, it’s another.

inspired, though there’s nothing that will make your jaw drop. REPLACE WITH

it’s the same old story A torpid term

astound you. ■ But Jabra, a company

(see page 24).

that usually doesn’t let us down with its Bluetooth headsets, has rolled out a

it’s what’s inside that counts A popular

model that made our jaw drop. REPLACE

prescription (see page 23).

WITH stunned us. 1 \.'t' v

^ \ ? v'

' 'S vxy V,

\'

S-Vy

x ^ ,' V :."y,'■;

ggz

pk-p, -

chafe;

««

% -y w

Never, never had she met anyone rap

(his)

knuckles

A

moribund

who could rattle her cage with

metaphor (see page 21). admonish; ani¬

such

madvert; berate; castigate; censure; chas¬

Susan Anderson, Obsessed

quick

thoroughness.

—*

ten; chastise; chide; condemn; criticize; denounce; denunciate; discipline; impugn;

rave reviews A suspect superlative (see

objurgate; punish; rebuke; remonstrate;

page 24).

reprehend; reprimand; reproach; repro¬

Windows is already getting rave reviews

bate; reprove; revile; scold; upbraid; vitu¬

from both industry experts and users

perate.

like

you.

■ The new LapLink for

■

But

it

turned

out

Maximumrocknroll gave it a rave review. rara avis A foreign phrase (see page 19).

■ In 1995, CeCe got rave reviews for her

aberrant; abnormal; anomalistic; anom¬

solo debut.

alous; atypical; bizarre; curious; deviant; different; distinct; distinctive; eccentric;

raving lunatic An inescapable pair (see

exceptional; extraordinary; fantastic; for¬

page 20).

eign; grotesque; idiosyncratic; independ¬ ent; individual; individualistic; irregular;

(a) ray of light (sunshine) A moribund

novel; odd; offbeat; original; peculiar;

metaphor (see page 21). anticipation;

puzzling; quaint; queer; rare; remarkable;

expectancy; expectation; hope; hopefulness;

separate; singular; strange; uncommon;

optimism; possibility; promise; prospect;

unconventional; unexampled; unique;

sanguinity. ■ I don’t see any ray of sun¬

unnatural;

shine when we have all these interplaying

unorthodox;

unparalleled;

unprecedented; unusual; weird.

forces in conflict. REPLACE WITH hope. 293

reach epidemic proportions

reach epidemic proportions A torpid

read it and weep An infantile phrase

term (see page 24). This phrase and

(see page 20).

journalistic junk of its kind — for example, (breathe; heavej a collective sigh

read (her) like a (an open) book An

of relief (See); an uphill battle (fightj

insipid simile, empathize; identify with;

(See);

deal a (crushing; devastating;

know; sympathize; understand.

major; serious) blow to (See); first (num¬ ber-one; top) priority (See); grind to a

read my lips An infantile phrase (see

halt (See); in the wake of; send a message

page 20).

(signal) (See); shocked (surprised) and saddened (dismayed) (See); weather the

read (him) the riot act A moribund

storm (of) (See) — ensure the writers of

metaphor (see page 21). admonish; ani¬

them will never be seriously read, and

madvert; berate; castigate; censure; chas¬

the readers of them never thoroughly

ten; chastise; chide; condemn; criticize;

engaged.

denounce; denunciate; discipline; excori¬

■ The availability of guns on the

ate;

fulminate

against;

imprecate;

street has reached epidemic proportions. ■

impugn; inveigh against; objurgate; pun¬

Dog bites among children are reported¬

ish; rebuke; remonstrate; reprehend; repri¬

ly reaching epidemic proportions.

mand; reproach; reprobate; reprove; revile; scold; swear at; upbraid; vituperate.

reach

for

the

sky

A

moribund

metaphor (see page 21). exceed; excel;

ready, willing, and able An infantile

outclass; outdo; outrival; outshine; out¬

phrase (see page 20). ■ She described

strip; shine; stand; surpass.

her client as being ready, willing, and

able to testify. Replace with willing. ■ reach out and touch (someone) An

We have a lot of social problems that

infantile phrase (see page 20).

need to be addressed, and I’m ready,

willing, and able to do that. REPLACE She sat

in

silence for a long

WITH ready.

moment, afraid he would reach out

and

touch

her.

—

Tim

re- again A wretched redundancy (see

Farrington, The Monk Downstairs

page 25). re-. ■ I divorced him, and then I remarried again. Delete again. ■

reach the end of (our) rope (tether) A

We missed the first ten minutes of his

moribund metaphor (see page 21).

talk, so he repeated it again for us.

exhausted; frazzled; harassed; stressed;

Delete again.

stressed out; tense; weary; worn out. real An overworked word (see page 22). read between the lines A moribund

For example: real contribution; real dif¬

metaphor (see page 21). assume; con¬

ference; real obvious; real possibility; real

clude; conjecture; deduce; gather; guess;

progress; real tragedy.

hypothesize; imagine; infer; presume; spec¬ ulate; suppose; surmise; theorize; venture.

reality check An infantile phrase (see page 20).

294

receive back

real, live An infantile phrase (see page

20). really An overworked word (see page 22). If such an intensive is needed at all, alternatives to the word really include

consumedly;

enormously;

especially;

exceedingly; exceptionally; extraordinarily; extremely;

genuinely;

particularly;

(the)

real

McCoy

A

moribund

remarkably; specially; truly; uncommonly;

metaphor (see page 21). actual; authen¬

very.

tic; genuine; legitimate; pure; real; ster¬

Often, however, such highlighting

ling; true; unadulterated; unalloyed; veri¬

seems only to moderate the value of our

table. ■ When you are talking about

statements. ■ At the London Review we

classical

take serious pride in our role as one of

McCoy.

scholarship,

he

is

the real

the really significant participants in the international exchange of ideas and

rear

information. DELETE really. ■ He did a

metaphor (see page 21). appear; emerge;

really good job of convincing us to buy.

materialize; surface. ■ That hypocritical

Delete really. ■ This speechlessness is

axiom, “Do as I say not as I do” seems

really affecting his moods, his behavior,

to have reared its ugly head on the edito¬

and his mental state. Delete really. See

rial pages of the Globe once again. ■

ALSO very.

None of us knows for sure whether

(its)

(ugly)

head A moribund

there is another problem in this volatile really? An infantile phrase (see page

environment which could rear its ugly

20). See ALSO you’re kidding; you’ve got to

head soon.

be kidding. reasonable facsimile An inescapable really (and) truly An infantile phrase

pair (see page 20).

(see page 20). ■ I really and truly love being in love. DELETE really and truly. ■

(the)

Do you really truly believe that your

wretched redundancy (see page 25).

mom thinks you’re a whore? DELETE

because; reason is (that). ■ One of the

really. ■ They really and truly thought I

reasons why people keep this to them¬

would never make it. DELETE really and.

selves is because of the stigma. REPLACE

■ She was, really and truly, only follow¬

WITH the reasons ... is.

reason

(why)

is

because A

ing orders. DELETE really and truly. ■

Star magazine is reporting that not only

(the) reason why A wretched redun¬

is Demi Moore really and truly pregnant

dancy (see page 25). reason. ■ There is a

with Ashton Kutcher’s child, she’s hav¬

reason why she is the way she is. DELETE

ing a boy! DELETE really and truly.

why. ■ The researchers are not certain as to the reason why. Delete why. receive back A wretched redundancy (see page 25). receive. ■ DPL now corn295

reckless abandon

municates with Excel, sending the input

posed; disconcerted; embarrassed; flushed;

values and receiving back the output

flustered; mortified; nonplused,; perplexed;

value Profit. DELETE back.

red-faced; shamed; shamefaced; sheepish.

reckless abandon An inescapable pair

(as) red as a rose An insipid simile. 1.

(see page 20).

beet-red; blood-red; burgundian; bur¬ gundy; cardinal; carmine; cerise; cherry;

record-breaking A wretched redundan¬

crimson; fire-engine-red; maroon; purple;

cy (see page 25). record. ■ We’ll take a

purplish; red; reddish; rose; rose-colored;

look at some record-breaking snowfalls.

rosy; rubefacient; rubescent; rubicund;

Replace with record. See also all-time

rubied; rubiginous; ruby; ruddy; rufes-

record; record-high.

cent;

rufous;

russet;

sanguine;

san¬

guineous; scarlet; vermilion; wine; winerecord-high A wretched redundancy

colored. 2. abashed; ashamed; blushing;

(see page 25). record. ■ In Concord, it

chagrined; confused; discomfited; discom¬

was a record-high 12 degrees. REPLACE

posed; disconcerted; embarrassed; flushed;

WITH record. See ALSO all-time record;

flustered; mortified; nonplused; perplexed;

record-breaking.

red-faced; shamed; shamefaced; sheepish.

(as) red as a beet An insipid simile. 1.

(as) red as a ruby An insipid simile. 1.

beet-red; blood-red; burgundian; bur¬

beet-red; blood-red; burgundian; bur¬

gundy; cardinal; carmine; cerise; cherry;

gundy; cardinal; carmine; cerise; cherry;

crimson; fire-engine-red; maroon; purple;

crimson; fire-engine-red; maroon; purple;

purplish; red; reddish; rose; rose-colored;

purplish; red; reddish; rose; rose-colored;

rosy; rubefacient; rubescent; rubicund;

rosy; rubefacient; rubescent; rubicund;

rubied; rubiginous; ruby; ruddy; rufes-

rubied; rubiginous; ruby; ruddy; rufes-

cent;

cent;

rufous;

russet;

sanguine;

san¬

rufous;

russet;

sanguine;

san¬

guineous; scarlet; vermilion; wine; wine-

guineous; scarlet; vermilion; wine; wine-

colored. 2. abashed; ashamed; blushing;

colored. 2. abashed; ashamed; blushing;

chagrined; confused; discomfited; discom¬

chagrined; confused; discomfited; discom¬

posed; disconcerted; embarrassed; flushed;

posed; disconcerted; embarrassed; flushed;

flustered; mortified; nonplused; perplexed;

flustered; mortified; nonplused; perplexed;

red-faced; shamed; shamefaced; sheepish.

red-faced; shamed; shamefaced; sheepish.

(as) red as a cherry An insipid simile.

red herring A moribund metaphor (see

1. beet-red; blood-red; burgundian; bur¬

page 21). decoy; distraction; diversion;

gundy; cardinal; carmine; cerise; cherry;

lure; ploy; trick.

crimson; fire-engine-red; maroon; purple; purplish; red; reddish; rose; rose-colored;

red in the face A moribund metaphor

rosy; rubefacient; rubescent; rubicund;

(see page 21). abashed; ashamed; blush¬

rubied; rubiginous; ruby; ruddy; rufes-

ing; chagrined; confused; discomfited; dis¬

cent;

composed;

rufous;

russet;

sanguine;

san¬

disconcerted;

embarrassed;

guineous; scarlet; vermilion; wine; wine-

flushed; flustered; mortified; nonplused;

colored. 2. abashed; ashamed; blushing;

perplexed; red-faced; shamed; shamefaced;

chagrined; confused; discomfited; discom¬

sheepish.

296

remedy the situation

They laughed standing^;

together

then,

under¬

And week after week, regular as

bending for¬

clockwork,

LaShawndra

comes

ward, he kissed her hastily on the

over and raids Mothers kitchen

cheek and went out, leaving her

like its the Piggly Wiggly. — Tina

red in the face as if she were a

McElroy Ansa, You Know Better

young

lass.

—

Catherine

Cookson, The Glass Virgin

reinvent

the

wheel

A

moribund

metaphor (see page 21). red-letter day A moribund metaphor (see page 21).

relate back A wretched redundancy (see page 25). relate. ■ Like the Chicago

red light A moribund metaphor (see

School, anomie theory relates back to

page 21). ban; disallowance; enjoinment;

the European sociology of the 1800s.

exclusion; interdiction; prohibition; pro¬

Delete back.

scription; veto. See ALSO green light. relic of the past A wretched redundan¬ red tape A moribund metaphor (see

cy (see page 25). relic. ■ The very idea of

page 21). bureaucracy; formalities;paper¬

a single, domestic market has become a

work; procedures; regulations; rules.

relic of the past. REPLACE WITH relic.

refer back A wretched redundancy (see

(it) remains to be seen A torpid term

page 25). refer. ■ Refer back to Chapter

(see page 24). I don’t know; (it’s) not (yet)

4. Delete back.

known; (that’s) uncertain; (that’s) unclear; (it’s) unknown. This phrase is often

reflect back A wretched redundancy

euphemistic for (I) don’t know and simi¬

(see page 25). reflect. ■ Part of the ener¬

lar admissions. ■ So much remains to be

gy is reflected back into medium 1 as a

seen. REPLACE WITH is unknown. ■ It

reflected ray, and the remainder passes

remains to be seen whether dietary soy¬

into

beans can protect women against breast

medium

2

as a refracted

ray.

Delete back.

cancer. Replace WITH We do not know. ■ How the French public, fond of both

regardless of the fact that A wretched

cigarettes and alcohol, will

respond

redundancy (see page 25). although; but;

remains to be seen. REPLACE WITH is not

even if; even though; still; though; yet. ■

yet known. See ALSO your guess is as good

Regardless of the fact that these products

as mine; (just have to) wait and see.

are low in sucrose, they still contain energy from other nutrients. REPLACE

remedy the situation A torpid term

WITH Though. See ALSO despite the fact

(see page 24). Like all torpid terms, rem¬

that; in spite of the fact that.

edy the situation neither moves nor motivates us; its use practically ensures

(as) regular as clockwork An insipid

that nothing will be righted, nothing

simile, cyclic; established; fixed; habitual;

remedied. An ill we might be moved to correct,

periodic; recurrent; recurring; regular; repetitive; rhythmic; rhythmical.

a problem we might be inspired to solve, but a situation we might never be

297

reminisce about the past

tions. REPLACE WITH is. ■ Newstar and

roused to remedy. ■ If the decisions actually turn out to

BASYS

currently represent the major

hamper civil rights enforcement, obvi¬

newsroom computer systems in the

ously I would want to take steps to rem¬

broadcasting field. REPLACE WITH are. ■

edy the situation. ■ To remedy the situa¬

Radiosurgery represents a major step for¬

tion — and make the process fairer, the

ward in our ability to treat tumors that

SEC should require that voting be

previously

strictly confidential. ■ One issue has

Replace with is. » I think Ginger,

been bothering management for quite a

Patty, and I represent three very hard¬

while, but they feel somewhat helpless

working, committed faculty members.

to remedy the situation. ■ The report

Replace with are.

have

been

untreatable.

again called on the government to reme¬

dy this intolerable situation. See ALSO (a)

respond back A wretched redundancy

situation.

(see page 25). respond. ■ The OPP will review each request and respond back

reminisce about the past A wretched

within ten business days. DELETE back.

redundancy (see page 25). reminisce. ■ She’s now 89 years old and she spends

rest and relaxation An inescapable pair

most of her time reminiscing about the

(see page 20). calm; calmness; leisure;

past. Delete about the past.

peace; peacefulness; quiet; quietude; relax¬ ation; repose; rest; serenity; stillness; tran¬

remove the cotton from (my) ears A

quility.

moribund metaphor (see page 21).

(and) (the) rest is history An infantile repay back A wretched redundancy (see

phrase (see page 20).

page 25). repay. ■ She is repaying her debt back to society. DELETE back.

rest on (her) laurels A moribund metaphor (see page 21).

replace back A wretched redundancy (see page 25). replace. ■ When a change

restore back A wretched redundancy

needs to be made, a developer reserves

(see page 25). restore, fl The new Undo

that file from the library, makes the

feature allows you to restore the disk

change,

and

then

replaces it

back.

back to its original state. DELETE back.

Delete back.

return back A wretched redundancy reports of (my) death are greatly exag¬

(see page 25). return. ■ When SEU is

gerated An infantile phrase (see page

exited, the user will be returned back to

20).

the Programmer Menu. Delete back.

represent(s) A torpid term (see page

revenge is sweet A quack equation (see

24). Increasingly, represents is being used

page 23).

for a sad, simple is (and represent for

are). U The budgeted capacity level rep¬

revert back A wretched redundancy

resents the level of expected business

(see page 25). revert. ■ Scientists specu¬

activity under normal operating condi¬

late that the rapid spread of the disease

298

ring down the curtain (on)

may be due to farmland reverting back to woodland.

DELETE

back. ■ Not

ride on (her) coattails A moribund metaphor (see page 21).

knowing what to do, I would revert right

back to my old eating habits. DELETE

ride

out

right back.

metaphor (see page 21).

revolving door policy A moribund

ride roughshod over A moribund

metaphor (see page 21).

metaphor (see page 21). boss; browbeat;

brutalize;

the

storm A moribund

bully;

dictate;

domineer;

rich and famous A suspect

enslave; master; oppress; overpower; over¬

superlative (see page 24). The rich and

rule; reign over; repress; rule; subjugate;

famous infatuate only foolish people,

suppress; tyrannize.

(the)

who are as boring to themselves as they are barren of themselves.

■ It has

become a summer hideaway for the rich

and famous. SEE ALSO celebrity; fame and

(as) right as rain An insipid simile. 1. accurate; correct; exact; irrefutable; pre¬ cise; right; true. 2. fit; good; hale; hardy; healthful; healthy; hearty; robust; sound;

fortune.

strong; well. (as) rich as Croesus An insipid simile. affluent; moneyed; opulent; prosperous; rich; wealthy; well-off; well-to-do. richly deserves An inescapable pair (see page 20). ■ Instead of vilifying him, we

(a case of) (the) right hand not know¬ ing what the left hand is doing A moribund metaphor (see page 21).

(whats) right is right A quack equa¬ tion (see page 23).

should be giving him the encourage¬ ment and support he richly deserves.

right off the bat A moribund metaphor (see page 21). abruptly; apace; at once;

rich man, poor man, beggarman,

briskly; directly; expeditiously; fast; forth¬

thief A moribund metaphor (see page

with; hastily; hurriedly; immediately;

21). ■ It doesn’t matter whether you are

instantaneously;

rich man, poor man, beggar, or thief if

promptly; quickly; rapidly; rashly; right

you are black, there’s an artificial ceiling

away; speedily; straightaway; swiftly;

on your ambition.

wingedly.

ride herd on A moribund metaphor

(on the)

(see page 21).

control; direct; guard;

instantly;

posthaste;

right track A moribund

metaphor (see page 21).

manage; mind; watch over. ring a bell A moribund metaphor (see ride off into the sunset A moribund

page 21).

metaphor (see page 21). abscond; clear

familiar.

be familiar; remind; sound

out; decamp; depart; desert; disappear; escape; exit; flee; fly; go; go away; leave;

ring down the curtain (on) A mori¬

move on; part; pull out; quit; retire;

bund metaphor (see page 21). cease;

retreat; run away; take flight; take off

close; complete; conclude; discontinue;

vacate; vanish; withdraw.

end; finish; halt; settle; stop. 299

ringing endorsement

ringing endorsement An inescapable

rob Peter to pay Paul A moribund

pair (see page 20).

metaphor (see page 21).

ringing off the hook A moribund

(the) rock of Gibraltar A moribund

metaphor (see page 21). ceaselessly; con¬

metaphor

stantly; continually; continuously; non¬

brawny; burly; energetic; firm; fit; hale;

stop; perpetually; steadily. ■ The phones

hardy; healthful; healthy; hearty; husky;

are ringing off the hook. REPLACE WITH

manly; mighty; muscular; powerful; puis¬

constantly ringing.

sant; robust; rugged; sinewy; solid; sound,;

(see

page

21).

1.

beefy;

stalwart; stout; strapping; strong; sturdy; to shreds A moribund

tough; vigorous; virile; well-built. 2. con¬

demolish;

stant; dependable; determined; faithful;

destroy; devastate; obliterate; rack; ravage;

fast; firm; fixed; inexorable; inflexible;

ruin; shatter; smash; undo; wrack; wreck.

loyal; obdurate; resolute; resolved; rigid;

rip

(tear)

metaphor

(see

page

21).

solid; stable; staunch; steadfast; steady; rise from the ashes A moribund

stern; strong;

tenacious;

unflinching;

metaphor (see page 21). rise anew.

unwavering; unyielding.

rise to the bait A moribund metaphor

rock the boat A moribund metaphor

(see page 21). get angry; react; rejoin;

(see page 21). agitate; confuse; disorder;

respond; retort.

disorganize; disquiet; disrupt; disturb; fluster; jar; jolt; jumble; mess up; mix up;

My job was to look respectfully

muddle; perturb; rattle; ruffle; shake up;

attentive without rising to his bait.

stir up; trouble; unnerve; unsettle; upset.

— Gail Godwin,

Queen of the

Undenvorld

(a) rogues gallery of A moribund metaphor (see page 21).

(a) rising tide of A moribund metaphor (see page 21). ■ The report found in the

(positive) role model A torpid term

nations public schools a rising tide of

(see page 24). archetype; example; exem¬

mediocrity. SEE ALSO a barrage of.

plar; good example; good man (woman); guide; hero; ideal; inspiration; model;

road

less

traveled

A

moribund

paragon; prototype.

metaphor (see page 21).

(like) (a) (an emotional) roller-coast¬ (the) road to hell is paved with good

er (ride) A moribund metaphor (see

intentions A popular prescription (see

page 21). Without relentless amuse¬

page 23).

ment, endless diversions, people might manage to speak tolerably well. As it is,

road to ruin A moribund metaphor

the need to be entertained so overcomes

(see page 21). ■ To permit lying is a step

us that we can speak in little but laugh¬

down the road to ruin.

able images. The expression (like) a (an

emotional) roller-coaster (ride), one such roar (in) like a lion An insipid simile.

image, results from and gives rise to

growl; roar.

only 300

carnival-like

conversation,

(a) rose by any other name (would smell as sweet)

sideshow prose. ■ But the next season,

roll with the punches A moribund

it’s the same thing, a game filled with

metaphor (see page 21). abide by; accede

ups and downs; it really is like a roller

to; accept; accommodate; acquiesce; adapt

coaster ride. ■ The stock market is like a

to; adhere to; adjust to; agree to; assent; be

roller coaster ride. ■ If you find that the

agreeable;

everyday activities of your daily life are

resigned; bow; comply with; concede to;

being interrupted by intense emotions

concur; conform; consent to; fit; follow;

or a roller coaster of emotions, call EAP

reconcile; submit; succumb; yield.

be

complacent;

bend;

be

Preferred to schedule a session. II When I started TTC again, I knew that this

romantic interlude A suspect superla¬

pregnancy would be a bit of an emotion¬

tive (see page 24). intercourse; love-mak¬

al roller coaster, but I had no idea just

ing; sex.

how terrified I would be.

Rome wasn’t built in a day A popular And so before its too late I want to

prescription (see page 23).

get it down for good: this rollercoaster

ride

through

of a

time.

gene

(the) roof fell in A moribund metaphor

Jeffrey

(see page 21). break down; break up; col¬

single —

lapse; crash; crumple; disintegrate; end;

Eugenides, Middlesex ■

rolling

fail; fall apart; fold; stop. in

money

A

moribund

metaphor (see page 21). affluent; mon¬

(a) roof over (their) heads A moribund

eyed; opulent; prosperous; rich; wealthy;

metaphor (see page 21). asylum; cover;

well-off; well-to-do.

harbor; harborage; haven; housing; lodg¬ ing; protection; refuge; retreat; safety;

rolling over (smiling; turning over) in

sanctuary; shelter.

(his) grave A moribund metaphor (see root cause A wretched redundancy (see

page 21).

page 23).

cause; origin; reason; root;

(a) rolling stone gathers no moss A

source. ■ It does not truly solve the

popular prescription (see page 23).

problem of rising health care costs since it does not address the root cause of the

roll in the aisles A moribund metaphor

problem. REPLACE WITH root.

(see page 21). cachinnate; cackle; chortle;

chuckle; convulse; guffaw; hoot; howl;

rootin’, tootin’, shootin’ An infantile

laugh; roar; shriek; whoop.

phrase (see page 20).

roll out the red carpet A moribund

(money is) (the) root of all evil A pop¬

metaphor (see page 21). esteem; honor;

ular prescription (see page 23).

respect; venerate; welcome. (a) rose by any other name (would roll up

(her) sleeves A moribund

metaphor (see page 21). drudge; grind;

smell as sweet) A popular prescription (see page 23).

grub; labor; moil; slave; strain; strive; struggle; sweat; toil; travail; work hard. 301

(a) rose is a rose (is a rose)

(a) rose is a rose (is a rose) A quack

rub elbows (shoulders) with A mori¬

equation (see page 23).

bund metaphor (see page 21). associate; be involved with; consort; fraternize; fre¬

rotten apple A moribund metaphor

quent; hobnob; keep company; mingle;

(see page 21). bastard; blackguard; cad;

mix; see; socialize.

charlatan; cheat; cheater; fake; fraud; impostor; knave; mountebank; phony;

rub (me) the wrong way A moribund

pretender; quack; rascal; rogue; scoundrel;

metaphor (see page 21).

swindler; undesirable; villain.

anger; annoy; chafe; gall; grate; irk; irri¬

1. acerbate;

tate; miff; nettle; provoke; rankle; rile;

rotten

to

the

core

A

moribund

roil; upset; vex. 2. affront; agitate; bother;

metaphor (see page 21). bad; base; con¬

disrupt; disturb; fluster; insult; jar; offend;

temptible; corrupt; crooked; deceitful; des¬

perturb; rattle; ruffle; shake up; stir up;

picable; dishonest; evil; immoral; iniqui¬

trouble; unnerve; unsettle; upset.

tous; malevolent; mean; miserable; nefari¬

wouldn’t want to do

ous; pernicious; praetorian; rotten; sinis¬

would rub her the wrong way. REPLACE

ter; underhanded; unethical; untrustwor¬

WITH annoy her.

■ I

anything that

thy; venal; vicious; vile; wicked.

ruffle

(her)

feathers A moribund

rough and ready An inescapable pair

metaphor (see page 21). affront; agitate;

(see page 20).

bother; disrupt; disturb; fluster; insult; jar; offend; perturb; rattle; ruffle; shake

rough

and

tumble

A

moribund

metaphor (see page 21). boisterous; dis¬

up; stir up; trouble; unnerve; unsettle; upset.

orderly; raucous; riotous; rough; tempestu¬ ous; tumultuous; turbulent; uproarious;

(a) rule is a rule A quack equation (see

violent; wild.

page 23).

rough around the edges A moribund

rules and regulations An inescapable

metaphor (see page 21). 1. bad-man¬

pair (see page 20). regulations; rules. ■

nered;

You may have a player that’s disappoint¬

nered;

boorish; coarse; crude; ill-man¬ loutish;

oafish;

rough;

rude;

ed, but we’re adhering to our rules and

uncouth; uncultured; unrefined; unsophis¬

regulations. Replace WITH regulations or

ticated; vulgar. 2. imperfect; incomplete;

rules.

unfinished.

rules are made to be broken A popular (a) round peg in a square hole A mori¬

prescription (see page 23).

bund metaphor (see page 21). curiosity; deviant; eccentric; iconoclast; individual;

(the) rule rather than the exception A

individualist; maverick; misfit; noncon¬

torpid term (see page 24). basic; com¬

formist; oddball; oddity; renegade; unde¬

mon; commonplace; conventional; cus¬

sirable.

tomary; general; normal; ordinary; quo¬ tidian; regidar; routine; standard; typical;

rousing success An inescapable pair

uneventful; unexceptional; unremarkable;

(see page 20).

usual. 302

■ New advertising campaigns

run out of steam

costing $5 million or even $10 million

outrank; outsmart; outstrip; outthink;

are becoming the rule rather than the

outwit; overcome; overpower; prevail over;

exception. REPLACE WITH common.

surpass; top; triumph over; trounce; whip; win out.

(the) rules of the game A moribund (a) run for (his) money A moribund

metaphor (see page 21).

metaphor (see page 21).

(the) rules of the road A moribund run (it) into the ground A moribund

metaphor (see page 21).

metaphor (see page 21).

rule the roost A moribund metaphor (see page 21). administer; he in charge; be

running

on

empty

in command; he in control; boss; com¬

metaphor (see page 21). be exhausted; be

mand; control; dictate; direct; dominate;

fatigued; be spent; be tired; be weary; be

govern; lead; manage; manipulate; mas¬

worn out.

A

moribund

ter; order; overpower; oversee; predomi¬ nate; preponderate; prevail; reign over;

running

on

fumes

rule; superintend. ■ High school football

metaphor (see page 21).

A

moribund

no longer rules the roost. REPLACE WITH

run off at the mouth A moribund

predominates.

metaphor (see page 21). babbling; blath¬ US

Each of the stories Ma told us about Papa reinforced the message that he was the boss, that he ruled ■ the roost, that what he said went. — Wally Lamb, I Know This Much

Is True

ering; chatty; facile; fluent; garrulous; glib; jabbering; logorrheic; long-winded; loquacious; prolix; talkative; verbose; vol¬ uble; windy. run of the mill A moribund metaphor (see page 21). average; common; com¬

monplace; rule with an iron fist (hand) A mori¬ bund metaphor (see page 21). authori¬

customary;

everyday; fair;

mediocre; middling; normal; ordinary; passable; plain; quotidian; regular; rou¬

tarian; authoritative; autocratic; cruel;

tine; simple; standard; tolerable; typical;

despotic; dictatorial; dogmatic; domineer¬

uneventful; unexceptional; unremarkable;

ing; hard; harsh; imperious; iron-handed;

usual; workaday.

lordly; oppressive; overhearing; perempto¬ ry; repressive; rigorous; severe; stern; strict;

run

tough; tyrannical.

metaphor (see page 21). be exhausted; be

out

of

steam

A

moribund

fatigued; conclude; decline; deteriorate; run a tight ship A moribund metaphor

die; droop; dwindle; end; expire; fade; fail;

(see page 21). controlled; ordered; organ¬

finish; flag; languish; perish; quit; regress;

ized; structured.

stop; tire; weaken; wear out. ■ Market rallies within ongoing bear markets tend

run circles (rings) around A moribund

to run out of steam as soon as the market

metaphor (see page 21). beat; better; cap;

climbs back up to the vicinity of its 200-

defeat; exceed; excel; outclass; outdo; out¬

day moving average. REPLACE WITH lan-

flank; outmaneuver; outperform; outplay; 303

(money) runs through (his) fingers

s

(money) runs through (his) fingers A moribund metaphor (see page 21).

run

the

gauntlet

A

moribund

metaphor (see page 21). bear; endure;

experience; face; suffer; undergo. run the show A moribund metaphor

sacred cow A moribund metaphor (see

(see page 21). administer; boss; com-

page 21).

mand; control; dictate; direct; dominate; govern; in charge; in command; in con¬

sacrificial lamb A moribund metaphor

trol; manage; manipulate; master; order;

(see page 21). sacrifice; victim.

overpower; oversee; predominate; prevail; safe and sound An inescapable pair (see

reign over; rule; superintend.

page 20). all right; unharmed; uninjured; He had called me sir more than

safe.

enough times for me to have no hallucinations about who was run¬

They were going to pray that he

ning the show, and so I did leave,

come home safe and sound, with a

and, as I say, that was the end of it.

minimum of mosquito bites. —

— Philip Roth, The Human Stain

William Kowalski, The Adventures

of Flash Jackson run

with

the

pack A

moribund

abide by;

safe haven A wretched redundancy (see

accommodate; accord; acquiesce; adapt;

page 25). asylum; haven; refuge; sanctu¬

adhere to; agree; behave; comply; concur;

ary; shelter. ■ Massachusetts, which likes

conform; correspond; follow; harmonize;

to think of itself as a liberal mecca, is no

heed; mind; obey; observe; submit; yield.

safe haven. REPLACE WITH haven.

run with the hare and hunt with the

safety net A moribund metaphor (see

hounds A moribund metaphor (see

page 21).

metaphor

(see

page

21).

page 21).

said A withered word (see page 24). that; the; these; this; those; delete. ■ Therefore, the relative pronouns used to introduce clauses will retain said func¬ tion. Replace with this.

sail (too) close to the wind A mori¬ bund metaphor (see page 21). chance;

dare; endanger; gamble; hazard; imperil; jeopardize; make bold; peril; risk; venture. sail under false colors A moribund metaphor (see page 21).

304

bamboozle;

scream and yell

befool; beguile; belie; bilk; bluff; cheat;

saved by the bell An infantile phrase

color; con; deceive; defraud; delude; dis¬

(see page 20).

guise; dissemble; dissimulate; dupe; fake; falsify; feign; feint; fool; gyp; hoodwink;

save (it) for a rainy day A moribund

lead astray; masquerade; misdirect; mis¬

metaphor (see page 21).

guide; misinform; mislead; misrepresent; pretend; simulate; spoof; swindle; trick.

save (his) neck (skin) A moribund metaphor (see page 21).

(the) salt of the earth A moribund metaphor (see page 21).

save

your

breath

A

moribund

metaphor (see page 21). be quiet; be

(the) same A torpid term (see page 24).

silent; be still; hush; keep quiet; keep still.

it; one; them. ■ Gemini critique partners are eager to assist, but steel yourself

(as) scarce (scarcer) as hen’s teeth An

against their tendency to fire-off sugges¬

insipid simile,

tions without consideration of your

meager; rare; scant; scanty; scarce; sparse;

emotional reaction to the same. REPLACE

uncommon; unusual.

exiguous; inadequate;

WITH them. ■ Provide access aisle for first accessible parking space which lacks

scare the (living) daylights out of

same. REPLACE WITH it.

(me) A moribund metaphor (see page 21).

alarm; appall; benumb; daunt;

(the) same but different An infantile

frighten; horrify; intimidate; panic; para¬

phrase (see page 20). SEE ALSO same dif¬

lyze; petrify; scare; shock; startle; terrify;

ference.

terrorize.

sans A withered word (see page 24).

scare the pants off (me) A moribund

bereft; lacking; without. ■ He has a reck¬

metaphor (see page 21). alarm; appall;

less streak, as revealed in his tendency to

benumb; daunt; frighten; horrify; intimi¬

go swimming sans suit. REPLACE WITH

date; panic; paralyze; petrify; scare; shock;

without a. ■ Using this button will allow

startle; terrify; terrorize.

you to see what the dialog box will look like to the user, sans any personal or

scare to death A moribund metaphor

company information that you’ll even¬

(see page 21). alarm; appall; benumb;

tually add to it. Replace with without.

daunt; frighten;

horrify;

intimidate;

panic; paralyze; petrify; scare; shock; star¬ save A withered word (see page 24). but;

tle; terrify; terrorize. SEE ALSO to death.

except. ■ The room was quiet during his performance, save when he would take a

school of hard knocks A moribund

deep breath and let out some of it.

metaphor (see page 21).

Replace with except,

u

In 1990, the

Emirate of Kuwait — tiny in all respects

(just) scratch the surface A moribund

save its role in oil affairs — was invaded

metaphor (see page 21).

by fellow OPEC and Arab

League

member Iraq. REPLACE WITH but.

scream and yell An inescapable pair (see page 20). bay; bawl; bellow; blare;

305

scream (yell) at the top of (my) lungs

caterwaul; clamor; cry; holler; hoot; howl;

(the) second American Revolution A

roar; screak; scream; screech; shout; shriek;

moribund metaphor (see page 21).

shrill; squawk; squeal; vociferate; wail; whoop; yell; yelp; yowl. ■ If parents are

second banana A moribund metaphor

screaming and yelling at each other, that

(see page 21). aide; assistant; associate;

causes fear in children. REPLACE WITH

inferior; junior; minion; secondary; subor¬

yelling. ■ It’s very flattering that women

dinate; underling. ■ Murphy’s greatest

scream and yell when you walk on stage.

political need is to convince the public

Replace with scream. See also yell and

that she is a leader, and not just the gov¬

scream.

ernor’s long-suffering second banana.

scream (yell) at the top of (my) lungs

second of all A wretched redundancy

A moribund metaphor (see page 21).

(see page 25). second. ■ Second of all,

bay; bawl; bellow; blare; caterwaul; clam¬

you’re going to get hurt if you continue

or; cry; holler; hoot; howl; roar; screak;

this behavior. REPLACE WITH Second.

scream; screech; shout; shriek; shrill;

See also first of all.

squawk; squeal; vociferate; wail; whoop; yell; yelp; yowl.

second to none A torpid term (see page 24). best; different; exceptional; extraordi¬

scream (yell) bloody murder A mori¬

nary; finest; first; greatest; highest; incom¬

bund metaphor (see page 21). 1. bay;

parable; inimitable; matchless; nonpareil;

bawl; bellow; blare; caterwaul; clamor;

notable; noteworthy; novel; odd; optimal;

cry; holler; hoot; howl; roar; screech; shout;

optimum; original; outstanding; peculiar;

shriek; shrill; squawk; squeal; vociferate;

peerless; remarkable; singular; special;

wail; whoop; yell; yelp; yowl. 2. clamor;

strange;

complain; explode; fulminate; fume; fuss;

unequaled;

gripe; grumble; holler; howl; object;

unmatched;

protest; rage; rant; rave; remonstrate; roar;

unusual; without equal.

superlative; unexampled; unparalleled;

uncommon; unique; unrivaled;

scream; shout; storm; thunder; vociferate; yell. ■ The Jones lawyers would have

(plant)

screamed bloody murder, and rightly so.

metaphor (see page 21).

(the) seeds of A moribund

Replace with protested.

see eye to eye A moribund metaphor screech to a halt A moribund metaphor

(see page 21). agree; concur; think alike.

(see page 21). cease; close; complete; con¬

■ We see eye to eye on most all matters.

clude; derail; discontinue; end; finish;

Replace with agree.

halt; settle; stop. ■ Work in 535 congres¬ sional offices screeched to a halt. REPLACE

seeing is believing A quack equation

WITH ceased.

(see page 23).

(a) sea of A moribund metaphor (see

seek and you shall find A popular pre¬

page 21). ■ He was surrounded by a sea

scription (see page 23).

of concerned women. DELETE a sea of. See ALSO a barrage of.

see red A moribund metaphor (see page 21). acerbate; anger; annoy; bother; bris-

306

send (them) packing

tie; chafe; enrage; incense; inflame; infuri¬

send a (loud) message (signal) A tor¬

ate; irk; irritate; madden; miff; provoke;

pid term (see page 24). This phrase is a

rile; roil; vex.

favorite among journalists and politi¬ cians — scrawlers and stammerers —

see the glass half empty A moribund

who

metaphor (see page 21). cynical; dark;

themselves with dead and indifferent

despairing; doubtful; gloomy; hopeless;

words. And from such words, only the

morbid; pessimistic; sullen.

faintest of feelings and the shallowest of

are

accustomed

to

expressing

thoughts can be summoned.

see the light A moribund metaphor (see

B The patent system that protects

page 21). appreciate; apprehend; compre¬

new drugs from competition sends a

hend; discern; fathom; grasp; know; make

message to pharmaceutical companies: if

sense of; perceive; realize; recognize; see;

you invest enough money and come up

understand.

with a hit, you can make a killing. Replace with says. B We want to send a

see the light of day A moribund

message that this kind of behavior will

metaphor (see page 21). 1. be actualized;

not be tolerated. REPLACE WITH make

be carried out; be implemented; be initiat¬

clear. B The police department sent out

ed; be instituted; be realized; be undertak¬

a message that we would not allow such

en. 2. be accomplished; be achieved; be

looting to occur again. REPLACE WITH

completed; be consummated; be executed;

made it known, fl By agreeing to act

be finished; be fulfilled. ■ The proposal

now, we are sending a signal that we do

will never see the light of day. REPLACE

not want this plan to fail. REPLACE

WITH be realized.

WITH announcing. B I think the MFA, by hosting this exhibit, is sending the

seething mass of humanity A mori¬

wrong message to the public. REPLACE

bund metaphor (see page 21).

WITH misguiding. B A triple-spaced term paper sends the loud message that the

self-fulfilling prophecy A torpid term

writer probably has very little to say.

(see page 24). ■ If retailers think nega¬

Replace with proclaims. See also reach

tively and pessimistically in terms of

epidemic proportions.

Christmas, it’s going to be a self-fulfilling

prophecy.

send chills (shivers) down (my) spine A moribund metaphor (see page 21). 1.

sell (him) a bill of goods A moribund

agitate; disquiet; disrupt; disturb; fluster;

metaphor (see page 21). cheat; deceive;

jar; jolt; perturb; rattle; ruffe; shake up;

defraud; dupe; fool; lie to; swindle; trick;

stir up; trouble; unnerve; unsettle; upset.

victimize. B We realize that we’ve been

2. alarm; appall; benumb; daunt; fright¬

sold a bill of goods. REPLACE WITH swin¬

en; horrify; intimidate; panic; paralyze;

dled.

petrify; scare; shock; startle; terrify; terror¬ ize.

sell (him) down the river A moribund metaphor (see page 21). betray; deliver

send (them) packing A moribund

up; inform on; turn in.

metaphor (see page 21). discard; dismiss;

discharge. 307

send shock waves (through)

send shock waves (through) A mori¬

separate the men from the boys A

bund metaphor (see page 21). agitate;

moribund metaphor

arouse; astound; bother; confuse; discom¬

choose; cull; differentiate; discriminate;

fit; disconcert; disquiet; disrupt; disturb;

distinguish; divide; filter; isolate; pick;

excite; jolt; shock; startle; stimulate; stir;

screen; segregate; select; separate; sieve; sift;

stun; unsettle; upset. ■ When Swiss phar¬

sort; strain; weed out; winnow.

(see page 21).

maceutical giant Roche Holding Ltd. announced that it would buy 60 percent

separate the sheep from the goats A

of Genentech Inc., it sent shock waves

moribund metaphor

through the biotechnology community.

choose; cull; differentiate; discriminate;

Replace with shocked.

distinguish; divide; filter; isolate; pick;

(see page 21).

screen; segregate; select; separate; sieve; sift; send up a trial balloon A moribund

sort; strain; weed out; winnow.

metaphor (see page 21). assess; check;

explore; inspect; investigate; look into;

separate the wheat from the chaff A

probe; test; try.

moribund metaphor

(see page 21).

choose; cull; differentiate; discriminate; separate and distinct A wretched

distinguish; divide; filter; isolate; pick;

redundancy (see page 25). distinct; sepa¬

screen; segregate; select; separate; sieve; sift;

rate. ■ Nor are the stages separate and

sort; strain; weed out; winnow.

distinct,; they may occur at the same time. Replace with distinct.

serious reservations An inescapable pair (see page 20).

separate and independent A wretched redundancy (see page 25). independent;

set in concrete A moribund metaphor

separate. ■ Since the audio and video in

(see page 21). eternal; everlasting; firm;

an Interactive Multipoint videoconfer¬

immutable; invariable; irreversible; irrev¬

ence travel over separate and independent

ocable; permanent; rigid; stable; unalter¬

paths, the audio must be delayed to syn¬

able; unchangeable; unchanging.

chronize it with the video. REPLACE WITH separate.

set (her) teeth on edge A moribund metaphor (see page 21).

1. acerbate;

separate out A wretched redundancy

anger; annoy;

(see page 25). separate. ■ I don’t think

incense; inflame; infuriate; irk; irritate;

you can separate out those two things.

madden; miff; nettle; offend; provoke; rile;

Delete out. ■ Our objective was to sep¬

roil; vex. 2. agitate; bother; disconcert;

arate out the NLR from the continuum

disturb; fluster; perturb; unnerve; upset.

bristle;

chafe;

enrage;

emission by subtracting the different fil¬ ter images. DELETE out. ■ One of the things that became very clear to us early on was that you simply can’t separate out issues like curriculum and teachers’ pro¬ fessional development and learning and

set the record straight A torpid term

instruction. DELETE out.

(see page 24). ■ There are a lot of things I can do in my book in terms of setting

308

(as) sharp as a tack

the record straight. ■ EPA believes it’s

quivering; shaking; shivering; shivery;

time to set the record straight about an

shuddering; skittish; trembling.

indisputable fact: secondhand smoke is a real and preventable health risk.

shaking like a leaf An insipid simile. 1. jittery; jumpy; nervous; quivering; shak¬

set

the

stage

(for)

moribund

ing; shivering; shivery; shuddering; skit¬

metaphor (see page 21). arrange; groom;

tish; trembling. 2. afraid; alarmed; appre¬

make ready; plan; prepare; prime; ready.

hensive; cowardly; craven; diffident; faint¬

A

hearted; fearful; frightened; pavid; pusil¬ set the wheels in motion A moribund metaphor (see page 21).

begin; com¬

lanimous; recreant; scared; terror-striken; timid; timorous; tremulous.

mence; embark; inaugurate; initiate; launch; originate; start; undertake.

shank’s mare A moribund metaphor (see page 21). by foot.

set the world on fire A moribund metaphor (see page 21). amaze; ani¬

share and share alike A popular pre¬

mate; awe; captivate; dazzle; electrify;

scription (see page 23).

excite;

exhilarate; fascinate;

impress;

intoxicate; thrill; overwhelm.

(as) sharp as a razor An insipid simile. able; adroit; apt; astute; bright; brilliant;

settle the score A moribund metaphor

capable; clever; competent; discerning;

(see page 21).

enlightened; insigh ful; intelligent; judi¬ cious; keen; knowledgeable; learned; logi¬

seventh heaven A moribund metaphor

cal; luminous; perceptive; perspicacious;

(see page 21). bliss; delight; ecstasy; joy;

quick; rational; reasonable; sagacious;

rapture.

sage; sapient; sensible; sharp; shrewd; smart; sound; understanding; wise.

(he’s a) shadow of (his) former self A moribund metaphor

(see page 21).

(as) sharp as a tack An insipid simile. 1. dapper; neat; smart; trim; well dressed;

apparition; specter; wraith.

well groomed. 2. able; adroit; apt; astute; shake to its foundations A moribund

bright; brilliant; capable; clever; compe¬

metaphor (see page 21). agitate; disqui¬

tent; discerning; enlightened; insigh ful;

et; disrupt; disturb; fluster; jar; jerk; jolt;

intelligent; judicious; keen; knowledge¬

perturb; quake; quiver; rattle; rujfle;

able; learned; logical; luminous; percep¬

shake up; shudder; stir up; unnerve; unset¬

tive; perspicacious; quick; rational; reason¬

tle; tremble; upset.

able; sagacious; sage; sapient; sensible; sharp; shrewd; smart; sound; understand¬

shaking in (his) boots A moribund metaphor

(see

page 21).

1.

ing; wise.

afraid;

alarmed; apprehensive; cowardly; craven; diffident; faint-hearted; fearful; fright¬ ened; pavid; pusillanimous; recreant; scared; terror-striken; timid; timorous; tremulous. 2. jittery; jumpy; nervous; 309

shed (throw) light on

shed (throw) light on A moribund

seems — use to express indignation.

metaphor (see page 21). clarify; clear up;

And, as formulas, the shock and sadness,

describe; disentangle; elucidate; enlighten;

the shock and dismay; the shock and out¬

explain; explicate; illume; illuminate;

rage is scarcely heartfelt. ■ Gilda Radner’s death from cancer

interpret; make clear; make plain; reveal;

shocked and saddened Hollywood. ■ I

simplify.

was shocked and saddened by the news of that

his death. ■ Shoppers and shop owners

Dohmler would throw much light

were also shocked and saddened by Mr.

on the matter; he himself was the

Stuarts suicide. ■ Relatives were shocked

incalculable element involved. —

and dismayed by what they saw today. ■

F. Scott Fitzgerald, Tender is the

When Kissinger was selected instead of

Night

the banking mogul, Rockefellers staff

But

he

had

little

faith

were shocked and dismayed. ■ Sullivan

shift (swing) into high gear A mori¬

says she is surprised and saddened by the

bund metaphor (see page 21). ■ The

recent turn of events. M We are saddened

lawyer is shifting into high gear, sum¬

and outraged by the tragic death of a

moning all his persuasive powers for a

young man just starting to fulfill his life

rhetorical flourish that will dazzle the

promise. ■ We are terribly shocked and

jury and save his client a multimillion-

dismayed; Ed was an active and impor¬

dollar court award.

tant member of our community who will be missed by his colleagues.

H

ship of fools A moribund metaphor

Needless to say, my dear husband was,

(see page 21).

and is, shocked and saddened. ■ I am

shocked and saddened by these allega¬ (like) (two) ships passing in the night

tions. ■ I want to begin by saying that

An insipid simile.

Hillary and I are profoundly shocked and

saddened by the

tragedy

today

in

She became a ship passing in the

Littleton, fi The man who was at the

night — an emblem of the loneli¬

heart of the Cape Verdean neighbor¬

ness of human life, an occasion for

hood leaves behind a wife, five children,

queer confidences and sudden

and a shocked and saddened community.

appeals for sympathy. — Virginia

A newspaper editor who has just

Woolf, The Voyage Out

learned of the mutilation of one of his female reporters in a strife-torn country

(my) ship to come in A moribund

remarks he is saddened and distressed by

metaphor (see page 21).

her death. This is the same soulless for¬ mula; anyone who has not surrendered

(cost) (the) shirt off (my) back A

to this dimwitticism would surely have

moribund metaphor (see page 21).

said it differently. See ALSO reach epi¬

demic proportions. shocked (surprised) and saddened (dismayed) A torpid term (see page 24). These are formulas that people — espe¬ cially spokespeople and journalists it

310

(a) shot in the arm

Shocked and surprised as I was I

shoot the breeze (bull) A moribund

agreed

hesitation,

metaphor (see page 21). babble; blab;

prompted both by curiosity as to

cackle; chaffer; chat; chitchat; chatter;

his own feelings and a desire to

confabulate;

discuss the transaction which con¬

palaver; prate; prattle; rattle; talk. ■ He

cerned the child. — Lawrence

would come down every couple of

Durrell, Justine

weeks just to shoot the breeze. REPLACE

without

converse; gossip; jabber;

WITH chat.

(the) shoe is on the other foot A mori¬ bund metaphor (see page 21).

shoot the messenger A moribund metaphor (see page 21).

shoot down A moribund metaphor (see page 21). belie; confute; contradict; con¬

shoot the works A moribund metaphor

trovert; counter; debunk; deny; disprove;

(see page 21).

discredit; dispute; expose;

invalidate;

negate; rebut; refute; repudiate.

shop

till

you

drop A

moribund

metaphor (see page 21).

shoot from the hip A moribund metaphor (see page 21). 1. be above¬

short and sweet An inescapable pair

board; be artless; be blunt; be candid; be

(see page 20). brief; compact; concise;

direct; be forthright; be frank; be genuine;

condensed; curt; laconic; pithy; short; suc¬

be guileless; be honest; be ingenuous; be

cinct; terse.

naive;

be outspoken;

be sincere;

be

straightforward. 2. hasty; headlong; heed¬

short and to the point A torpid phrase.

less; hot-headed; impetuous; impulsive;

brief; compact; concise; condensed; curt;

incautious; precipitate; rash; reckless;

laconic; pithy; short; succinct; terse.

thoughtless; unthinking. ■ Congress is feeling very ambivalent, there are very

short end of the stick A moribund

complicated questions of government

metaphor (see page 21).

here, and these shoot-from-the-hip folks already have their opinion locked in

(a) shot across the bow A moribund

cement. REPLACE WITH incautious.

metaphor (see page 21). admonition;

caution; warning. shoot

full

of holes A

moribund

metaphor (see page 21). belie; confute;

shot heard around the world A mori¬

contradict; controvert; counter; debunk;

bund metaphor (see page 21).

deny; disprove; discredit; dispute; expose; invalidate; negate; rebut; refute; repudi¬

shot (himself) in the foot A moribund

ate.

metaphor (see page 21).

(like) shooting fish in a barrel An

(a) shot in the arm A moribund

insipid simile, easily done; easy; effortless;

metaphor (see page 21). boost; encour¬

elementary; facile; simple; simplicity itself;

agement; fillip; goad; impetus; impulse;

straigh forward; uncomplex; uncomplicat¬

incentive; incitation; incitement; induce¬

ed.

ment; jolt; motivation; motive; prod; 311

(a) shot in the dark

provocation; push; shove; spur; stimulus;

(the) show must go on A popular pre¬

thrust; urge. ■ Their success will give a

scription (see page 23).

shot in the arm to the rest of the econo¬ (not a) shred of (evidence) A mori¬

my. Replace with a thrust.

bund metaphor (see page 21). ■ There

(a) shot in the dark A moribund

was not a shred of evidence to support his

metaphor (see page 21). appraisal; assess¬

contentions.

ment; assumption; conjecture; estimate; estimation; guess; hypothesis; impression;

shrinking violet A moribund metaphor

opinion; presumption; speculation; suppo¬

(see page 21). diffident; quiet; reserved;

sition; surmise.

retiring; self-effacing; shy; timid.

shot to hell A moribund metaphor (see

shut

page 21). 1. demolished; destroyed; devas¬

metaphor (see page 21). brush aside;

tated; obliterated; racked; ruined; shat¬

avoid; discount; disregard; dodge; duck;

tered; smashed; wracked; wrecked. 2.

ignore; neglect; omit; pass over; recoil

damaged; decayed; decrepit; deteriorated;

from; shrink from; shun; shy away from;

dilapidated; ragged; shabby; shopworn;

turn away from; withdraw from.

(his)

eyes

to

A

moribund

tattered; worn. sick and tired (of) An inescapable pair (stand) shoulder to shoulder A mori¬

(see page 20). 1. annoyed; bored; discour¬

bund metaphor (see page 21). collabo¬

aged; disgusted; exasperated; exhausted;

rate; comply; concur; conspire; cooperate;

fatigued; fed up; impatient; irked; irritat¬

work together.

ed; sick; sickened; tired; wearied; weary. 2. cloyed; glutted; gorged; jaded; sated; sati¬ housetops

ated; surfeited. ■ I’m sick and tired of see¬

(rooftops) A moribund metaphor (see

ing the welfare bashing in the newspa¬

page 21). advertise; announce; broadcast;

per. Replace WITH weary. B No matter

cry out; declaim; disseminate; exclaim;

how desperate and sick and tired and

proclaim; promulgate; publicize; publish;

lonely I felt, I was also vibrant and alive.

shout; trumpet; yell.

Replace with discouraged.

shove down (their) throats A mori¬

(as) sick as a dog An insipid simile. 1.

bund metaphor (see page 21). bulldoze;

afflicted; ailing; diseased; ill; indisposed;

bully; coerce; compel; constrain; demand;

infirm; not (feeling) well; sick; sickly; suf¬

drive; enforce; enjoin; goad; force; impel;

fering; unhealthy; unsound; unwell; vale¬

incite; intimidate; make; necessitate; obli¬

tudinarian.

gate; oblige; order; press; pressure; prod;

queasy; sick; squeamish; vomiting.

shout

(it)

from

the

2.

nauseated;

nauseous;

require; threaten; tyrannize; urge. sick to death A moribund metaphor show me a ... and I’ll show you a ...

(see page 21). annoyed; bored; discour¬

An infantile phrase (see page 20). B

aged; disgusted; exasperated; exhausted;

Show me a person who’s lived a normal,

fatigued; fed up; impatient; irked; irritat¬

conventional life, and I'll show you a

ed; sick; sickened; tired; wearied; weary.

dullard.

See .also to death.

312

silence is golden

(breathe; exhale; heave) a (collective)

less relationship with whomever it is

si gh of relief A torpid term (see page

used to describe. Any one of the follow¬

24). be allayed; be alleviated; be assuaged;

ing words is a far better choice: admirer;

be calmed; be comforted; be mollified; be

beau; beloved; boyfriend (girlfriend); com¬

palliated; be relieved; be soothed; calm

panion; confidant; darling; dear; dearest;

down; quiet down; relax; rest; unwind.

familiar; family member; flame; friend;

People who breathe a collective sigh of

husband (wife); inamorata (inamorato);

relief also welcome a breath of fresh air

infatuate; intimate; love; lover; paramour;

(See). They expire fetid words and

partner; spouse; steady; suitor; swain;

inspire foolish thoughts.

sweetheart.

■ Investors breathed a sigh of relief

The term significant other (SO) gives

there was nothing more in the report

rise to sentiments like this:

than they expected. REPLACE WITH were

Lover: I love you SO.

relieved. ■ Emergency workers were breathing a collective sigh of relief REPLACE WITH relieved. B Every morn¬ ing when I come in and see them, I

breathe a sigh of relief. REPLACE WITH relax. E After holding its breath for days, the city finally exhaled a sigh of relief. REPLACE with relaxed. B You are proba¬ bly breathing a sigh of relief knowing that you won’t have to mangle code any longer to render a display of a list with¬ in a list. Replace with relieved to know. See ALSO reach epidemic proportions.

(a) sight for sore eyes A moribund metaphor (see page 21).

signed, sealed, and delivered A mori¬ bund metaphor (see page 21). complet¬

ed; concluded; consummated; ended; exe¬ cuted; finished; fulfilled; made final; ter¬ minated. significant An overworked word (see page 22). For example: significant devel¬

opment; significant effect; significant impact; significant progress. SEE ALSO meaningful. significant other A torpid term (see

Loved: I love you so, SO. B Whether it be with instructors, signif¬

icant others, children, or bosses, you practice the art of gentle persuasion continually. REPLACE WITH spouses. B My significant other is always calling me a spoil sport because I won’t compro¬ mise on things. REPLACE WITH lover, fl Men trying to use it to cheat on their

significant others should know that a pager number will work on a woman for only a short time. REPLACE WITH girl¬

friends or wives. B I am being stalked by a former significant other. REPLACE WITH

boyfriend. SEE ALSO object of ones affec¬ tion. (a) significant part (portion; propor¬ tion) A wretched redundancy (see page 25). a good (great) deal; a good (great)

many; almost all; many; most; much; nearly all. B Many programmers spend a significant portion of their working day maintaining software. REPLACE WITH a

good deal. See ALSO a substantial part (portion; proportion). silence is golden A quack equation (see page 23).

page 24). The use of this dispassionate expression will likely result in a blood¬ 313

(as) silent as the dead •n

(as) silent as the dead An insipid simi¬

sing for (her) supper A moribund

le. dumb; hushed; mum; mute; noiseless;

metaphor (see page 21).

quiet; reticent; silent; speechless; still; stock-still; taciturn; voiceless; wordless.

sing from the same hymn sheet A moribund metaphor (see page 21).

(the) silent majority A moribund metaphor (see page 21). all; citizenry;

single best (biggest; greatest; highest;

commonage; commonalty; common peo¬

largest; most) A wretched redundancy

ple; croiud; everybody; everyone; followers;

(see page 25). best (most). This expres¬

herd; hoi polloi; masses; mob; multitude;

sion is a good example of how people

plebeians; populace; proletariat; public;

pay scant attention to what they say or

rabble.

write. Idiom or no, superlatives like best and most need not be qualified by the

(as) silly as a goose An insipid simile. absurd; asinine; childish; comical; farci¬ cal; fatuous; flighty; foolhardy; foolish; frivolous; giddy; idiotic; immature; inane; laughable; ludicrous; nonsensical; ridicu¬ lous; senseless; silly.

word single. People attend more to what others say — copying, as they do, one another’s words — than to what they themselves say. ■ The single most important problem is discrimination among one another. DELETE single. ■ Good records are the

silver lining A moribund metaphor (see page 21).

single best way to avoid having deduc¬ tions disallowed in the event you are audited. DELETE single. ■ The single

simultaneously at the same time A wretched redundancy (see page 25). at

the same time; simultaneously. ■ This machine does four welds simultaneously

biggest issue is the cost of upgrading a substandard system. DELETE single. ■ The school committee and the superin¬ tendent place student safety as their sin¬

gle highest priority. DELETE single.

at the same time. REPLACE WITH at the same time or simultaneously. See ALSO

sing like a bird An insipid simile, dul¬

while at the same time; while simultane¬

cet; harmonious; melodic; melodious;

ously.

pleasant-sounding; sonorous; sweet.

(a) sine qua non A foreign phrase (see

sing (his) praises A torpid term (see

page 19). critical essential; indispensable;

page 24). acclaim; applaud; celebrate;

necessary; requisite; vital. ■ A compre¬

commend;

hensive neurologic assessment is a sine

eulogize; extol; flatter; hail; laud; pane¬

qua non in assessing cases of cerebral

gyrize; praise; puff; salute.

compliment;

congratulate;

palsy. REPLACE WITH indispensable.

(enough to) sink a ship A moribund sing a different tune A moribund

metaphor (see page 21). a big (brobding-

metaphor (see page 21).

nagian; colossal; enormous; gargantuan; giant;

gigantic;

grand;

great;

huge;

moribund

immense; large; massive; monstrous; prodi¬

metaphor (see page 21). be harmed; be

gious; tremendous; vast) amount; a great deal; a lot.

singe

(your)

wings

injured; be wounded.

A

314

(the) $64,000 question

sink or swim A moribund metaphor

sit tight A moribund metaphor (see

(see page 21).

page 21). be patient; hold on; wait.

sink (my) teeth into A moribund

(a) sitting duck A moribund metaphor

metaphor

(see page 21).

1. absorb;

(see page 21).

engage; engross; immerse; involve; plunge; submerge. 1. brood over; cogitate on; con¬

sitting on a gold mine A moribund

sider; contemplate; deliberate on; dwell

metaphor (see page 21).

on; excogitate on; meditate on; mull over; ponder; reflect on; study; think about. ■ If

(a) situation An overworked word (see

you can sink your teeth into a good role,

page 22). For example: crisis situation;

and the end result is anything like what

difficult situation; life-threatening situa¬

you hope it’s going to be, it’s really satis¬

tion; push-pull situation; no-lose situa¬

■

tion; no-win situation; open-ended situa¬

Rarely does a recording of such grace

tion; problematic situation; sad situation;

and elegance also offer so much to sink

tragic situation; win-win situation. ■ It’s

your teeth into. REPLACE WITH contem¬

really a pathetic situation. Delete a sit¬

plate.

uation. ■ If there is an emergency situa¬

fying.

Replace with plunge into.

tion, then that person can exit as well. She can’t get into it. It’s not at all

Delete situation. ■ It’s nice to be in a

like sinking your teeth into a for¬

situation where you are recognized for

eign language. — Nancy Zafris,

the work you’re doing. DELETE in a sit¬

The Metal Shredders

uation where you are. ■ The air condi¬

/' '

'

tioning situation is currently under DELETE situation or REPLACE

sit on (her) duff A moribund metaphor

repair.

(see page 21). be idle; be inactive; be lazy;

WITH air conditioner. ■ The network

be unemployed; be unoccupied; dally;

approach is a win-win situation for all

dawdle; loaf; loiter; loll; lounge; relax;

involved. REPLACE WITH benefits. See

repose; rest.

ALSO remedy the situation.

sit on

(their)

hands A moribund

(sit) with (his) head in (his) hands A

metaphor (see page 21). be idle; be inac¬

moribund metaphor

tive; be lazy; be unemployed; be unoccu¬

brood; despair; despond; mope.

(see page 21).

pied; dally; dawdle; loaf; loiter; loll; (it’s) six of one, half dozen of the

lounge; relax; repose; rest.

other A moribund metaphor (see page sit on the fence A moribund metaphor

21). either; either way; it doesn’t matter;

(see page 21). ambivalent; divided; inde¬

no matter.

cisive; in doubt; irresolute; neutral; torn; uncertain;

uncommitted;

undecided;

(the) $64,000 question An infantile ■ That’s

unsure. ■ If you’re sitting on the fence or

phrase

your answer is yes, you’re in luck.

$64,000 question for a number of peo¬

Replace with undecided.

ple.

315

(see page 20).

the

skate on thin ice

moribund

The fact that my father would

metaphor (see page 21). chance; dare;

spend even a nickel more than

endanger; gamble; hazard; imperil; jeop¬

necessary was a slap in the face for

ardize; make bold; peril; risk; venture.

all of the effort my mother put in

skate

on

thin

ice

A

trying to support us. — Brett

skeletons in the closet (cupboard) A

Ellen Block,

moribund metaphor

Daughter

(see page 21).

The Grave of God's 11111111 11111 ✓ HHi

1 Z-&'' H IHH vTA'

secret; surprise. slap

on

the

wrist

A

moribund

(all) skin and bones A moribund

metaphor (see page 21). admonish; ani¬

metaphor (see page 21). asthenic; atten¬

madvert; berate; castigate; censure; chas¬

uated; bony; cachectic; emaciated; gaunt;

tise; chide; condemn; criticize; denounce;

lank; lanky; lean; narrow; rail-thin; scrag¬

discipline; objurgate; punish; rebuke;

gy; scrawny; skeletal; skinny; slender;

remonstrate;

slight; slim; spare; spindly; svelte; sylphid;

reproach; reprobate; reprove; revile; scold;

thin; trim; wispy.

upbraid; vituperate. ■ When the story

reprehend;

reprimand;

proved false, Oliver and Smith were

(as) skinny as a stick An insipid simile.

fired, but Arnett was slapped on the wrist

asthenic; attenuated; bony; cachectic;

and retained by CNN. REPLACE WITH

emaciated; gaunt; lank; lanky; lean; nar¬

chided.

row; rail-thin; scraggy; scrawny; skeletal; skinny; slender; slight; slim; spare; spindly;

sleep like a log An insipid simile, doze;

svelte; sylphid; thin; trim; wispy.

nap; rest; sleep; slumber.

(the) sky’s the limit A moribund

sleep like a top An insipid simile, doze;

metaphor (see page 21).

nap; rest; sleep; slumber.

(a)

slap in the face A moribund

sleep the sleep of the just A moribund

metaphor (see page 21). abuse; affront;

metaphor (see page 21). doze; nap; rest;

contempt; contumely; derision; disap¬

sleep; slumber.

pointment; disdain; dishonor; imperti¬ nence; indignity; insult; offense; outrage;

slice of life A moribund metaphor (see

rebuff; rebuke; rejection; scorn; slap; slight;

page 21).

slur; sneer; snub. ■ Megan’s mother called the judge’s decision a slap in the

slim and trim An inescapable pair (see

face. Replace with an insult. H The

page 20).

document is a slap in the face to the

cachectic; emaciated; gaunt; lank; lanky;

democratic principles that Americans

lean; narrow; rail-thin; scraggy; scrawny;

expect their leaders to uphold. REPLACE

skeletal; skinny; slender; slight; slim; spare;

WITH an affront.

spindly; svelte; sylphid; thin; trim; wispy. slings

asthenic attenuated; bony;

and

metaphor

arrows

A

(see page 21).

moribund 1.

assault;

attack; blow. 2. adversity; bad luck; calamity; catastrophe; hardship; ill for316

smack dab in the middle of

tune; misadventure; mischance; misfor¬

slippery slope A moribund metaphor

tune; mishap; reversal; setback.

(see page 21). declivity.

(the) slings and arrows of outrageous

slip through (our) fingers A moribund

fortune A moribund metaphor (see

metaphor (see page 21). abscond; clear

page 21).

out; decamp; depart; desert; disappear; escape; exit; flee; fly; go; go away; leave;

slip of the lip (tongue) A moribund

move on; part; pull out; quit; retire;

metaphor (see page 21). blunder; error;

retreat; run away; take flight; take off;

gaffe; mistake; slip.

vacate; vanish; withdraw.

It sometimes happens that when

slip through the cracks A moribund

you make a slip of the tongue you

metaphor (see page 21). discount; disre¬

don’t want to correct it. You try to

gard; elide; ignore; leave out; miss; neglect;

pretend that what you said was

omit; overlook; slight.

what you meant. — V. S. Naipaul,

slow and steady wins the race A popu¬

Half a Life

lar prescription (see page 23).

slipped

(my)

mind

A

moribund

metaphor (see page 21). be forgetful; be

heedless; be inattentive; be lethean; be neg¬ lectful; be negligent; be oblivious; be remiss; be thoughtless; be unmindful; be unthinking.

(as) slow as molasses (in January) An insipid

simile,

crawling;

dallying;

dawdling; deliberate; dilatory; faltering; hesitant; laggardly; lagging; leisurely; methodical; plodding; procrastinating; slothful; slow; slow-paced; sluggardly; slug¬ gish; snaillike; systematic; tardy; tortoise¬

An appointment was made with a

like; unhurried.

counselor but the day came and went and they both pretended it

(a) slow boat to China (nowhere) A

had slipped their minds. — Kevin

moribund metaphor (see page 21).

Guilfoile, Cast of Shadows

slow(ly) but sure(ly) An inescapable (as) slippery as an eel An insipid simi¬

pair (see page 20).

le. 1. elusive; ephemeral; evanescent; eva¬

sive; fleeting; fugitive; passing; short-lived;

slower than molasses (in January) A

slippery; volatile. 2. crafty; cunning;

moribund metaphor

deceitful; dishonest; foxy; shifty; slick;

crawling; dallying; dawdling; deliberate;

tricky; wily.

dilatory; faltering; hesitant; laggardly; lag¬

(see page 21).

ging; leisurely; methodical; plodding; pro¬ slippery character (customer) A mori¬

crastinating; slothful; slow; slow-paced;

bund metaphor (see page 21). bastard;

sluggardly; sluggish; snaillike; systematic;

blackguard; cad; charlatan; cheat; cheater;

tardy; tortoiselike; unhurried.

flake; fraud; impostor; knave; mounte¬ bank; phony; pretender; quack; rascal;

smack dab in the middle of An infan¬

rogue; scoundrel; swindler; undesirable;

tile phrase (see page 20). ■ It puts read¬

villain.

ers smack dab in the middle of the action. 317

(a) small army of

(a)

small

army

of A

moribund

smoke

and

mirrors

A

moribund

metaphor (see page 21). ■ A small army

metaphor (see page 21). artfulness; arti¬

of labor leaders came to Washington for

fice; chicanery; cover-up; cozenage; crafti¬

a final assault against the agreement. See

ness; cunning; deceit; deceiving; deception;

ALSO a barrage of

dissembling;

dissimulation;

duplicity;

feigning; fraud; guile; pretense; sham¬ small potatoes A moribund metaphor

ming; trickery; wile.

(see page 21). immaterial; inappreciable;

inconsequential; inconsiderable; insignifi¬

smokes like a chimney An insipid sim¬

cant; meaningless; minor; negligible; nig¬

ile.

gling; nugatory; petty; trifling; trivial; unimportant; 10,000

unsubstantial.

cases

is

■

And

no small potatoes.

smoking gun A moribund metaphor (see page 21). evidence;proof.

Replace with not insignificant.

(as) smooth as glass An insipid simile. (as) smart as a whip An insipid simile.

1. burnished; even; glassy; glossy; greasy;

able; adroit; alert; apt; astute; bright; bril¬

lustrous; oily; polished; satiny; silky; sleek;

liant; capable; clever; competent; discern¬

slick; slippery; smooth; velvety. 2. appar¬

ing; enlightened; intelligent; judicious;

ent; basic; clear; clear-cut; conspicuous;

keen; knowledgeable; learned; logical;

distinct; easily done; easy; effortless; ele¬

luminous; perceptive; perspicacious; quick;

mentary; evident; explicit; facile; limpid;

quick-witted; rational; reasonable; saga¬

lucid; manifest; obvious; patent; pellucid;

cious;

sharp;

plain; simple; simplicity itself; smooth;

shrewd; smart; sound; understanding;

straightforward; translucent; transparent;

wise.

unambiguous; uncomplex; uncomplicated;

sage;

sapient;

sensible;

understandable; unequivocal; unmistak¬ smart cookie A moribund metaphor

able.

(see page 21). able; adroit; apt; astute;

bright; brilliant; capable; clever; compe¬

(as) smooth as silk An insipid simile. 1.

tent; discerning; enlightened; intelligent;

burnished; even; glassy; glossy; greasy; lus¬

judicious; keen; knowledgeable; learned;

trous; oily; polished; satiny; silky; sleek;

logical; luminous; perceptive; perspica¬

slick; slippery; smooth; velvety. 2. appar¬

cious; quick; rational; reasonable; saga¬

ent; basic; clear; clear-cut; conspicuous;

cious;

sharp;

distinct; easily done; easy; effortless; ele¬

shrewd; smart; sound; understanding;

mentary; evident; explicit; facile; limpid;

wise.

lucid; manifest; obvious; patent; pellucid;

sage;

sapient;

sensible;

plain; simple; simplicity itself; smooth; smell a rat A moribund metaphor (see

straightforward; translucent; transparent;

page 21).

unambiguous; uncomplex; uncomplicated; understandable; unequivocal; unmistak¬

smell fishy A moribund metaphor (see

able.

page 21). doubtful; dubious; question¬

able; shady; shaky; suspect; suspicious.

smooth (her) feathers A moribund metaphor (see page 21). allay; appease;

assuage; calm; comfort; compose; concili318

(like) something out of a (Norman Rockwell painting)

ate; console; moderate; modulate; mollify;

is a soft landing for the economy or a

pacify; placate; propitiate; quiet; soften;

recession.

soothe; still; temper; tranquilize. soft touch A moribund metaphor (see snake

in

the

grass

A

moribund

page 21).

metaphor (see page 21). animal; barbar¬

ian; beast; brute; degenerate; fiend; knave;

(as) solid as a rock An insipid simile. 1.

lout; monster; rake; rascal; reptile; rogue;

adamantine; firm; granitelike; hard; pet¬

ruffian; savage; scamp; scoundrel; villain.

rified; rock-hard; rocklike; rocky; solid; steellike; steely; stonelike; stony. 2. athletic;

snatch victory from the jaws of defeat

beefy; brawny; burly; firm; fit; hale;

A moribund metaphor (see page 21).

hardy; hearty; husky; manly; mesomor¬ phic; mighty; muscular; powerful; puis¬

snow job A moribund metaphor (see

sant; robust; rugged; sinewy; solid; stal¬

page 21). deception; dishonesty.

wart; stout; strapping; strong; sturdy; tough; vigorous; virile; well-built. 3. con¬

(as) snug as a bug in a rug An insipid simile,

comfortable;

cosy;

habitable;

homey; inhabitable; livable; safe; snug.

stant; dependable; determined; faithful; fast; firm; fixed; inexorable; inflexible; loyal; obdurate; resolute; resolved; rigid; solid; stable; staunch; steadfast; steady;

(like a) soap opera An insipid simile.

stern; strong;

tenacious;

exaggerated; excessive; histrionic; hyper¬

unwavering; unyielding.

unflinching;

bolic; maudlin; mawkish; melodramatic; overblown; overdone; overemotional; sen¬

some of my best friends are A plebeian

sational; sentimental; soppy.

sentiment (see page 23).

(as) sober as a judge An insipid simile.

(thirty)-something An infantile phrase

1. dignified; earnest; formal; grave; pen¬

(see page 20). ■ But they’re not the typ¬

sive; reserved; sedate; self-controlled; self-

ical self-absorbed, 30-something crowd.

restrained; serious; severe; sober; solemn;

■ If you give a speech on social security,

somber; staid; stern; strict; subdued;

your purpose will vary for audiences

thoughtful. 2. abstemious; sober; teetotal;

made

temperate.

something, or seventy-something individ¬

up

of twenty-something, forty¬

uals. social butterfly A moribund metaphor (see page 21). fin-lover; gadabout; pleas¬

(there’s)

ure-seeker.

moribund metaphor (see page 21).

(as) soft as velvet An insipid simile, del¬

(there’s) something rotten in the state

icate; downy; feathery; fine; fluffy; satiny;

of Denmark A moribund metaphor

silken; silky; smooth; soft; velvety.

(see page 21).

soft landing A moribund metaphor (see

(like) something out of a (Norman

page 21). ■ The airline industry’s prob-

Rockwell painting) An insipid simile,

lem is trying to determine whether this

■ Li River cruises can take your clients 319

something in the wind A

(it’s) something to doe

past dreamlike rock formations; they

away; speedily; straightaway; swiftly;

look like something out of a Salvador Dali

wingedly. ■ These people will die unless

painting.

help arrives sooner rather than later. REPLACE WITH soon. ■ That, more than

(it’s) something to do A plebeian senti¬

BSE or foot and mouth disease, is why

ment (see page 23). See ALSO (it) gives

McDonalds is pushing so hard to get an

(me) something to do; (it) keeps (me) busy;

animal ID system in place sooner rather

(it) keeps (me) out of trouble.

than later. REPLACE WITH swifily.

(it’s) something to look forward to A

(the) sooner the better A quack equa¬

plebeian sentiment (see page 23). Those

tion (see page 23).

who use this phrase acknowledge the future appeals to them more than does

sorely missed An inescapable pair (see

the present, as they do the apparent pal¬

page 20). Let us not die only to have it

lor of their lives.

said we will be sorely missed. We should prefer silence to such insipidity. More

(if s) something to think about A ple¬

disturbing still is that we should be spo¬

beian sentiment (see page 23). SEE ALSO

ken of so blandly, so, indeed, badly. This

food for thought.

is hardly the wording of a tribute, hard¬ ly an encomium. ■ He is going to be

(a) sometime thing A torpid term (see

sorely missedby his teammates. ■ He will

erratic; fitful; haphazard;

be sorely missed by those of us who were

inconsistent; intermittent; irregular; occa¬

privileged to call him our friend. ■ He

sional; random; sometime; spasmodic; spo¬

will be sorely missed by his family, friends

radic; unpredictable.

and neighbors.

song and dance A moribund metaphor

sound and fury An infantile phrase (see

page

24).

(see page 21).

1. pattern; routine. 2.

page 20).

deception; dissimulation; duplicity; equiv¬ ocation; evasion; excuse; fabrication; false¬

It seemed a poor catch, for all their

hood; fib; invention; lie; mumbo-jumbo;

sound and fury, and Mr. Murphy

nonsense; prevarication.

would be glad to let them have it. — Kevin Baker, Dreamland

son of a gun A moribund metaphor (see page 21). brute; degenerate; fiend;

(as) sound as a bell An insipid simile.

knave; lout; rake; rascal; rogue; ruffian;

1. cogent; convincing; intelligent; judicious;

scamp; scoundrel; villain.

just; logical; prudent; rational; reasonable; sensible; sound; telling; valid; well-founded;

sooner rather than later A torpid term

well-grou?ided; wise. 2. athletic; beefy;

(see page 24). 1. before long; presently;

brawny; energetic; fit; good; hale; hardy;

shortly; soon. 2. abruptly; apace; at once;

healthful; healthy; hearty; lanky; lean;

briskly; directly; expeditiously; fast; forth¬

manly; mesomorphic; muscular; powerful;

with; hastily; hurriedly; immediately;

robust; shapely; sinewy; slender; solid;

instantaneously;

sound; stalwart; strong; sturdy; thin; trim;

instantly;

posthaste;

promptly; quickly; rapidly; rashly; right

vigorous; virile; well; well-built. 320

spilled milk

(as) sound as a dollar An insipid simi¬

speaks volumes A moribund metaphor

le. 1. cogent; convincing; intelligent; judi¬

(see page 21).

cious; just; logical; prudent; rational; rea¬ sonable; sensible; sound; telling; valid;

(she’s) special A suspect superlative (see

well-founded; well-grounded; wise. 2. ath¬

page 24).

letic; beefy; brawny; energetic; fit; good; hale; hardy; healthful; healthy; hearty;

(that)

lanky; lean; manly; mesomorphic; muscu¬

superlative (see page 24). admirer; amor¬

lar; powerful; robust; shapely; sinewy;

ist; beau; boyfriend; flame; gallant; girl¬

slender; solid; sound; stalwart; strong;

friend; inamorata; inamorato; lover; para¬

sturdy; thin; trim; vigorous; virile; well;

mour; steady; suitor; swain; sweetheart;

well-built.

wooer. ■ I still haven’t met that special

special

someone A suspect

someone, but I am confident it will hap¬ (she) sounds like a broken record An

pen soon. REPLACE WITH a girlfriend.

insipid simile. (the) specter of A moribund metaphor (as) sour as vinegar An insipid simile.

(see page 21). ■ The Troika’s standard response to all who raised the specter of

sour grapes A moribund metaphor (see

diminished social services has been

page 21). bile; bitterness; resentment;

insult, invective, and ire.

umbrage. spick and span An inescapable pair (see sour note A moribund metaphor (see

page 20). antiseptic; clean; cleansed; dis¬

page 21).

infected; germ-free; hygienic; immaculate; neat; orderly; sanitary; sanitized; scoured;

so what else is new? An infantile phrase

scrubbed; spotless; spruce; stainless; sterile;

(see page 20).

tidy; unblemished; unsoiled; unspotted; unsullied; untarnished; washed.

sow the seeds of A moribund metaphor (see page 21). circulate; disseminate; dis¬

He was secretly orderly and in per¬

tribute; propagate; sow; spread.

son spick and span —- his friends declared that they had never seen

sow

(his)

wild

his hair rumpled. — F. Scott

oats A moribund

metaphor (see page 21). be dissolute; be

Fitzgerald,

licentious; be wild; have sex.

Damned

The

Beautiful and

spare the rod and spoil the child A

spilled milk A moribund metaphor (see

popular prescription (see page 23).

page 21).

(a) spate of A moribund metaphor (see page 21). ■ The legislation was pro¬ posed in response to a spate 0/" violent incidents. SEE ALSO a barrage of.

321

spill (his) guts

spill (his) guts A moribund metaphor

instant; quick; rash; spontaneous; sudden;

(see page 21). broadcast; confess; disclose;

unexpected;

divulge; expose; make known; proclaim;

unrehearsed.

publicize;

reveal;

talk;

tell;

unprepared;

unprompted;

uncover; square peg in a round hole A mori¬

unveil.

bund metaphor (see page 21). aberrant; Nor do I covet the mute commis¬

abnormal; anomalistic; anomalous; atypi¬

eration of friends who dont know

cal; bizarre; curious; deviant; different;

what to say and so leave me to spill

distinct; distinctive; eccentric; exceptional;

my guts by way of making conver¬

extraordinary;

sation. — Lionel Shriver, We Need

grotesque;

to Talk About Kevin

individual;

fantastic;

idiosyncratic;

foreign;

independent;

individualistic;

irregular;

novel; odd; offbeat; original; peculiar; spill the beans A moribund metaphor

puzzling; quaint; queer; rare; remarkable;

(see page 21). confess; disclose; divulge;

separate; singular; uncommon; unconven¬

leak; make known; reveal; tell.

tional; unexampled; unique; unnatural; unorthodox; unparalleled; unprecedented;

spinning (my)

wheels A moribund

unusual; weird.

metaphor (see page 21). mired; stalled; squeaky clean A moribund metaphor

stuck.

(see page 21). high-minded; moralistic; spit and image (spitting image) An

principled; strait-laced; upright; upstand¬

inescapable pair (see page 20). clone;

ing.

copy; counterpart; doppelganger; double; duplicate; exact likeness; match; twin.

(the) squeaky wheel gets the grease A popular prescription (see page 23).

spit and polish A moribund metaphor stab (her) in the back A moribund

(see page 21).

metaphor (see page 21). 1. assail; attack; spoil rotten A moribund metaphor (see

badmouth; complain; criticize; denounce;

page 21). coddle; gratify; humor; indulge;

knock; put down. 2. abuse; harm; hurt;

mollycoddle;

injure; maltreat; mistreat; wound. ■ If I

overindulge;

overprotect;

stop trusting people because they may

pamper; spoil.

stab me in the back, I could miss out on spread (himself) too thin A moribund

some valuable and enriching friend¬

metaphor (see page 21).

ships. REPLACE WITH mistreat me.

sprout up like mushrooms An insipid

stack the cards (deck) A moribund

simile, breed; multiply; proliferate; propa¬

metaphor (see page 21). ■ While such

gate; reproduce; spread.

efforts must invariably fail, the climate of distrust and fear stacks the deck

(on the) spur of the moment A mori¬

against individuals who must move into

bund metaphor (see page 21). abrupt;

a hostile environment.

extemporaneous; extempore; immediate; impromptu;

improvised;

impulsive;

322

stay on target

(the) staff of life A moribund metaphor

different; distinct; distinctive; eccentric;

(see page 21). bread.

exceptional; extraordinary; fantastic; for¬ eign; grotesque; idiosyncratic; independ¬

(the) stage has been set A moribund

ent; individual; individualistic; irregular;

metaphor (see page 21). ■ The stage has

novel; odd; offbeat; original; peculiar;

been set for a contract that will have to

puzzling; quaint; queer; rare; remarkable;

contain genuine reforms.

separate; singular; strange; uncommon; unconventional; unexampled; unique;

(old) stamping (stomping) ground A

unnatural;

moribund metaphor

unprecedented; unusual; weird.

(see page 21).

unorthodox;

unparalleled;

hangout; haunt; rendezvous. stand (stick) out like a sore thumb An A

moribund

insipid simile, apparent; arresting; bla¬

21).

approval;

tant; conspicuous; evident; flagrant; glar¬

authorization; certification; endorsement;

ing; gross; manifest; noticeable; observ¬

sanction.

able; obtrusive; obvious; outstanding;

stamp

of

metaphor

approval (see

page

patent; prominent; salient. stand

(their)

ground A moribund

metaphor (see page 21). 1. holdfast; per¬

(his) star is on the rise A moribund

severe; persist; stand firm; stick with. 2. be

metaphor (see page 21).

adamant; be balky; be bullheaded; be can¬ tankerous; be contrary; be contumacious;

(has) stars in her eyes A moribund

be dogged; be headstrong; be inflexible; be

metaphor (see page 21). dreamy; happy;

intractable; be mulish; be obdurate; be

idealistic; optimistic; starry-eyed.

obstinate; be ornery; be perverse; be refrac¬ tory; be resolute; be rigid; be stubborn; be

start the ball

unyielding; be willful.

metaphor (see page 21).

rolling A moribund

begin; com¬

mence; enter on; initiate. stand on (his) own two feet A mori¬ bund metaphor (see page 21). assured;

start with a clean slate A moribund

confident; independent; self-assured; self-

metaphor (see page 21). begin anew;

confident; self-contained; self-governing;

start afresh; start over.

self-reliant; self ruling; self-sufficient; selfsupporting; sure.

state of siege A moribund metaphor (see page 21).

stand on the sidelines A moribund metaphor (see page 21). ■ Surgeons

staying power A moribund metaphor

who have been standing on the sidelines

(see page 21). determination; durability;

are beginning to take up the procedure

endurance; firmness; fortitude; perma¬

themselves.

nence; permanency; perseverance; resolu¬ tion; resolve; spunk; stability; stamina;

stand out from (in) the crowd (pack)

steadfastness; tenacity.

A moribund metaphor (see page 21).

aberrant; abnormal; anomalistic; anom¬

stay on target A moribund metaphor

alous; atypical; bizarre; curious; deviant;

(see page 21).

323

stay the course

stay the course A moribund metaphor

steer wrong A moribund metaphor (see

(see page 21). advance; continue; go on;

page 21). beguile; betray; deceive; lead

grow; make progress; move on; occur; press

astray; misdirect; misguide; mislead. ■ I

on; proceed; progress.

trust that you won’t steer them wrong.

■ Maeng says she knows that West

Replace with mislead.

Point, the oldest military academy in the country, will be challenging; howev¬

stem the flow A moribund metaphor

er, she plans to stay the course. ■ The

(see page 21). abort; arrest; block; check;

congressman wants to stay the course

curb; decelerate; delay; end; halt; hamper;

until the farm bill comes up for its

hinder; impede; obstruct; plug; quash;

scheduled review in a few years. ■ If

quell; retard; slow; squash; stay; stem; stop;

parents stay the course and recognize

suspend; terminate.

God’s confidence and trust in their par¬ enting skills,

then life will be fine

stem the tide A moribund metaphor (see page 21). abort; arrest; block; check;

throughout the world.

curb; decelerate; delay; end; halt; hamper; There was nothing to do but

hinder; impede; obstruct; plug; quash;

patch himself up as well as he

quell; retard; slow; squash; stay; stem; stop;

could, stay the course,

suspend; terminate. ■ But twenty years

not be

depressed. — Jonathan Franzen,

of effort have failed to stem the tide of

The Corn

environmental degradation.

REPLACE

WITH retard. (as) steady as a rock An insipid simile.

constant; dependable; determined; faith¬

It was the inability to speak open¬

ful; fast; firm; fixed; inexorable; inflexible;

ly about them, and thus to devise

loyal; obdurate; reliable; resolute; resolved;

ways and means to stem the tide

rigid; solid; stable; staunch; steadfast;

until they could re-form their

steady; stern; strong; supportive; tenacious;

ranks.

—

Lawrence

Durrell,

true; trustworthy; trusty; unflinching; unwavering; unyielding. (a) step backward A torpid term (see steal the show A moribund metaphor

page 24). backset; reversal; setback.

(see page 21). (a) step forward A torpid term (see steal

(her)

thunder

A

moribund

metaphor (see page 21).

page

24).

advancement;

betterment;

development; furtherance; growth; head¬ way; improvement; progress. ■ This is a

steer clear (of) A moribund metaphor

step forward for us all. REPLACE WITH

(see page 21). avoid; bypass; circumvent;

betterment. For some writers, a step for¬

dodge; elude; evade; shun; sidestep; skirt.

ward isn’t positive enough: ■ Although

■ It was a signal to the new mayor to

the IFS interface is a positive step forward

steer cleer of divisiveness and cliquish¬

for DOS, it remains in a sort of twilight

ness. Replace with shun.

zone. Replace with an advancement. See ALSO a step (forward) in the right

direction; go forward; move forward; 324

stick to (your) guns

move (forward) in the right direction; pro¬

Industry is stepping up to the plate on

ceed forward.

this. REPLACE WITH pursuing. ■ Because his public presence has been tainted

(a) step (forward) in the right direc¬

greatly, she’s going to have to step up to

tion A torpid term

the plate and do more. REPLACE WITH

(see page 24).

advancement; betterment; development;

come forward.

furtherance; growth; headway; improve¬ ment; progress. Like many dimwitti-

stewed

cisms, a step forward in the right direction

metaphor (see page 21). besotted; crapu¬

is an ungainly creation. The English lan¬

lous; drunk; inebriated; intoxicated; sod¬

guage is wonderfully expressive and infi¬

den; stupefied; tipsy.

to

the

gills

A

moribund

nitely flexible, but this phrase is stiff, wooden,

awkward.

■ Incentives

to

stew in (her) own juice A moribund

attract and retain nurses would be a step

metaphor (see page 21).

in the right direction. REPLACE WITH an

mope; stew; worry

brood; fret;

improvement. ■ Mr Singh described the arrests of Mr Saeed and other militants

stick in (my) craw (throat) A mori¬

as a step forward in the right direction but

bund metaphor (see page 21). acerbate;

said more action was necessary. REPLACE WITH progress. See ALSO a step forward;

go forward; move forward; move (for¬ ward) in the right direction; proceed for¬

annoy;

bother;

bristle;

chafe;

enrage; envenom; exacerbate; gall; incense; inflame; infuriate; insult; irk; irritate; madden; miff; nettle; offend; provoke; rankle; rile; roil; vex.

ward. step

anger;

on

(his)

toes

A

moribund

metaphor (see page 21). abuse; affront;

anger; annoy; bother; displease; harm; hurt; insult; irk; irritate; offend; outrage; provoke; rile; roil; slap; slight; smart; trou¬ ble; upset; vex; wound. ■ During his five

stick (your)

neck out A moribund

metaphor (see page 21). chance; dare;

endanger; gamble; hazard; imperil; jeop¬ ardize; make bold; peril; risk; venture. ■ They do not stick their necks out to initi¬ ate

change

—

they

are

followers.

Replace with venture.

months as acting mayor, he stepped on

many peoples toes. REPLACE WITH offend¬ ed many people.

sticks and stones will break my bones, but words will never hurt me An infantile phrase (see page 20).

step

up

to

the plate A moribund

metaphor (see page 21).

1. aim for;

stick to

(your)

guns A moribund

attempt; endeavor; engage; participate;

metaphor (see page 21). 1. holdfast;per¬

pursue; seek; strive for; try. 2. advance;

severe; persist; stand firm; stick with. 2. be

appear; approach; come forth; come for¬

adamant; be balky; be bullheaded; be can¬

ward; emerge; rise; show; surface; tran¬

tankerous; be contrary; be contumacious;

spire. 3. act; perform; speak; talk. 4. be

be dogged; be headstrong; be inflexible; be

accountable; be answerable; be responsi¬

intractable; be mulish; be obdurate; be

ble. ■ Rumors of an imminent buyout

obstinate; be ornery; be perverse; be refrac¬

circulated, but no one stepped up to the

tory; be resolute; be rigid; be stubborn; be

plate. REPLACE with came forward. ■

unyielding; be willful. 325

stick to (your) ribs

moribund

(as) still as death An insipid simile.

metaphor (see page 21). fill; sate; satiate;

dead; dormant; dull; immobile; immov¬

satisfy.

able; inactive; inanimate; indolent; inert;

stick

to

(your)

ribs

A

inoperative; languid; latent; lethargic; stick to the knitting A moribund

lifeless; listless; motionless; noiseless; phleg¬

metaphor (see page 21).

matic; quiescent; quiet; silent; sluggish; soundless; stagnant; static; stationary; still;

sticky wicket A moribund metaphor (see page 21).

stock-still; torpid; unresponsive.

affliction; annoyance;

bane; bother; burden; curse; difficulty;

still kicking A moribund metaphor (see

inconvenience; irritant; irritation; load;

page 21). alive; animate; breathing; live;

nuisance; ordeal; pain; pest; problem;

living.

tribulation; trouble; vexation; weight; still waters run deep A popular pre¬

worry.

scription (see page 23). (as) stiff as a board An insipid simile. 1. firm; inelastic; inflexible; rigid; stiff;

stink like hell An insipid simile, reek;

unbending;

smell; stink.

unmalleable;

unpliable;

unyielding. 2. awkward; ceremonious; constrained; formal; precise; priggish;

stir up a hornet’s nest A moribund

prim; proper; prudish; punctilious; puri¬

metaphor (see page 21). SEE ALSO hor¬

tanical; reserved; starched; stiff; stilted;

net's nest.

strait-laced; stuffy; unrelaxed; uptight. stitch in time A moribund metaphor still and all A wretched redundancy

(see page 21).

(see page 25). even so; still; yet. ■ Still

and all, I love her. REPLACE WITH Even

(a) stitch in time saves nine A popular

so or Still.

prescription (see page 23).

(as) still as a mouse An insipid simile.

(a) stone’s throw (away) A moribund

dead; dormant; dull; immobile; immov¬

metaphor (see page 21). accessible; at

able; inactive; inanimate; indolent; inert;

hand; close; close by; handy; near; nearby;

inoperative; languid; latent; lethargic;

neighboring; not far from; vicinal.

lifeless; listless; motionless; noiseless; phleg¬ matic; quiescent; quiet; silent; sluggish;

stop and smell the flowers (roses) A

soundless; stagnant; static; stationary; still;

moribund metaphor (see page 21). be

stock-still; torpid; unresponsive.

idle; be inactive; be lazy; be unemployed; be unoccupied; dally; dawdle; loaf; loiter;

l -mm mmmmmmmm m —

To placate him, I sit as still as a

loll; lounge; relax; repose; rest.

harvest mouse (Micromys minu-

tus), and after about fifteen min¬

stop (him) (dead) in (his) tracks A

utes of silent work he relents. -

moribund metaphor

Sally

Beauman,

Mortland

The

Sisters

(see page 21).

arrest; check; freeze; halt; hold; immobi¬ lize; restrain; stop.

326

strike while the iron is hot

straight shooter A moribund metaphor (see page 21). decent; ethical; forthright; honest; just; moral; righteous; straight; trustworthy; upright; virtuous. strange An overworked word (see page stop the world I want to get off An

22). aberrant; abnormal; anomalistic;

infantile phrase (see page 20).

anomalous; atypical; bizarre; curious; deviant; different; distinct; distinctive;

storm brewing A moribund metaphor

eccentric; exceptional; extraordinary; fan¬

(see page 21).

tastic; foreign; grotesque; idiosyncratic; independent; individual; individualistic;

(a) storm of A moribund metaphor (see

irregular; novel; odd; offbeat; original;

page 21). See ALSO a barrage of.

peculiar; puzzling; quaint; queer; rare; remarkable; separate; singular; uncom¬

(the) story of (my) life A plebeian sen¬

mon;

timent (see page 23). ■ I’ve always felt

unique; unnatural; unorthodox; unparal¬

like an outcast; it’s the story of my life.

leled; unprecedented; unusual; weird. SEE

unconventional;

unexampled;

ALSO weird. straddle

the

fence

A

moribund

metaphor (see page 21). ambivalent;

strange

bedfellows

divided; indecisive; in doubt; irresolute;

metaphor (see page 21).

A

moribund

neutral; torn; uncertain; uncommitted; undecided; unsure.

(the) straw that broke the camel’s back A moribund metaphor (see page

(the) straight and narrow (path) A

21).

moribund metaphor (see page 21). decent; ethical; exemplary; good; honest;

stretch the point (truth) A moribund

honorable; just; moral; pure; righteous;

metaphor

straight; upright; virtuous; wholesome.

embellish; embroider; enhance; enlarge;

(see page 21).

elaborate;

exaggerate; hyperbolize; inflate; magnify; (as) straight as an arrow An insipid

overdo; overstress; overstate; strain; stretch.

simile. 1. direct; lineal; linear; straight. 2. decent; ethical; exemplary; good; honest;

strike (touch) a chord A moribund

honorable; just; moral; pure; righteous;

metaphor (see page 21). be familiar;

straight; upright; virtuous; wholesome.

remind; sound familiar. ■ These words struck a familiar chord with many of the

straight from the horses mouth A

6,000 conference participants.

moribund metaphor (see page 21). strike gold A moribund metaphor (see straight from the shoulder A mori¬

page 21).

bund metaphor (see page 21). bluntly; candidly; directly; forthrightly; frankly; man

strike while the iron is hot A mori¬

to man; openly; outspokenly; plainly; straight¬

bund metaphor (see page 21). capitalize

forwardly; unambiguously; unequivocally.

on; exploit. 32 7

strings attached

strings attached A moribund metaphor

(as) strong as an ox An insipid simile.

conditions; limitations;

athletic; beefy; brawny; burly; energetic;

preconditions; prerequisites; provisions;

fit; hale; hardy; healthful; healthy; hearty;

qualifications; requirements; stipulations;

husky; manly; mesomorphic; mighty; mus¬

terms.

cular; powerful; puissant; robust; rugged;

(see page 21).

sinewy; solid; sound; stalwart; stout; strap¬ stroll down memory lane A moribund

ping; strong; sturdy; vigorous; virile; well-

metaphor (see page 21). be nostalgic;

built.

recall; recollect; remember; reminisce; (as) stubborn as a mule An insipid

think back.

simile, adamant; balky; bullheaded; can¬

(as) strong as a horse An insipid simi¬

tankerous;

le. athletic; beefy; brawny; burly; ener¬

dogged; headstrong; inflexible; intractable;

getic; fit; hale; hardy; healthful; healthy;

mulish; obdurate; obstinate; ornery; per¬

hearty;

verse; refactory; resolute; rigid; stubborn;

husky;

manly;

mesomorphic;

mighty; muscular; powerful; puissant;

contrary;

contumacious;

unyielding; willful.

robust; rugged; sinewy; solid; sound; stal¬ wart; stout; strapping; strong; sturdy; vig¬

stuff and nonsense An inescapable pair

orous; virile; well-built.

(see page 20).

absurdity; fatuousness;

folly; foolishness; ludicrousness; nonsense; (a) stroll (walk) in the park A mori¬

preposterousness; ridiculousness; rubbish;

bund metaphor (see page 21). 1. casual;

silliness.

easily done; easy; effortless; elementary; facile; simple; simplicity itself; straigh for¬

(the) stuff dreams (legends) are made

ward;

of A moribund metaphor (see page 21).

uncomplex;

uncomplicated.

2.

agreeable; beguiling; charming; delighful; enchanting; engaging; enjoyable; fun; glo¬

(the) stuff of (legends) A moribund

rious; gratifying; inviting; joyful; joyous;

metaphor (see page 21). ■ His mumbo-

■

jumbo about the war on terror was the

Building high-rise buildings, dams, and

stuff of prime time television. ■ The

bridges isn’t exactly a walk in the park.

abuse of this child truly is the stuff of

REPLACE WITH simple. ■ Compared to

nightmares. ■ Lance Armstrong’s record

NetWare 3.x, installing Windows NT

seventh win of the Tour de France is the

Server is a stroll in the park. REPLACE

stuff of true legends. ■ Being in the

WITH effortless.

Hambletonian is the stuff ^dreams —

pleasant;

pleasing;

pleasurable.

and obituaries.

(as) strong as a lion An insipid simile. athletic; beefy; brawny; burly; energetic;

That was the stuff of others’ lives.

ft; hale; hardy; healthful; healthy; hearty;

— Annie Proulx,

husky; manly; mesomorphic; mighty; mus¬

News

The Shipping

cular; powerful; puissant; robust; rugged; sinewy; solid; sound; stalwart; stout; strap¬

stuff to the gills A moribund metaphor

ping; strong; sturdy; vigorous; virile; well-

(see page 21). abounding; brimful; brim¬

built.

ming; bursting; chock-full; congested; crammed; crowded; dense; filled; full; 328

(a) sufficient number (of)

gorged; jammed; jam-packed; overcrowd¬

(a) substantial part (portion; propor¬

ed; overfilled; overflowing; packed; replete;

tion) A wretched redundancy (see page

saturated; stuffed; swarming; teeming.

25). a good (great) deal; a good (great)

many; almost all; many; most; much; (major) stumbling block A moribund

nearly all. ■ It is unconscionable that a

metaphor (see page 21). barrier; hin¬

substantial proportion of our population

drance; hurdle; impediment; obstacle;

does not have adequate access to health

obstruction. ■ Modernization of the

care. REPLACE WITH much. ■ I assume

Chinese HRM system is fraught with

that Boston will be eligible for a substan¬

significant stumbling blocks.

tial portion of the distressed communi¬

Replace

WITH obstacles.

ties fund. Replace with a good deal. SEE ALSO a significant part (portion; pro¬

stupid An overworked word (see page

portion).

22). This epithet, along with others as common, is much overused. Let’s do

such is life A plebeian sentiment (see

our best to convince stupid people that

page 23). See ALSO that’s how (the way)

they are by calling them, instead, addle-

it goes; that’s how (the way) the ball

brained;

addlepated;

bounces; that’s how (the way) the cookie

Boeotian; bovine; cretinous; decerebrate;

crumbles; that’s life; that’s life in the big

doltish; dull-witted; dunderheaded; fatu¬

city; that’s show biz; what are you going to

ous; fat-witted; harebrained; hebetudi-

do; what can you do.

addleheaded;

nous; imbecilic; incogitant; insensate; ludicrous; moronic; muddled; nescient;

suck the life out of A moribund

obtuse; oxlike; pedestrian; phlegmatic;

metaphor

sluggish; torpid; vacuous; witless.

deplete; drain; exhaust; sap; suck dry.

(as) sturdy as an oak An insipid simile.

suddenly and without warning A

athletic; beefy; brawny; burly; energetic;

wretched redundancy (see page 25).

fit; hale; hardy; healthful; healthy; hearty;

impetuously; impulsively; spontaneously;

husky; manly; mesomorphic; mighty; mus¬

suddenly; unexpectedly; without warning.

(see page 21).

bleed dry;

cular; powerful; puissant; robust; rugged; sinewy; solid; sound; stalwart; stout; strap¬

sufficient enough A wretched redun¬

ping; strong; sturdy; vigorous; virile; well-

dancy (see page 25). enough; sufficient. ■

built.

Just tell them your new number, and that

should

be

sufficient

enough.

subsequent to A torpid term (see page

Replace with sufficient or enough. See

24). after; following. ■ Subsequent to the

ALSO adequate enough.

initiation

of the

Ethics

Committee

the senator took back

(a) sufficient number (of) A wretched

some tapes in my possession which I

redundancy (see page 25). enough. ■

had not yet transcribed. REPLACE WITH

Effective groups contain a sufficient

Following. SEE ALSO in advance of; previ¬

number of members to ensure good

ous to; subsequent to.

interaction. REPLACE WITH enough. SEE

investigation,

ALSO a ... number (of).

329

sugar and spice

sugar and spice A moribund metaphor (see page 21).

swear by all that’s holy A moribund metaphor (see page 21). affirm; assever¬ ate; assert; attest; aver; avow; declare;

sum and substance An inescapable pair

pledge; promise; swear; testify; vow; war¬

(see page 20). basis; center; core; crux;

rant.

essence; gist; heart; kernel; pith; substance; swear like a sailor (trooper) An insipid

sum.

simile, abusive; blackguardly; coarse; (the) summer (winter) of (our) dis¬

crude; fescennine; foul-mouthed; indecent;

content A moribund metaphor (see

lewd; obscene; profane; ribald; scurrilous;

page 21).

thersitical; vulgar.

(the) sun, the moon, and the stars A

swear on a stack of bibles A moribund

moribund metaphor (see page 21).

metaphor (see page 21). affirm; assever¬ ate; assert; attest; aver; avow; declare;

(as) sure as death An insipid simile. assured; certain; destined; established; fated; fixed; foreordained; ineluctable; inescapable; inevitable; inexorable; irre¬ sistible; irreversible; irrevocable; ordained; prearranged; predestined; predetermined; sure; unalterable; unavoidable; unchange¬ able; unpreventable; unstoppable.

simile, assured; certain; destined; estab¬ fated;

fixed;

sweat bullets A moribund metaphor (see page 21). 1. excrete; exude; ooze;per¬ spire; sweat; swelter; wilt. 2. be afraid; be agitated; be anxious; be apprehensive; be distraught; be distressed; be fearful; be fret¬ ful; be impatient; be nervous; be panicky;

(as) sure as death and taxes An insipid lished;

pledge; promise; swear; testify; vow; war¬ rant.

foreordained;

be tense; be uneasy; be worried. 3. drudge; grind; grub; labor; moil; slave; strain; strive; struggle; sweat; toil; travail; work hard.

ineluctable; inescapable; inevitable; inex¬ orable; irresistible; irreversible; irrevoca¬

sweep off (her)

ble; ordained; prearranged; predestined;

metaphor (see page 21). amaze; astonish;

predetermined;

astound; awe; dazzle; dumbfound; flab¬

unavoidable;

sure;

unalterable;

unchangeable;

unpre¬

feet A moribund

bergast; overpower; overwhelm; shock;

ventable; unstoppable.

startle; stun; stupefy; surprise.

survival of the fittest A popular pre¬

sweep (it) under the (carpet) rug A

scription (see page 23).

moribund metaphor (see page 21). 1. brush aside; avoid; discount; disregard;

swallow

(her)

pride A moribund

dodge; duck; ignore; neglect; omit; pass

metaphor (see page 21). abase; chasten;

over; recoil from; shrink from; shun; shy

debase; degrade; demean; disgrace; dishon¬

away from; turn away from; withdraw

or; embarrass; humble; humiliate; lower;

from. 2. camouflage; cloak; conceal; cover;

mortify; shame.

disguise; enshroud; harbor; hide; keep secret; mask; screen; shroud; suppress; veil;

swan song A moribund metaphor (see

withhold. H The strategy was to sweep it

page 21). farewell; good-bye.

under the rug. REPLACE WITH ignore it. 330

take a back seat

sweep (it) under the table A moribund

ing; inviting; joyful; joyous; luscious;

metaphor (see page 21). 1. brush aside;

pleasant; pleasing; pleasurable.

avoid; discount; disregard; dodge; duck; ignore; neglect; omit; pass over; recoil

sweet smell of success A moribund

from; shrink from; shun; shy away from;

metaphor (see page 21).

turn away from; withdraw from. 2. cam¬ ouflage; cloak; conceal; cover; disguise;

(as) swift as an arrow An insipid simi¬

enshroud; harbor; hide; keep secret; mask;

le. brisk; expeditious; fast; fleet; hasty;

screen; shroud; suppress; veil; withhold. ■

hurried; immediate; instant; instanta¬

We see the word anti-Semitism every day

neous; prompt; quick; rapid; speedy; spry;

in our secular newspapers, but the word

sudden; swift; winged.

anti-Catholic is swept under the table. Replace with brushed aside.

swim against the current

(tide) A

moribund metaphor (see page 21). 1. (as) sweet as honey An insipid simile.

drudge; grind; grub; labor; moil; slave;

1. honeyed; luscious; saccharine; sugary;

strain; strive; struggle; sweat; toil; travail;

sweet; sweetened; syrupy. 2. agreeable;

work hard. 2. battle; fight; tussle; wrestle.

ambrosial; beguiling; celestial; charming; delectable; delicious; delightful; divine;

swim like a fish An insipid simile.

enchanting; engaging; enjoyable; fun; heavenly; glorious; gratifying; inviting;

swim upstream A moribund metaphor

joyful; joyous; luscious; pleasant; pleasing;

(see page 21).

pleasurable. swim (as) sweet as pie An insipid simile. 1.

with

the

tide

A

moribund

metaphor (see page 21).

honeyed; luscious; saccharine; sugary; sweet; sweetened; syrupy. 2. agreeable; ambrosial; beguiling; celestial; charming; delectable; delicious; delightful; divine;

T

enchanting; engaging; enjoyable; fun; heavenly; glorious; gratifying; inviting; joyful; joyous; luscious; pleasant; pleasing; pleasurable. sweeten the pot A moribund metaphor (see page 21). add to; augment; enhance;

tabula rasa A foreign phrase (see page

improve; increase; supplement.

19).

moribund

(a case of) (the) tail wagging the dog

metaphor (see page 21). 1. honeyed; lus¬

A moribund metaphor (see page 21).

cious; saccharine; sugary; sweet; sweetened;

backward; in reverse.

sweeter

than

honey

A

syrupy. 2. agreeable; ambrosial; beguiling; celestial; charming; delectable; delicious; delightful; divine; enchanting; engaging; enjoyable; fun; heavenly; glorious; gratify¬

take a back seat A moribund metaphor (see page 21). be ancillary; be inferior; be

lesser; be lower; be minor; be second; be 331

take a bath

secondary; be subordinate; be subservient.

take a front seat A moribund metaphor

■ Just a few years after this work,

(see page 21). prevail; rise above; sur¬

machine learning took a back seat to

mount; triumph.

expert knowledge systems.

REPLACE

WITH became subordinate. U As in most

Yesterday she way ready to pick up

races for most offices, issues have taken

the phone, call Jeff, and tell him

a back seat to personality, image, foot¬

off for all he was worth. This

work, money, and most important, field

morning, family took a front seat.

organization.

REPLACE WITH

became

ancillary. ■ Power based on expertise frequently takes a back seat to power based on position. REPLACE WITH is sec¬ ond. take a bath A moribund metaphor (see page 21). lose money. take a beating A moribund metaphor (see page 21). 1. be beaten; be conquered;

be crushed; be defeated; be outdone; be overcome; be overpowered; be over¬ whelmed; be quelled; be routed; be trounced; be vanquished. 2. be assailed; be assaulted; be attacked; be battered; be beaten; be cudgeled; be flagellated; be flogged; be hit; be lambasted; be lashed; be licked; be mangled; be pounded; be pummeled; be struck; be thrashed; be trounced.

—

Margaret

Johnson-Hodge,

Warm Hands take a gander (at) An infantile phrase (see page 20). gaze; glance; glimpse; look;

observe; stare; watch. take a haircut A moribund metaphor (see page 21). lose money. ■ He suggest¬ ed what has been plain for some time — that holders of $1.7 billion in junk bonds would probably take a haircut. Replace with lose money.

take a hit A moribund metaphor (see page 21). be assailed; be assaulted; be

attacked; be battered; be beaten; be cudg¬ eled; be flagellated; be flogged; be hit; be lambasted; be lashed; be licked; be man¬ gled; be pounded; be pummeled; be struck;

take a breather An infantile phrase (see

be thrashed; be trounced.

page 20). be idle; be inactive; be lazy; be

unemployed; be unoccupied; dally; daw¬ dle; loaf; loiter; loll; lounge; relax; repose; rest.

take a leaf (page) out of (their) book A moribund metaphor (see page 21).

copy; duplicate; emulate; follow; imitate; mimic. take a load off (your) mind A mori¬ bund metaphor (see page 21). acknowl¬

edge; admit; affirm; allow; avow; concede; take

a dim

view of A moribund

metaphor (see page 21). deprecate; disap¬

prove; dislike; frown on; object; protest. take a fancy (shine) to A moribund metaphor (see page 21). delight in; enjoy;

fancy; like; relish.

confess; disclose; divulge; expose; grant; own; reveal; tell; uncover; unveil. take a long, hard look (at) A torpid term (see page 24). analyze; assay; check

out; delve into; examine; investigate; probe; scrutinize; study. U We need lead332

take into consideration

ers with the will and the determination

depression, Prozac has taken the mental

to take a long, hard look at the structure

health community by storm. REPLACE

of our

WITH captivated.

government.

REPLACE WITH

examine. take each day as it comes A popular take a nose dive A moribund metaphor

prescription (see page 23).

(see page 21). collapse; crash; dive; drop;

fall; nose-dive; plummet; plunge.

take exception to A wretched redun¬ dancy (see page 25). challenge; demur;

take a powder A moribund metaphor

disagree with; disapprove of; dispute; find

(see page 21). abscond; clear out; decamp;

fault with; object to; oppose; protest; ques¬

depart; desert; disappear; escape; exit; flee;

tion; resent. ■ I take exception to your

fly; go; go away; leave; move on; part; pull

analysis of his difficulties.

out; quit; retire; retreat; run away; take

WITH disagree with. See ALSO take issue

flight; take off; vacate; vanish; withdraw.

with.

take a turn for the better A moribund

take (him)

metaphor

(see page 21).

ameliorate;

metaphor

REPLACE

for a ride A moribund

(see page 21).

bamboozle;

amend; come round; convalesce; gain

befool; beguile; bilk; bluff; cheat; con;

strength; get better; heal; improve; look up;

deceive; defraud; delude; dupe; feint; fool;

meliorate; mend; rally; recover; recuperate;

gyp; hoodwink; lead astray; misdirect;

refresh; regain strength; renew; revive;

misguide;

strengthen.

swindle; trick; victimize.

take a turn for the worse A moribund

take

metaphor (see page 21). decay; decline;

metaphor

degenerate; deteriorate; disintegrate; ebb;

applaud; commend; compliment; congrat¬

erode; fade; fall off; languish; lessen; wane;

ulate; extol; hail; laud; praise.

(my)

misinform;

mislead; spoof;

hat off to A moribund (see

page

21).

acclaim;

weaken; wither; worsen. take take (my) ball (toys) and go home An

(a lot of)

heat A moribund

metaphor (see page 21).

infantile phrase (see page 20). take into account A wretched redun¬ take (your) breath away A moribund

dancy (see page 25). allow for; consider;

metaphor (see page 21). amaze; astonish;

contemplate; examine; inspect; investigate;

astound; awe; dazzle; dumbfound; flab¬

look at; ponder; provide for; regard; scru¬

bergast; overpower; overwhelm; shock;

tinize; study; think over; weigh. ■ The

startle; stun; stupefy; surprise.

character of the army is also an impor¬ tant factor to be taken into account.

take by storm A moribund metaphor

Replace with considered. See also take

(see page 21). amaze; animate; awe; cap¬

into consideration.

tivate; dazzle; electrify; excite; exhilarate; fascinate; impress; intoxicate; thrill; over¬

take into consideration A wretched

whelm. ■ In the two years since it was

redundancy (see page 25). allow for; con¬

introduced

sider;

as

the

newest drug for

333

contemplate;

examine;

inspect;

take issue with

investigate; look at; ponder; provide for;

take (her) life in (her) hands A mori¬

regard; scrutinize; study; think over;

bund metaphor (see page 21). chance;

weigh. ■ All this will be taken into con¬

dare; endanger; gamble; hazard; imperil;

sideration, and Financial analysis will be

jeopardize; make bold; peril; risk; venture.

done.

Replace with

examined. See

ALSO take into account.

take

(his)

lumps

A

moribund

metaphor (see page 21). ■ We fought take issue with A wretched redundancy

our way back to profitability after taking

(see page 25). challenge; demur; disagree

our lumps.

with; disapprove of; dispute; find fault with; object to; oppose; protest; question;

take

resent. ■ Some take issue with the state

metaphor (see page 21).

requiring people

to

use

seat

(their)

medicine A moribund

belts.

Replace with object to. See also take

taken aback A moribund metaphor (see

exception to.

page 21). amazed; astonished; astounded;

flabbergasted; shocked; staggered; stunned; take it as it comes A popular prescrip¬

surprised.

tion (see page 23). take

off

the

table

A

moribund

(I) take it (that) back An infantile

metaphor (see page 21). dismiss; not con¬

phrase (see page 20). 1. be incorrect; be

sider; reject; set aside; shelve. ■ I don’t

in error; be misguided; be misinformed; be

think we should ever take a nuclear

mislead; be mistaken; be not right; be

response ofljthe table.

wrong. 2. disavow; recant; renounce; repudiate; retract; withdraw. ■ Joanie is

take the bait A moribund metaphor

in third place; no, I take it back — it’s

(see page 21).

another runner.

REPLACE

WITH

I’m

wrong. ■ I always wanted to be with

I almost take the bait and then

someone

not

decide, no, if I start talking about

respectable, I take that back, profession¬

the boss, taking him apart, it will

al. Replace with I retract that.

never quit. — Louise Erdrich,

more

respectable;

Tales of Burning Love take it one day (step) at a time A pop¬ ular prescription (see page 23).

take the bit between (in) (her) teeth A moribund metaphor (see page 21). defy;

take

it on

the chin A moribund

metaphor (see page 21). 1. be beaten; be

disobey; rebel; resist; revolt; take charge; take control.

conquered; be crushed; be defeated; be flattened; be outdone; be overcome; be

take the bitter with the sweet A popu¬

overpowered; be trampled; be trounced; be

lar prescription (see page 23).

vanquished. 2. abide; accept; bear; brook; endure; stand; stomach; suffer; take; toler¬

take the bull by the horns A moribund

ate; withstand.

metaphor (see page 21). meet head-on.

334

take (him) to task

take the cake A moribund metaphor

(to) take this opportunity (to) An

(see page 21). 1. be best; be finest; be first;

ineffectual phrase (see page 19). On the

be first-rate; be outstanding; win. 2. be

podium and before others, people speak

absurd; be disgraceful; be inane; be lowest;

what they’re expected to say. Alone and

be outrageous; be poorest; be preposterous;

on their deathbeds, they moan that no

be ridiculous; be worst. ■ I am accus¬

one knew who they were. (To) take this

tomed to being shocked by John Ellis,

opportunity (to) is one of the phrases that

but “Beyond manifest destiny” takes the

people learn to mimic before they know

cake. Replace with is outrageous.

to moan. ■ I would like to take this opportuni¬

moribund

ty to apologize to my family and friends.

metaphor (see page 21). 1. be beneficent;

DELETE to take this opportunity. ■ I’d

be benevolent; be broad-minded; be char¬

like to take this opportunity to renew our

itable; be civil; be courteous; be gracious;

commitment to you — to provide you

be high-minded; be kind; be liberal; be

with superior service. DELETE to take

magnanimous; be noble. 2. be decent; be

this opportunity. ■ Let me take this

ethical; be exemplary; be good; be honest;

opportunity to thank our most inspira¬

be honorable; be just; be moral; be pure; be

tional guest. DELETE take this opportuni¬

respectful; be righteous; be straight; be

ty to. ■ As we wind down the current

upright; be virtuous; be wholesome.

year, I would like to take this opportuni¬

take

the

high

road

A

ty to thank you for your hard work on take the money and run A moribund

the Tech Communications Workshop

metaphor (see page 21), abscond; clear

this past academic year. DELETE take this

out; decamp; depart; desert; disappear;

opportunity to.

escape; exit; flee; fly; go; go away; leave; make ojf; move on; part; pull out; quit;

take

to

(his)

heels

A

moribund

retire; retreat; run away; steal away; take

metaphor (see page 21). abscond; clear

flight; take off; vacate; vanish; withdraw.

out; decamp; depart; desert; disappear; escape; exit; flee; fly; go; go away; leave;

take the plunge A moribund metaphor

move on; part; pull out; quit; retire;

(see page 21). dive in; do it; jump in.

retreat; run away; take flight; take off; vacate; vanish; withdraw.

take the wind out of (his) sails A moribund metaphor (see page 21). 1.

take (him) to task A torpid term (see

abase; chasten; debase; decrease; deflate;

page 24). admonish; animadvert; berate;

degrade; demean; depreciate; depress;

blame; castigate; censure; chasten; chastise;

diminish; disgrace; dishonor; embarrass;

chide;

humble; humiliate; lower; mortify; punc¬

denunciate; discipline; impugn; objurgate;

ture; shame. 2. arrest; balk; block; bridle;

punish; rebuke; remonstrate; reprehend;

check; curb; derail; detain; end; foil; frus¬

reprimand; reproach; reprobate; reprove;

trate; halt; harness; hold up; impede;

revile; scold; upbraid; vituperate. ■ In

inhibit; obstruct; restrain; retard; slow;

polite, carefully chosen words, the audi¬

stall; stay; stop; suppress;

tors take management to task for a mul¬

thwart.

terminate;

condemn;

criticize;

denounce;

titude of sins. REPLACE WITH censure.

335

take (her) to the cleaners

take (her) to the cleaners A moribund

(like) taking lambs to the slaughter

metaphor (see page 21).

An insipid simile.

take (them) to the woodshed A mori¬

a tale never loses in the telling A pop¬

bund metaphor (see page 21). admon¬

ular prescription (see page 23).

ish; animadvert; berate; castigate; censure; chasten; chastise; chide; condemn; criti¬

(tell) tales out of school A moribund

cize; denounce; denunciate; discipline; excoriate; fulminate against; imprecate; impugn; inveigh against; objurgate; pun¬ ish; rebuke; remonstrate; reprehend; repri¬ mand; reproach; reprobate; reprove; revile; scold; swear at; upbraid; vituperate.

metaphor (see page 21). ■ A lot of peo¬ ple thought they were telling tales out of

school. I oughtn’t to tell tales out of school but it’s a long time ago now and I’m glad Sarah has found happi¬

take with a grain (pinch) of salt A

ness, but in those days it was well-

moribund metaphor (see page 21). be

known in Pankot that Susan was

suspicious; be wary; disbelieve; distrust; doubt; have doubts; have misgivings; have reservations; mistrust; question; suspect; wonder. ■ But this pane’s data should be taken with a grain of salt. Replace WITH doubted.

always pinching her elder sister’s young men

.... — Paul Scott,

Staying On talk

a

blue

streak

A

moribund

metaphor (see page 21). babbling; blath¬

But Tim Paddy hinted that this

ering; chatty; facile; fluent; garrulous;

story should be taken with a pinch

glib; jabbering; logorrheic; long-winded;

of salt. — William Trevor, Fools of

loquacious; prolix; talkative; verbose; vol¬

Fortune

uble; windy.

(like) taking candy from a baby An

talk (my) ear (head) off A moribund

apparent; basic; clear; clear-cut; conspicuous; distinct; easily done; easy; effortless; elementary; evident; explicit; facile; limpid; lucid; manifest; obvious; patent; pellucid; plain; simple; simplicity itself; straightforward; translu¬

metaphor (see page 21). babbling; blath¬

insipid simile,

cent; transparent; unambiguous; uncom¬ plex; uncomplicated; understandable; unequivocal; unmistakable.

ering; chatty; facile; fluent; garrulous; glib; jabbering; logorrheic; long-winded; loquacious; prolix; talkative; verbose; vol¬ uble; windy. talk is cheap A quack equation (see page 23). talk (speak) out of both sides of (his)

It was a situation tailor-made for

mouth A moribund metaphor (see page

Eden, who would’ve considered it

21). be ambivalent; be indecisive; be irres¬

just slightly more challenging than taking candy from a baby and then pushing the buggy off a cliff. — Antoinette Stockenberg, Safe

Harbor

olute; be uncertain; be unsure; be wishywashy; dodge; doubletalk; equivocate; evade; fence; hedge; palter; prevaricate; quibble; shuffle; sidestep; tergiversate; waffle. 336

tell (them) where to get off

(he) talks a good game A moribund

whose termination is perhaps the most

metaphor (see page 21).

striking — he was one of the bank’s stel¬ lar performers — was not regarded as a

talk through (his) hat A moribund

team player.

metaphor (see page 21). babble; blather;

jabber; prate; prattle.

tear

(out)

(my)

hair A moribund

metaphor (see page 21). 1. acerbated; talk turkey A moribund metaphor (see

angry; annoyed; bothered; cross; dis¬

page 21).

pleased;

enraged;

furious;

grouchy;

incensed; inflamed; infuriated; irate; tan (warm)

(her) hide A moribund

metaphor (see page 21). spank.

irked; irritated; mad; miffed; peeved; pro¬ voked; riled; roiled; testy; upset; vexed. 2. agitated;

anxious;

apprehensive;

dis¬

tar and feather A moribund metaphor

traught; distressed; fearful; frustrated;

(see page 21). admonish; animadvert;

nervous; panicky; stressed; stressful; tense;

berate; castigate; censure; chasten; chastise;

tormented; troubled; uneasy; worried.

chide;

condemn;

criticize;

denounce;

denunciate; discipline; impugn; objurgate;

teeter on the brink (of) A moribund

punish; rebuke; remonstrate; reprehend;

metaphor (see page 21).

reprimand; reproach; reprobate; reprove; revile; scold; upbraid; vituperate.

tell it like it is An infantile phrase (see page 20). be blunt; be candid; be forth¬

tar (him) with the same brush A mori¬

right; be frank; be honest; be open; be

bund metaphor (see page 21).

truthful. ■ He’s not whining; he’s just telling it like it is. REPLACE WITH being

the ropes A moribund

honest. ■ These videos may be informa¬

metaphor (see page 21). coach; educate;

tive and tell it like it is but are far too

initiate; instruct; teach; train; tutor.

explicit and do not belong in a coed

teach

(me)

classroom. REPLACE WITH truthful. team player A suspect superlative (see page 24). This term is much favored by

tell it to the Marines A moribund

those in the business world for an

metaphor (see page 21).

employee who thinks just as others do and behaves just as he is expected to. A

tell (her) off A torpid term (see page

team player is a person who has not the

24). admonish; animadvert; berate; casti¬

spirit to think for or be himself.

gate; censure; chasten; chastise; chide; con¬ nothing

demn; criticize; denounce; denunciate;

innovative is likely to be realized by

discipline; impugn; objurgate; punish;

insisting, as the business world does, on

rebuke; remonstrate; reprehend; repri¬

objectivity and consensus,

mand; reproach; reprobate; reprove; revile;

Of course,

nothing new,

A team player is often no more than

scold; upbraid; vituperate.

a bootlicker; no more than a fawner, a

flatterer, a follower; no more than a lack¬

tell (them) where to get off A torpid

ey, a minion, a stooge; no more than a

term (see page 24). admonish; animad¬

sycophant, a toady, a yes-man. ■ Mulvey,

vert; berate; castigate; censure; chasten; 337

tempest in a teapot

chastise; chide; condemn; criticize; denounce; denunciate; discipline; impugn;

thank(ing) you in advance A plebeian

objurgate; punish; rebuke; remonstrate; reprehend; reprimand; reproach; repro¬ bate; reprove; revile; scold; upbraid; vitu¬

are more than plebeian, they are impu¬ would presume to thank another for

perate.

something while requesting it of him. ■

sentiment (see page 23). These phrases dent. Only the lowbred or harebrained

We thank you in advance for your under¬ tempest

in

a teapot A moribund

metaphor (see page 21).

standing in this situation. ■ Thank you

in advance for taking the time to help us. ■ Thanks in advance for your coop¬

terra firma A foreign phrase (see page

eration. ■ I have contacted the folks at

19).

ArtistDirect as well,

and wanted to

thank you in advance for your compli¬ terrific An overworked word (see page 22). Terrific means causing terror or ter¬

rifying, but of late, it means only very bad or, annoyingly, very good. ■ I have a terrific stomachache. REPLACE WITH very bad. ■ We had a terrific time at the party. REPLACE WITH very good. See

ance in this matter. And now variations of this phrase are being used in other, even more facile and sillier, constructions: ■ If I offend any man, woman, beast, or anything in between,

I apologize in advance. H He

apologizes in advance to those with a

ALSO awesome; awful.

more normal sense of humor. (the) temper of our time A moribund that makes two of us An infantile

metaphor (see page 21).

phrase (see page 20). as I do; I do too; test the waters A moribund metaphor

neither do I; no more do I; nor do I; so do

(see page 21).

I.

thank goodness it’s Friday An infantile

that’s for me to know and you to find

phrase (see page 20).

out An infantile phrase (see page 20). See ALSO ids a long story.

thanks but no thanks An infantile phrase (see page 20). thanks; thanks all

that’s how (the way) it goes A plebeian

the same; thanks anyway; thanks just the same.

sentiment (see page 23). That’s how (the

way) it goes and other expressions of res¬ ignation are often spoken by some peo¬

thank you A plebeian sentiment (see

ple and rarely, if at all, spoken by others.

page 23). Even thank you — once a sure

It is dimwitted people who are too

sign of civility — becomes part of the

often resigned when they should be

plebeian

patois

when

it

is

spoken

mechanically. Only a spectacularly thoughtless per¬ son would thank others for having been abused or berated by them, for having been refused or rejected by them. SEE ALSO excuse me?; I’m sorry.

complaining, too often resigned when they should be demanding, too often resigned when they should be raging. See ALSO such is life; that’s how (the way)

the ball bounces; that’s how (the way) the cookie crumbles; that’s life; that’s life in the big city; that’s show biz; what are you 338

that would be

going to do; what can you do.

life; that’s how (the way) it goes; that’s how (the way) the ball bounces; that’s how (the

The window was open so the skin¬

way) the cookie crumbles; that’s life; that’s

ny bird flew in. Flappity-flap with

show biz; what are you going to do; what

its frazzled black wings. That’s

can you do.

how

it

goes.

—

Bernard

Malamud, Idiots First

that’s nice A plebeian sentiment (see page 23). This phrase is used to dismiss

that’s how (the way) the ball bounces

what a person has said. That’s nice is a

A plebeian sentiment (see page 23). SEE

perfunctory response that, though it

ALSO such is life; that's how (the way) it

suggests interest in a person, actually

goes; that’s how (the way) the cookie crum¬

reveals indifference to the person. See

bles; that’s life; that’s life in the big city;

ALSO every effort is being made; that’s

that’s show biz; what are you going to do;

interesting.

what can you do. that’s show biz A plebeian sentiment that’s how (the way) the cookie crum¬

(see page 23). SEE ALSO such is life; that’s

bles A plebeian sentiment (see page 23).

how (the way) it goes; that’s how (the way)

SEE ALSO such is life; that’s how (the way)

the ball bounces; that’s how (the way) the

it goes; that’s how (the way) the ball

cookie crumbles; that’s life; that’s life in the

bounces; that’s life; that’s life in the big

big city; what are you going to do; what

city; that’s show biz; what are you going to

can you do.

do; what can you do. that’s the thing An ineffectual phrase that’s interesting A plebeian sentiment (see page 23).

That’s interesting, like

(see page 19). SEE ALSO here’s the thing;

the thing about (of) it is; the thing is.

that’s nice (See), is most often a witless response to what a person has said. As

that’s what it’s all about A popular pre¬

such, it is no more than an acknowledg¬

scription (see page 23). ■ It’s the little

ment of having been bored, an admis¬

things, not the big things — like play¬

sion of not having listened, or a confes¬

ing with my son — that’s what it’s all

sion of having nothing clever to say. See

about.

ALSO every effort is being made; interest¬

ing.

that’s where (you) enter the picture A moribund metaphor (see page 21).

that’s life A plebeian sentiment (see page 23). SEE ALSO such is life; that’s how

that would be An infantile phrase (see

(the way) it goes; that’s how (the way) the

page 20). ■ So, how much carbon does

ball bounces; that’s how (the way) the

a typical car add to the atmosphere each

cookie crumbles; that’s life in the big city;

year, anyway? That would be about 30

that’s show biz; what are you going to do;

pounds. DELETE That would be. ■ Who

what can you do.

is the tour guide? That would be me. DELETE That would be. ■ In a state that

that’s life in the big city A plebeian

still flies the Confederate battle flag on

sentiment (see page 23). SEE ALSO such is

its

339

statehouse

grounds,

could

a

thence

a white man convicted of killing a black

there are two sides to every (question) story A popular prescription (see page

man? That would be a big no. DELETE

23).

Democratic governor grant clemency to

That would be. ■ Do you recognize the handwriting and initials? That would be

thereby hangs a tale A torpid term (see

my handwriting. That would be my ini¬

page 24).

tials. Use That is; These are. ■ What is the first storm of the season? That would

there’s a first time for everything A

be Arthur. DELETE That would be ■

popular prescription (see page 23).

Who sat back here? Oh that would be Charles Thomas. DELETE that would be.

there’s a time and a place for every¬ thing A popular prescription (see page

thence A withered word (see page 24).

23).

1. from that place; from there. 2. from

that time. 3. hence; therefore; thus. ■ Saudi

Arabia

pumps

some

crude

through the IPSA pipeline to the Red Sea and thence through the Suez canal. Replace with from there.

there

are

no

words

there’s more than one way to skin a cat A popular prescription (see page 23).

there’s no accounting for taste A pop¬ ular prescription (see page 23).

to

describe

(express) A plebeian sentiment (see

there’s no fool like an old fool A pop¬ ular prescription (see page 23).

page 23). There are many more words than people seem to think, and far more is expressible with them than people

there’s no (such thing as a) free lunch A popular prescription (see page 23).

seem to imagine. Those who depend on dimwitticisms to convey thought and feeling are more

there’s no going back A popular pre¬ scription (see page 23).

apt to believe there are no words to

describe ..., for these people are, neces¬

there’s no harm in trying A popular

sarily, most frustrated by the limits of

prescription (see page 23).

language. Dimwitticisms

do

permit

us

to

describe our most universal feelings, our

there’s no place like home A popular prescription (see page 23).

most banal thoughts, but they prevent us from describing more individual feel¬

there’s no rest for the weary A popular

ings, more brilliant thoughts. These are

prescription (see page 23).

reserved for a language largely unknown to everyday speakers and writers. SEE

there’s nothing new under the sun A

ALSO words cannot describe (express).

popular prescription (see page 23).

there are other fish in the sea A mori¬

there’s no time like the present A pop¬

bund metaphor (see page 21).

ular prescription (see page 23). ■ They say there’s no time like the present and that’s never been truer.

340

(a) thing of the past

there’s nowhere to go but up A popu¬

(a) thing An overworked word (see page

lar prescription (see page 23).

22). ■ The mind is an amazing thing. DELETE an thing. ■ It’s a very important

there’s safety (strength) in numbers A

thing. DELETE a thing. ■ We have won

popular prescription (see page 23).

the battle, but the war is an ongoing

thing. DELETE an thing. ■ I think that thick and fast An inescapable pair (see

change is a good thing. DELETE a thing.

page 20).

■ You do this by comparing something your listeners know a lot about with

Lenina was left to face the horrors

something they know little or nothing

of Malpais unaided. They came l J

about in order to make the unfamiliar

crowding in on her thick and fast.

thing clear. DELETE thing.

— Aldous

Huxley,

Brave New

World

(the) thing about (of) it is An ineffec¬ tual phrase (see page 19). ■ The thing

(as) thick as molasses An insipid simi¬

about it is it’s humiliating and destruc¬

concentrated; congealed; gelatinous;

tive to the psyche to be hit. DELETE The

gluey; glutinous; gooey; gummy; inspissat¬

thing about it is. ■ The thing about it is

ed; jellied; jellified; jellylike; mucilagi¬

what they say or do has no influence on

nous; sticky; thick; viscid; viscous.

what I do. Delete The thing about it is.

le.

■ The thing about it is I could never tell (as) thick as thieves An insipid simile.

her anything. DELETE The thing about it

amiable; amicable; attached; brotherly;

is. SEE ALSO heres the thing; that’s the

chummy; close; confidential; devoted;

thing; the thing is.

familiar; friendly; inseparable; intimate; loving; thick.

(the) thing is An ineffectual phrase (see page 19). ■ The thing is we know sexual

(as) thin as a reed An insipid simile.

orientation is discovered prior to adoles¬

asthenic; attenuated; bony; cachectic;

cence. DELETE The thing is. ■ The thing

emaciated; gaunt; lank; lanky; lean; nar¬

is I work two jobs, and when I get home

row; rail-thin; scraggy; scrawny; skeletal;

I want to relax. DELETE The thing is. ■

skinny; slender; slight; slim; spare; spindly;

But the thing is, there’s always someone

svelte; sylphid; thin; trim; wispy.

who knows where they are. DELETE the

thing is. See ALSO here’s the thing; that’s (as) thin as a rail An insipid simile.

the thing; the thing about (of) it is.

asthenic attenuated; bony; cachectic; ema¬ ciated; gaunt; lank; lanky; lean; narrow;

(a) thing of beauty is a joy forever A

rail-thin; scraggy; scrawny; skeletal; skin¬

popular prescription (see page 23).

ny; slender; slight; slim; spare; spindly; svelte; sylphid; thin; trim; wispy.

(a) thing of the past A torpid term (see page 24). 1. ceased; completed; concluded;

(the) thin end of the wedge A mori¬

dead; deceased; defunct; departed; done;

bund metaphor (see page 21).

ended; exanimate; expired; extinct; extin¬ guished; finished; gone; inanimate; lifeless; no more; over; perished; stopped; termi341

think outside the box

antiquated;

this is the first day of the rest of your

archaic; dead; obsolescent; obsolete; old;

life A popular prescription (see page

old-fashioned; outdated; outmoded; out of

23).

nated.

2.

antediluvian;

date; out of fashion; passe; superannuated. ■ All agree that the days of students

this is to inform you that An ineffectu¬

being able to work their way through

al phrase (see page 19). ■ This is to

college are a thing of the past. REPLACE

inform you that your credit application

over. ■ The 8-hour day has

has been approved and your account is

become a thing of the past. REPLACE

now open. DELETE This is to inform you

WITH obsolete. ■ Is the civil rights move¬

that. See ALSO (please) be advised that;

ment still alive in the United States or a

(please) be informed that.

WITH

thing of the past? REPLACE WITH dead. thorn in (my) flesh (side) (of) A mori¬ He was often on our campus,

bund metaphor (see page 21). affliction;

invited

Municipal

annoyance; bane; blight; bother; burden;

Government seminars on corrup¬

curse; difficulty; inconvenience; irritant;

tion. He told students that cor¬

irritation; load; nuisance; ordeal; pain;

ruption was a thing of the past. —

pest; plague; problem; torment; tribula¬

Saul

to

address

Bellow,

More

Die

of

Heartbreak

tion; trouble; vexation; weight; worry. ■ Inventory collateral valuations have been a thorn in the side of the agricultur¬

think outside the box A torpid term

al industry for years. REPLACE WITH

(see page 24). be creative; be innovative;

bane to.

be inventive; be original. Think outside the box is an uninspired

Professor Emerson Silierton was a

way of saying be creative. Using it is the

thorn in the side of Newport soci¬

antithesis of what is means to be clever.

ety .... — Edith Wharton, The

Only the dull and hopeless use think

Age of Innocence

outside the box. those who can, do; those who can’t, thinly veiled An inescapable pair (see

teach A popular prescription (see page

page 20).

23).

There is a thinly veiled tremble in

(the)

her voice that tells him she is any¬

phrase (see page 20).

three musketeers An infantile

thing but okay. — John Searles,

Strange But True

three sheets to the wind A moribund metaphor (see page 21). besotted; crapu¬

this and that A grammatical gimmick

lous; drunk; inebriated; intoxicated; sod¬

(see page 19).

den; stupefied; tipsy.

this can’t be happening (to me) A ple¬ beian sentiment (see page 23).

342

throw cold water on

At Holtzmans place, in the two

befool; beguile; bilk; bluff; cheat; con;

webbed lawn chairs they had set

deceive; defraud; delude; dupe; feint; fool;

up on the sparse grass of the front

gyp; hoodwink; lead astray; misdirect;

lawn because the low steps where

misguide;

they had sat for so many nights

swindle; trick; victimize.

misinform;

mislead; spoof;

when they were young were now too hard on their aging backs and

throw a monkey wrench into the

sent pins and needles into their

works A moribund metaphor (see page

legs, Billy leaned forward, three

21). 1. agitate; confuse; disorder; disor¬

sheets

told

ganize; disquiet; disrupt; disturb; fluster;

Dennis that bitterness, then, was

jar; jinx; jolt; jumble; mix up; muddle;

all that was left to it. — Alice

perturb; rattle; ruffle; shake up; stir up;

McDermott, Charming Billy

trouble; unnerve; unsettle; upset. 2. blight;

to

the wind,

and

cripple; damage; disable; harm; hurt; three strikes and you’re out An infan¬

impair; incapacitate; lame; mar; mess up;

tile phrase (see page 20).

rack; ruin; sabotage; spoil; subvert; under¬ mine; vitiate; wrack; wreck.

thrilled

to

death

A

moribund

metaphor (see page 21). blissful; blithe;

throw a wet blanket on A moribund

buoyant; cheerful; delighted; ecstatic; elat¬

metaphor (see page 21). bridle; check;

ed; enraptured; euphoric; exalted; excited;

constrain; contain; curb; curtail; dampen;

exhilarated; exultant; gay; glad; gleeful;

discourage; foil; harness; hinder; impede;

good-humored; happy; intoxicated; jolly;

inhibit; obstruct; quell; repress; restrain;

jovial; joyful; joyous; jubilant; merry;

restrict; retard; stifle; subdue; suppress;

mirthful; overjoyed; pleased; rapturous;

thwart; weaken. See ALSO throw cold

thrilled. See ALSO to death.

water on.

Eveline was thrilled to death, but

throw caution to the wind A mori¬

they got Eric Egstrom to come

bund metaphor (see page 21).

along

of

adventuresome; be adventurous; be auda¬

Frenchmen having such a bad rep¬

cious; be bold; be brave; be courageous; be

utation. — John Dos Passos, The

daring; be dauntless; be fearless; be intrep¬

42nd Parallel

id; be mettlesome; be plucky; be stalwart;

too,

on

account

1. be

be unafraid; be valiant; be valorous; be thrills and chills An inescapable pair

venturesome. 2. be careless; be foolhardy;

(see page 20).

be hasty; be heedless; be impetuous; be incautious; be precipitate; be rash; be reck¬

through thick and thin A moribund

less; be thoughtless.

metaphor (see page 21). throw cold water on A moribund throw (a dog) a bone A moribund

metaphor (see page 21). bridle; check;

metaphor (see page 21).

constrain; contain; curb; curtail; dampen; discourage; foil; harness; hinder; impede;

throw

(her)

metaphor

a

curve A moribund

inhibit; obstruct; quell; repress; restrain;

bamboozle;

restrict; retard; stifle; subdue; suppress;

(see page 21).

343

throw down the gauntlet (glove)

thwart; weaken. See ALSO throw a wet

throw (them) off the scent A mori¬

blanket on.

bund metaphor (see page 21). bamboo¬

zle; befool; beguile; bilk; bluff; cheat; con; throw down the gauntlet (glove) A

hoodwink; lead astray;; deceive; defraud;

moribund metaphor

delude; dupe; feint; fool; gyp; misdirect;

(see page 21).

affront; brave; call; challenge; confront;

misguide;

dare; defy; encounter; face; meet.

swindle; trick.

throw dust in (your) eyes A moribund

throw out the baby with the bath

bamboozle;

water A moribund metaphor (see page

metaphor (see page 21).

befool; beguile; bilk; bluff; cheat; con;

misinform;

mislead; spoof;

21).

deceive; defraud; delude; dupe; feint; fool; gyp; hoodwink; lead astray; misdirect; misguide;

misinform;

mislead; spoof;

throw (toss) out the window A mori¬ bund metaphor (see page 21). abandon;

chuck; discard; dismiss; dump; jettison;

swindle; trick; victimize.

reject; repudiate; throiv out; toss out. H throw enough dirt, and some will stick A moribund metaphor (see page

21). throw

Everything I tried to teach them about getting along and togetherness has been

thrown out the window. REPLACE WITH jettisoned.

for

a

loop

A

moribund

metaphor (see page 21). amaze; astonish;

astound; awe; dazzle; dumbfound; flab¬ bergast; overpower; overwhelm; shock; startle; stun; stupefy; surprise.

throw

book

at A

moribund

metaphor (see page 21). admonish; ani¬

madvert; berate; castigate; censure; chas¬ ten; chastise; chide; condemn; criticize; denounce; denunciate; discipline; excori¬ ate;

throw (toss) (his) hat in the ring A

the

fulminate

impugn;

inveigh

against; against;

imprecate; objurgate;

moribund metaphor (see page 21). 1.

penalize; punish; rebuke; remonstrate;

join; run. 2. commence; begin; enter into;

reprehend; reprimand; reproach; repro¬

start; undertake.

bate; reprove; revile; scold; swear at; upbraid; vituperate.

throw (toss) in the sponge (towel) A moribund metaphor

(see page 21).

throw (them) to the dogs (wolves) A

abdicate; accede; acquiesce; bow; capitu¬

moribund metaphor (see page 21). 1.

late; cede; concede; give in; give up; quit;

forfeit; sacrifice; surrender. 2. endanger;

relinquish; retreat; submit; succumb; sur¬

imperil; jeopardize.

render; yield. ■ The bloated bureaucracy remains unscathed, spending continues

I remember his ex-partner at the

uncontrolled, and the House leadership

hospital saying hell be thrown to

has thrown in the towel to the governor.

the hounds, and I can only hope

REPLACE with acquiesced. ■ If I get any

he’s wrong, that the guards will

more overwhelmed, I’m going to throw

look out for one of their own,

in the towel. REPLACE WITH quit.

though I feel like I’m lying to myself thinking this. — Andre Dubus III, House of Sand and Fog

344

(talk) till (I’m) blue in the face

throw (his) weight around A mori¬

(a) tidal wave of A moribund metaphor

awe;

(see page 21). ■ There’s just a tidal wave

browbeat; bully; frighten; intimidate;

of vital information that gets delivered

menace; push around; scare; threaten; tor¬

by telephone. See ALSO a barrage of.

bund metaphor (see page 21).

ment. (the) tide of A moribund metaphor (see thumb (his) nose (at) A moribund metaphor

(see

page

21).

page 21). See ALSO a barrage of.

contemn;

deride; despise; detest; disdain; jeer at;

tied to (her) apron strings A moribund

laugh at; mock; ridicule; scoff at; scorn;

metaphor

shun; slight; sneer; snub; spurn. ■ We

dependent; subject; subordinate; sub¬ servient.

burden our own banks with record

(see

page

21).

clinging;

keeping and reporting while offshore bankers thumb their noses at us. REPLACE

page 21). marry; wed.

WITH mock. He’s

breaking the rules,

under

their noses, thumbing his nose at them, getting away with it. — Margaret

Atwood,

The

Handmaid's Tale (turn)

tie the knot A moribund metaphor (see

thumbs down A moribund

metaphor (see page 21). decline; deny;

disallow; disapprove; forbid; nix; prohibit; proscribe; refuse; reject; rule out; say no;

tie

up

loose

ends

A

moribund

metaphor (see page 21).

(as) tight as a drum An insipid simile. firm; snug; strained; stretched; taut; tense; tight. tighten

(our)

belts

A

moribund

metaphor (see page 21). reduce costs; save

money. ■ We are constantly looking for ways to tighten our belts. REPLACE WITH

turn down; veto.

save money.

thunderous applause An inescapable

tighten

pair (see page 20).

metaphor (see page 21). coerce; com¬

the

screws

A

moribund

mand; compel; constrain; demand; dic¬ tickled pink A moribund metaphor

tate; enforce; enjoin; force; insist; make;

(see page 21). blissful; buoyant; cheerful;

order; press; pressure; push.

delighted; elated; excited; gay; glad; glad¬ dened; gleeful; good-humored; gratified;

tight rein on A moribund metaphor

happy; jolly; jovial; joyful; joyous; jubi¬

(see page 21).

lant; merry; mirthful; pleased; tickled. (talk) till (I’m) blue in the face A tickled to death A moribund metaphor

moribund

(see page 21). blissful; buoyant; cheerful;

always; ceaselessly; constantly; continually;

delighted; elated; excited; gay; glad; glad¬

continuously; endlessly; eternally; everlast¬

dened; gleeful; good-humored; gratified;

ingly; evermore; forever; forevermore;

happy; jolly; jovial; joyful; joyous; jubi¬

immortally; indefinitely; interminably;

lant; merry; mirthful;pleased; tickled. See

permanently; perpetually; persistently;

ALSO to death.

unceasingly; unremittingly. 345

metaphor

(see page 21).

till (until) (her) dying days

till (until) (her) dying days A mori¬

ingly; evermore; forever; forevermore;

bund metaphor (see page 21). always;

immortally; indefinitely; interminably;

ceaselessly; constantly; continually; contin¬

permanently; perpetually; persistently;

uously; endlessly; eternally; everlastingly;

unceasingly; unremittingly. ■ You can

evermore; forever; forevermore; immortal¬ ly; indefinitely; interminably; permanent¬

press Escape until the cows come home, and it will do nothing. REPLACE WITH

ly; perpetually; persistently; unceasingly;

unceasingly.

unremittingly. tilt at windmills A moribund metaphor till (until) hell freezes over A mori¬

(see page 21).

bund metaphor (see page 21). always; ceaselessly; constantly; continually; contin¬

time and effort An inescapable pair (see

uously; endlessly; eternally; everlastingly;

page 20). ■ He still puts a lot of time and effort into his commercials.

evermore; forever; forevermore; immortal¬ ly; indefinitely; interminably; permanent¬ ly; perpetually; persistently; unceasingly;

time and energy An inescapable pair

unremittingly.

(see page 20). ■ Boiling water also is cheaper than buying bottled water, but it takes more time and energy.

till (until) it’s coming out (of) (my) ears A moribund metaphor (see page

21). excessively; exorbitantly; extravagant¬

time and tide wait for no man A pop¬

ly; immoderately; in excess; inordinately;

ular prescription (see page 23).

profligately; unrestrainedly. time flies when you’re having fun A till

kingdom

come

A

moribund

popular prescription (see page 23).

metaphor (see page 21). always; ceaseless¬ ly; constantly; continually; continuously;

(the) time has come A torpid term (see

endlessly; eternally; everlastingly; ever¬

page 24). H The time has come to recog¬ nize that personal diaries must be accorded greater protection than busi¬ ness records.

more; forever; forevermore; immortally; indefinitely; interminably; permanently; perpetually;

persistently;

unceasingly;

unremittingly. imm nm -,iggggjiiim

✓

time heals all wounds A popular pre¬

In

I let out a great bellow such as cat¬ tle do and would have gone on bellowing till Kingdom Come had not some sinner taken my ear and turned me to look under Johnson’s devilish table. — Jeanette Winterson, Sexing the Cherry c'

\ >'

'

•

v.' ■■■.’’y

j ....''

scription (see page 23). time is a great healer A popular pre¬

scription (see page 23).

■Wvx-\\

time is money A quack equation (see

page 23).

till (until) the cows come home A

time period A wretched redundancy

moribund metaphor (see page 21).

(see page 23). period; time. ■ Would you go along with this for a time period?. Replace with period or time.

always; ceaselessly; constantly; continually; continuously; endlessly; eternally; everlast¬

346

to all practical purposes

time was when A torpid term (see page

WITH start.

24). before; earlier; formerly; long ago;

And here are a couple of examples no less than wonderful: ■ It’s difficult to

once; previously.

tell whether my study is the iceberg and

(the) time will come A torpid term (see

the tip is yet to be found, or whether my

page 24).

study was the tip of the iceberg. ■ These attacks are only the tip of the iceberg,

time will tell A moribund metaphor

they are the part of the iceberg that is

(see page 21). ■ We have made many

visible above the water, in clear view —

changes in attitude and practice, and

but as everyone knows, the largest part

only time will tell whether these are for

of the iceberg, and possibly the most

the ultimate good or merely more mis¬

dangerous, lies beneath the surface of

chief.

the water and is difficult to detect.

tip (my) hat to A moribund metaphor

tip the scales A moribund metaphor

(see page 21). 1. acknowledge; flag; greet;

(see page 21).

hail; recognize; salute; wave to; welcome. 2. acclaim; applaud; cheer; commend;

(as) tired as a dog An insipid simile.

compliment; congratulate; hail; praise;

beat;

salute; support; toast. ■ I tip my hat to

drained; drowsy; enervated; exhausted;

Mayor Menino for having the vision to

fatigued; groggy; sapped; sleepy; sluggish;

see that Boston does not require a pro¬

slumberous; somnolent; soporific; spent;

fessional football team to remain a

tired; weary; worn out.

bushed;

debilitated;

depleted;

world-class city. REPLACE WITH salute. ■ I’d also like to tip my hat to Jeff Staples

to all intents and purposes A wretched

for

redundancy (see page 25). effectively;

his

fast

editing

and

feedback.

essentially; in effect; in essence; practically;

Replace with acknowledge.

virtually. ■ To all intents and purposes, (a)

tip

of the

hat A

moribund

you were dating two women at a time. Replace with In effect. See also for all

metaphor (see page 21).

intents and purposes; for all practical pur¬ tip

of

the

iceberg

A

moribund

metaphor (see page 21). beginning; com¬

poses; to all intents and purposes; to all practical purposes.

mencement; foundation; inauguration; inception; least of it; onset; start. The

to all practical purposes A wretched

monstrous and omnipresent tip of the

redundancy (see page 25). effectively;

iceberg, like so many other dimwitted

essentially; in effect; in essence; practically;

usages, alerts us to an inarticulate speak¬

virtually. ■ The ruling Unionist party is,

er, a tentative writer. ■ We have just

to all practical purposes, a Protestant

seen the tip of the iceberg of corporations

party.

that have loaded up with too much debt

ALSO for all intents and purposes; for all

and gone broke because of the merger

practical purposes; to all intents and pur¬

and takeover wars. REPLACE WITH begin¬

poses.

ning. ■ I feel these issues and programs are just the tip of the iceberg. REPLACE

347

REPLACE WITH in essence.

SEE

(the) toast of the town

(the) toast of the town A moribund

extraordinarily; extremely; greatly; hugely;

metaphor (see page 21).

immensely; immoderately; inordinately; intemperately; intensely; mightily; prodi¬

to a T A moribund metaphor (see page

giously; unreasonably; unrestrainedly; very

21). accurately; correctly; exactly; faultless¬

much. ■ I love him to death. REPLACE

ly; flawlessly; ideally; just right; perfectly;

WITH prodigiously.

And as if to death were not persuasive

precisely; rightly; strictly; to perfection;

enough: ■ The DoD and VA appeared

unerringly; very well.

content to study Gulf War illnesses liter¬ Like all Whiting males, C.B. was a

ally to death. REPLACE WITH unre¬

short man who disliked drawing

strainedly.

attention to the fact, so the lowslung Spanish architecture suited

to each (his) own A popular prescrip¬

him to a T. — Richard Russo,

tion (see page 23).

Empire Falls to err is human A popular prescription to

beat

the

band

A

moribund

(see page 23).

metaphor (see page 21). actively; aggres¬

sively; dynamically; emphatically; energet¬

to err is human, to forgive divine A

ically; fast; ferociously; fervently; fiercely;

popular prescription (see page 23).

forcefully; frantically; frenziedly; furiously; hard; intensely; intently; mightily; pas¬

toe the line

sionately; powerfully; robustly; savagely;

metaphor (see page 21). abide by; accede;

spiritedly; strenuously; strongly; vehement¬

accommodate; accord; acquiesce; adapt;

ly; viciously; vigorously; violently; wildly;

adhere to; agree; behave; comply; concur;

with vigor. M When you wake up, it

conform; correspond,; follow; harmonize;

should be snowing to beat the band.

heed; mind; obey; observe; submit; yield.

(mark) A moribund

Replace with mightily.

(leveraged) to (their) to burn A moribund metaphor (see

moribund metaphor (see page 21).

1. enormous; great; huge;

page 21).

immense;

eyebrows A

large;

massive;

monstrous;

(smell) to high heaven A moribund

prodigious; tremendous; vast. 2. excessive;

metaphor

exorbitant; extreme; immoderate; inordi¬

mightily; greatly; forcefully; hugely; power¬

nate; undue. M And Mrs. Dole has

fully; strongly; terribly; tremendously.

(see

page

21).

decidedly;

Southern charm to burn. REPLACE WITH immense Southern charm.

to make a long story short A torpid term (see page 24). briefly; concisely; in

today is the first day of the rest of

brief; in short; in sum; succinctly; tersely.

(your) life A popular prescription (see (with) tongue in cheek A moribund

page 23).

metaphor

(see page 21). facetiously;

to death A moribund metaphor (see

humorously; in fun; in jest; in play; jocose¬

consumedly;

enormously;

ly; jokingly; kiddingly; playfully; teasingly.

excessively;

exorbitantly;

page

21).

exceedingly;

348

(a) torrent of

(set) tongues wagging A moribund

ly; viciously; vigorously; violently; wildly;

metaphor (see page 21). babble; blab;

with vigor. ■ Bank of Boston, the state’s

cackle; chaffer; chat; chitchat; chatter;

largest bank, lobbied tooth and nail

confabulate;

against the interstate law. REPLACE WITH

converse; gossip; jabber;

palaver; prate; prattle; rattle; talk.

intensely.

too big for (his) breeches A moribund

toot (your) own horn A moribund

metaphor (see page 21). arrogant; cava¬

metaphor

lier; condescending; contemptuous; despot¬

applaud; bluster; boast; brag; celebrate;

ic; dictatorial; disdainful; dogmatic; dom¬

cheer; commend; compliment; congratu¬

ineering; haughty; imperious; insolent;

late; crow; extol; flatter; gloat; hail; honor;

lofty; overbearing; overweening; patroniz¬

laud; praise; puff; salute; self-congratulate;

ing; pompous; pretentious; scornful; self-

strut; swagger. ■ Engineers are the

important; supercilious; superior; vainglo¬

world’s worst at tooting their own horn.

rious.

REPLACE with applauding themselves. ■

(see

page

21).

acclaim;

Even so, the group president of Lucent (she’s) too good for (him) A suspect

Technologies’ Global Service Provider

superlative (see page 24).

business division isn’t the type to toot her own horn. REPLACE WITH boast.

too

hot

to

handle

A

moribund

metaphor (see page 21).

top brass A moribund metaphor (see page 21). administrator; boss; brass; chief;

(you) took the words (right) out of

commander; director; executive; foreman;

(my) mouth A moribund metaphor

head; headman; leader; manager; master;

(see page 21).

(high) muckamuck; officer; official; over¬ seer; president; principal; superintendent;

too many chiefs (and not enough

supervisor.

Indians) A moribund metaphor (see page 21).

(a) torrent of A moribund metaphor (see page 21). SEE ALSO a barrage of.

too many cooks spoil the broth

Mdidf tf'Sf | WKKIM tel*AT;7

(brew) A popular prescription (see page

They

23).

O’Keefe bought an Irish Times and

crossed moved

the

gi

street

jauntily

over

and the

too smart for (his) own good A ple¬

bridge, both filled with a torrent

beian sentiment (see page 23).

of words bled from O’Keefe’s excitement

and

memories

of

(fight) tooth and nail A moribund

Dublin. — J. P. Donleavy, The

metaphor (see page 21). actively; aggres¬

Ginger Man

sively; dynamically; emphatically; energet¬ ically; ferociously; fervently; fiercely; force¬ fully; frantically; frenziedly; furiously; hard; intensely; intently; mightily; pas¬ sionately; powerfully; robustly; savagely; spiritedly; strenuously; strongly; vehement¬ 349

toss and turn

toss and turn An inescapable pair (see

(up) to the hilt A moribund metaphor

page 20).

(see page 21).

altogether; completely;

entirely; fully; perfectly; quite; roundly; Heaven knew how he missed her

thoroughly; totally; unreservedly; utterly;

and how many nights he remained awake tossing and turning while thinking about her. — Ha Jin,

to the letter A moribund metaphor (see page 21). accurately; correctly; exactly;

faultlessly; flawlessly; ideally; just right; to tell you the truth An ineffectual

perfectly; precisely; rightly; strictly; to per¬

phrase (see page 19).

fection; unerringly.

(march) to the beat of a different

(dressed) (up) to the nines A mori¬

drummer A moribund metaphor (see

bund metaphor (see page 21). elaborate¬

page 21). aberrant; abnormal; anomalis¬

ly; elegantly; extravagantly; fashionably;

tic; anomalous; atypical; bizarre; curious;

flamboyantly; flashily; gaudily; lavishly;

deviant; different; distinct; distinctive;

ostentatiously; profusely; richly; showily;

eccentric; exceptional; extraordinary; fan¬

smartly; stylishly. U The house was deco¬

tastic; foreign; grotesque; idiosyncratic;

rated to the nines. REPLACE WITH lavish¬

independent; individual; individualistic;

ly.

irregular; novel; odd; offbeat; original; peculiar; puzzling; quaint; queer; rare;

Happily enough, it did not rain

remarkable; separate; singular; strange;

next day, and after morning school

uncommon; unconventional; unexampled;

everybody dressed up to the nines.

unique; unnatural; unorthodox; unparal¬

— Evelyn Waugh, Decline and

leled; unprecedented; unusual; weird.

Fall

to the bone A moribund metaphor (see

to the point of (that; where) A

page 21). altogether; completely; entirely;

wretched redundancy (see page 25). so;

fully; perfectly; quite; roundly; thoroughly;

so far (that); so much (that); so that; to; to

totally; unreservedly; utterly; wholly.

when; to where. ■ It’s gotten to the point that I even flirt with operators. REPLACE

to the ends (far reaches) of the earth A

WITH so that. ■ But it has now evolved

moribund metaphor (see page 21). 1.

to the point where they do it all the time.

always; ceaselessly; constantly; continually;

Replace with to where.

continuously; endlessly; eternally; everlastingly; evermore; forever; forevermore; fre¬

to the teeth A moribund metaphor (see

quently; interminably; nonstop; perma¬

page 21). altogether; completely; entirely;

nently; perpetually; persistently; recurrent¬

fully; perfectly; quite; roundly; thoroughly;

ly;

totally; unreservedly; utterly; wholly.

regularly;

repeatedly;

unceasingly;

unremittingly. 2. all during; all over; all through; everyplace; everyivhere; through¬

to the tune of A wretched redundancy

out.

(see page 25). ■ It cost him to the tune of $4,500 to buy his new computer sys¬ tem. Delete to the tune of

350

tried and true

to the victor belong the spoils A pop¬

burdensome; difficult; exhausting; fatigu¬

ular prescription (see page 23).

ing; hard; herculean; laborious; not easy; onerous; severe; strenuous; toilful; toil¬

to thine own self be true A popular

some; tough; troublesome; trying; weari¬

prescription (see page 23).

some.

touch and go A moribund metaphor

(it’s) tough to teach an old dog new

dangerous; precarious;

tricks A moribund metaphor (see page

(see page 21).

risky; uncertain.

21).

touch base with A moribund metaphor

towering inferno An infantile phrase

(see page 21).

(see page 20). blaze; conflagration; fire;

holocaust; inferno. (as) tough as leather An insipid simile. 1. athletic; beefy; brawny; burly; energetic;

firm; fit; hale; hardy; hearty; healthful;

(proven) track record A moribund metaphor (see page 21).

healthy; husky; leathery; manly; mesomor¬ phic; mighty; muscular; powerful; puis¬

tread water A moribund metaphor (see

sant; robust; rugged; sinewy; solid; sound;

page 21). ■ He is now treading water,

stalwart; stout; strapping; strong; sturdy;

deciding what to do next.

tough; vigorous; virile; well-built. 2. con¬ stant; dependable; determined; faithful;

treat (us) like royalty An insipid simi¬

fast; firm; fixed; inexorable; inflexible;

le.

loyal; obdurate; resolute; resolved; rigid; solid; stable; staunch; steadfast; steady;

tres A foreign phrase (see page 19). very.

stern; strong;

■ She is tres happy now that she is work¬

tenacious;

unflinching;

ing. REPLACE WITH very. ■ Two New

unwavering; unyielding.

Yorkers we recently sent out on a dis¬

tres

(as) tough as nails An insipid simile. 1.

count

athletic; beefy; brawny; burly; energetic;

impressed with the hippness quotient.

firm; fit; hale; hardy; healthful; healthy;

Replace with very.

shopping

spree

were

hearty; leathery; manly; mesomorphic; mighty; muscular; powerful; puissant;

trials and tribulations An inescapable

robust; rugged; sinewy; solid; sound; stal¬

pair (see page 20). adversity; affliction;

wart; stout; strapping; strong; sturdy;

calamity; catastrophe; difficulty; distress;

tough; vigorous; virile; well-built. 2. con¬

hardship;

stant; dependable; determined; faithful;

ordeal; trial; tribulation; trouble; woe. ■

fast; firm; fixed; inexorable; inflexible;

It also presents a first-hand account of

loyal; obdurate; resolute; resolved; rigid;

the trials and tribulations of living in a

solid; stable; staunch; steadfast; steady;

lesbian family. REPLACE WITH ordeal.

stern; strong;

tenacious;

misadventure;

misfortune;

unflinching;

unwavering; unyielding.

tried and true An inescapable pair (see page 20). 1. constant; dependable; faith¬

tough sledding A moribund metaphor

ful; firm; loyal; reliable; solid; staunch;

(see page 21). arduous; backbreaking;

steadfast; strong; true; trustworthy; trusty. 351

trim (her) sails

2. authentic; authenticated; established;

truth, justice, and the American way

reliable; substantiated; sound; verified;

An infantile phrase (see page 20).

well-founded; well-grounded. (the) truth of the matter is An ineffec¬ trim (her) sails A moribund metaphor

tual phrase (see page 19). ■ The truth of

(see page 21).

the matter is half of the people who get married end up divorced. DELETE The

trip the light fantastic A moribund

truth of the matter is. ■ The truth of the

metaphor (see page 21). dance.

matter is, I don’t understand it, but I’m against it. DELETE The truth of the mat¬

triumphant return An inescapable pair

ter is. SEE ALSO (the) fact of the matter is.

(see page 20). (the) truth will set you free A popular trouble

in

paradise

A

moribund

prescription (see page 23).

metaphor (see page 21). (a) tug of war A moribund metaphor (a) trouble shared is a trouble halved

(see page 21). ■ There’s a tug of war

A popular prescription (see page 23).

between people who like the economy and people who are afraid.

true blue A moribund metaphor (see page 21). constant; dependable; faithful;

(a) turn on A moribund metaphor (see

firm; loyal; reliable; solid; staunch; stead¬

page 21). animating; arousing; bracing;

fast; strong; true; trustworthy; trusty.

enlivening; exciting; exhilarating; inspir¬ ing; inspiriting; invigorating; provoking;

true facts A wretched redundancy (see

refeshing; rousing; stimulating; vivifying.

page 25). facts; truth. ■ Sometimes I wish the papers would print the true

try it, you’ll like it An infantile phrase

facts. Replace with facts or truth.

(see page 20).

true love A suspect superlative (see page

try, try again A popular prescription

24).

(see page 23).

(the course of) true love never runs

turn a blind eye to (toward) A mori¬

smooth A popular prescription

bund metaphor (see page 21). brush

(see

page 23).

aside; avoid; discount; disregard; dodge; duck; ignore; look away from; neglect;

truthfully honest A wretched redun¬

omit; overlook; pass over; shrink from;

dancy (see page 25). honest; truthful. ■

shun; shy away from; turn away from;

To be truthfully honest, I do want to be

withdra w from. ■ And Chile, at least, is

her friend. REPLACE WITH truthful.

learning the risks of turning a blind eye to the past. REPLACE WITH ignoring. ■

truth is stranger than fiction A popu¬

Yet some of Bolt’s advertisers, while

lar prescription (see page 23).

lured by the site’s demographics, may be

turning a blind eye to content they nor¬ mally find questionable in other media.

352

turn like the weather

■

The

regard. ■ Congress has turned a deaf ear

donors have turned a blind eye toward

to the public and taken the next step to

allegations

unplug PBS and NPR. REPLACE WITH

Replace

overlooking.

with

of corruption.

REPLACE

WITH disregarded.

ignored.

The scholarly badger, who hated

turn a negative into a positive A torpid

contradiction and despised the

term (see page 24). ■ The revolution in

Socratic method, would cast a

traditional family ties has turned a nega¬

blind eye to the twitching braid

tive into a positive for most singles today.

until her pupils gasps became too

See ALSO negative; positive.

insistent to

ignore. — George

Hagen, The Laments

turn

(their)

back on A moribund

metaphor (see page 21). abandon; abdi¬ turnabout is fair play A popular pre¬

cate; avoid; brush aside; deny; desert; dis¬

scription (see page 23).

avow; discount; disinherit; disown; disre¬ gard; dodge; drop; duck; forgo; forsake; moribund

give up; ignore; leave; neglect; omit; pass

1. advance;

over; quit; recoil from; reject; relinquish;

awaken; better; expand; flourish; gain;

renounce; shrink from; shun; shy away

gain

improve;

from; snub; surrender; turn away from;

increase; pick up; progress; prosper; rally;

withdraw from; yield. ■ It will be unfor¬

recover; recuperate; refresh; renew; revive;

tunate,

rouse; strengthen; thrive. 2. adjust; alter;

Western Europe turn their backs on their

change; modify; transform. ■ Our No. 1

Eastern neighbors. REPLACE WITH disre¬

goal is to reestablish reliability and cus¬

gard.

turn

a

(the)

corner A

metaphor (see page 21).

strength; grow;

heal;

indeed,

if the

countries

of

tomer satisfaction, and we think we have started to turn the corner. REPLACE

turn back the clock (of time) A mori¬

WITH improve.

bund metaphor (see page 21).

Two weeks was only one day more

turn (your) dreams into reality A pop¬

than thirteen days, but I felt we’d

ular prescription (see page 23).

turned a corner that shouldn’t have been turned, and I couldn’t

turn inside out A moribund metaphor

get myself out of bed. — Ann

(see page 21). agitate; confuse; disorder;

The Dive From Clausens

disorganize; disquiet; disrupt; disturb;

Packer,

fluster; jar; jolt; jumble; mess up; mix up;

Pier

muddle; perturb; rattle; ruffle; shake up; turn

a

deaf ear

to

A

metaphor (see page 21).

moribund

stir up; trouble; unnerve; unsettle; upset.

brush aside;

avoid; discount; disregard; dodge; duck;

turn

into

(to)

stone A moribund

ignore; neglect; omit; pass over; recoil

metaphor (see page 21). calcify; fossilize;

from; shrink from; shun; shy away from;

harden; petrify; solidify.

turn away from; withdraw from. ■ Wilson should turn a deaf ear to HMO

turn like the weather An insipid simi¬

lobbyists and sign it. REPLACE WITH dis¬

le. capricious; changeable; erratic; fickle; 353

(another) turn of the screw

fitful; flighty; fluctuating; haphazard;

laugh at; mock; ridicule; scoff at; scorn;

inconsistent;

shun; slight; sneer; snub; spurn.

inconstant;

intermittent;

irregular; mercurial; occasional; random; sometime; spasmodic; sporadic; unpre¬

turn

up

the

dictable; unsettled; unstable; unsteady;

metaphor (see page 21). coerce; com¬

vacillating; volatile; wavering; wayward.

mand;

compel;

heat

A

moribund

constrain;

demand;

enforce; force; goad; impel; importune; (another) turn of the screw A mori¬

incite; induce; insist; instigate; make;

bund metaphor (see page 21).

oblige; press; pressure; prod; push; spur; urge.

turn over a new leaf A moribund metaphor (see page 21). alter; begin

(the)

again; change; convert; improve; meta¬

phrase (see page 20).

morphose;

modify;

reform;

twelfth of never An infantile

remake;

remodel; rethink; transform.

24/7 An infantile phrase (see page 20).

always; ceaselessly; constantly; continually; turn sour A moribund metaphor (see

continuously; endlessly; eternally; everlast¬

page 21). ■ Banks caught in the eupho¬

ingly; evermore; forever; forevermore; fre¬

ria

quently; interminably; nonstop; perma¬

of

a

construction

boom

have

watched the economy turn sour.

nently; perpetually; persistently; recurrent¬ ly;

turn

(my)

stomach

A

moribund

regularly;

repeatedly;

unceasingly;

unremittingly.

metaphor (see page 21). appall; disgust;

Nothing

recommends

this

silly

horrify; nauseate; offend; outrage; repel;

phrase — especially when so many

repulse; revolt; shock; sicken.

other words, true words, mean as much.

24/7 is favored by people who find turn tail A moribund metaphor (see

words unwieldy and thought distasteful.

page 21). abscond; clear out; decamp;

depart; desert; disappear; escape; exit; flee;

(sit and)

fly; go; go away; leave; move on; part; pull

moribund metaphor (see page 21). be

out; quit; retire; retreat; run away; take

idle; be inactive; be lazy; be unemployed;

flight; take off; vacate; vanish; withdraw

be unoccupied; dally; dawdle; loaf; loiter;

twiddle

(our)

thumbs A

loll; lounge; relax; repose; rest. turn the other cheek A moribund metaphor (see page 21).

twilight zone A moribund metaphor (see page 21).

turn the tables

(on) A moribund

metaphor (see page 21).

twist (his) arm A moribund metaphor (see page 21). bulldoze; bully; coerce;

turn the tide A moribund metaphor

compel; constrain; demand; drive; enforce;

(see page 21).

enjoin; exhort; goad; force; impel; incite; insist; intimidate; make; necessitate; obli¬

turn

up

metaphor

(her) (see

nose page

A 21).

moribund

contemn;

gate; oblige; order; press; pressure; prod; require; threaten; tyrannize; urge.

deride; despise; detest; disdain; jeer at; 354

unbelievable

u

twist (wrap) (him) around (her) little finger A moribund metaphor (see page 21). administer; boss; command; control;

dictate; direct; dominate; domineer; gov¬ ern; in charge; in control; in command; manage; manipulate; master; misuse; order; overpower; oversee; predominate; prevail; reign over; rule; superintend; tyr¬

(as) ugly as a toad An insipid simile.

annize; use.

deformed; disfigured; disgusting; displeas¬ ing; distorted; freakish; frightful; ghastly;

twist of fate A moribund metaphor (see

gorgonian; grisly; grotesque; gruesome;

page 21).

hideous; homely; horrendous; horrible; horrid; monstrous; offensive; plain; repel¬

twists and turns (of fate) A moribund

lent; repulsive; revolting; ugly; unsightly.

metaphor (see page 21). (as)

ugly as sin An insipid simile.

twist slowly in the wind A moribund

deformed; disfigured; disgusting; displeas¬

metaphor (see page 21). afflict; agonize;

ing; distorted; freakish; frightful; ghastly;

crucify; excruciate; harrow; martyr; perse¬

gorgonian; grisly; grotesque; gruesome;

cute; rack; torment; torture.

hideous; homely; horrendous; horrible; horrid; monstrous; offensive; plain; repel¬

two heads are better than one A pop¬

lent; repulsive; revolting; ugly; unsightly.

ular prescription (see page 23). ugly duckling A moribund metaphor (like) two peas in a pod An insipid

(see page 21). deformed; disfigured; dis¬

simile, akin; alike; correspondent; corre¬

gusting; displeasing; distorted; freakish;

sponding; equal; equivalent; identical;

frightful;

indistinguishable; kindred; like; match¬

grotesque; gruesome; hideous; homely; hor¬

ing; one; same; selfsame; similar; twin.

rendous; horrible; horrid;

ghastly;

offensive; plain; two’s company, three’s a crowd A pop¬

gorgonian;

grisly;

monstrous;

repellent;

repulsive;

revolting; ugly; unsightly.

ular prescription (see page 23). unbeknownst A withered word

unbeknown; unknown. ■

two-way street A moribund metaphor

page

(see page 21).

Unbeknownst to his girlfriend, he made a

two wrongs don’t make a right A pop¬

24).

(see

videotape

of

them

having

sex.

Replace with Unknown.

ular prescription (see page 23). unbelievable An overworked word (see page 22). 1. beyond belief; beyond com¬

prehension; doubtful; dubious; implausi¬ ble; imponderable; improbable; incompre¬ hensible;

inconceivable;

inexplicable;

questionable; unfathomable; unimagin¬ able; 355

unthinkable.

2.

astonishing;

uncharted waters

astounding; breathtaking; extraordinary;

understaffed

fabulous; fantastic; marvelous; miracu¬

inescapable pair (see page 20).

and

overworked

An

lous; overwhelming; prodigious; sensation¬ al; spectacular; wonderful; wondrous.

under the gym A moribund metaphor (see page 21). be at risk; be at stake; be

uncharted

waters

A

moribund

endangered; be imperiled; be in danger; be in jeopardy; be jeopardized; be menaced;

metaphor (see page 21).

be threatened. ■ The American way of under a cloud A moribund metaphor

life, long taken for granted, was under

(see page 21). discredited; disfavored; dis¬

the gun. REPLACE with being threatened.

graced; dishonored; distrusted; in disfavor; in disgrace; in disrepute; in ignominy; in

under the same roof A moribund

shame; suspect; under suspicion. ■ He

metaphor (see page 21). be as one; be

became the only vice president to leave

indissoluble; be indivisible; be inseparable;

under a cloud. REPLACE WITH in disgrace.

be together. ■ The who’s who of world

■ He left the police department under a

power, gathered under the same roof in a

cloud of suspicion. REPLACE WITH under

public place, poses an unparalleled secu¬

suspicion.

rity headache for Italian authorities. Replace WITH together, ■ While he

under (my) belt A moribund metaphor

understands those living in the house

(see page 21). background; education;

could live anywhere in the community,

experience; grooming; grounding; instruc¬

he sees a danger in putting them all

tion; learning; knowledge; maturity; prac¬

together under the same roof. DELETE

tice; preparation; qualifications; schooling;

under the same roof.

seasoning; skill; teaching; training. I hold it singular, as I look back, (come)

under

fire

A

moribund

that I should never have doubted

metaphor (see page 21). be admonished;

for a moment that the sacred relics

be assailed; be attacked; be castigated; be

were there; never have failed to

censured; be chastised; be chided; be con¬

feel a certain joy at being under

demned; be criticized; be denounced; be

the same roof with

rebuked; be reprimanded; be reproached;

Henry James, The Aspern Papers

them. —

be reproved; be scolded; be set on; be upbraided.

under the sun A moribund metaphor (see page 21). in existence; known.

(keep) under lock and key A mori¬ bund metaphor (see page 21). 1. con¬

under the table A moribund metaphor

fined; imprisoned; in jail; locked up. 2.

(see page 21). clandestinely; confidential¬

guarded; protected; safe; secure; sheltered;

ly; covertly; furtively; mysteriously; in pri¬

shielded.

vate; in secret; privately; quietly; secludedly; secretly; slyly; stealthily; surreptitiously;

under (his) own steam A moribund

undercover.

metaphor (see page 21). under

the

weather

A

moribund

metaphor (see page 21). 1. ajflicted; ail-

356

up a creek

ing; debilitated; diseased; enervated; fee¬

unless

ble; frail; ill; indisposed; infirm; not (feel¬

redundancy (see page 25). unless; until.

ing) well; sick; sickly; suffering; unhealthy;

■ I am opposed to the imposition of any

unsound;

new taxes unless and until major cuts in

unwell;

valetudinarian.

2.

and

(or)

until A wretched

besotted; crapulous; drunk; inebriated;

spending

intoxicated; sodden; stupefied; tipsy. ■ It

Replace with unless or until.

have

been

implemented.

doesn’t matter if some days I’m feeling a little low or under the weather. REPLACE

unmitigated gall An inescapable pair

WITH unwell.

(see page 20).

under the wire A moribund metaphor

untenable position An inescapable pair

(see page 21).

(see page 20).

under

(his)

thumb

A

moribund

until

and

(or)

unless A wretched

metaphor (see page 21). dependent; sub¬

redundancy (see page 25). unless; until.

ject; subordinate; subservient; under.

■ Until and unless these two conditions are met, the second rule does not fire.

under

(his)

wing

A

Replace with Unless or Until.

moribund

metaphor (see page 21). until such time as A wretched redun¬ (keep)

under

wraps

A

metaphor (see page 21).

moribund

dancy (see page 25). until. ■ Lessee shall

camouflage;

not be liable for any rent until such time

clandestine; cloak; conceal; cover; covert;

as

disguise; enshroud; harbor; hide; out of

Replace with until. ■ The FBI would

sight; secret; mask; screen; shroud; sup¬

cooperate but play a subordinate role

press; surreptitious; veil; withhold. ■

until such time as it became evident that

Radcliffe tried, and failed, to keep its list

the explosion was caused by a criminal

under wraps. REPLACE WITH hidden. ■

act. Replace with until.

Lessor

can

deliver

possession.

Negotiations have been kept largely

under wraps. REPLACE WITH secret.

up a blind alley A moribund metaphor (see page 21).

1. at risk; endangered;

uneasy calm An inescapable pair (see

hard-pressed; imperiled; in a bind; in a

page 20). ■ By midafternoon, an uneasy

dilemma; in a fix; in a jam; in a predica¬

calm returned to much of the capital.

ment; in a quandary; in danger; in diffi¬ culty; in jeopardy; in peril; in trouble;

uneasy lies the head that wears a

jeopardized.

2.

caught;

cornered;

crown A popular prescription (see page

enmeshed;

ensnared;

23).

entrapped; netted; snared; trapped.

united we stand (divided we fall) A

up a creek A moribund metaphor (see

popular prescription (see page 23).

page 21).

entangled;

at risk; endangered; hard-

pressed; imperiled; in a bind; in a dilem¬ unite in holy wedlock (marriage) A

ma; in a fix; in a jam; in a predicament;

wretched redundancy (see page 25).

in a quandary; in danger; in difficulty; in

marry; wed.

jeopardy; in peril; in trouble; jeopardized.

35 7

up against the wall

moribund

(an) uphill battle (fight) A moribund

metaphor (see page 21). 1. at risk; des¬

metaphor (see page 21). 1. an endeavor;

perate; endangered; frantic; hard-pressed;

an undertaking; a struggle; a task; drudg¬

imperiled; in a bind; in a dilemma; in a

ery; hard work; labor; moil; toil; travail;

fix; in a jam; in a predicament; in a

work. 2. arduous; difficult; hard; labori¬

quandary; in danger; in difficulty; in

ous; strenuous. ■ Even though it’s been

jeopardy; in peril; in trouble; jeopardized.

an uphill battle, I’ve learned a lot.

2. caught; cornered; enmeshed; ensnared;

Replace with difficult. See also reach

entangled; entrapped; netted; snared;

epidemic proportions. 9 Alleging sexual

trapped.

harassment against a supervisor is an

up

against

the

wall A

uphill battle. REPLACE WITH a struggle. (right)

up

(her)

alley A moribund

metaphor (see page 21).

up in arms A moribund metaphor (see page 21). 1. agitated; alarmed; angry;

up and running A moribund metaphor

annoyed; aroused; choleric; enraged; fierce;

(see page 21). 1. at work; functioning;

fuming; furious; incensed; indignant;

going; in action; in operation; operational;

inflamed; infuriated; irate; irked; irrita¬

operating; performing; producing; run¬

ble; mad; maddened; raging; resen ful;

ning; working. 2. able-bodied; active; fit;

splenetic; vexatious. 2. factious; insubordi¬

healthy; robust; strong; vigorous; well. 9

nate; insurgent; mutinous; rebellious; sedi¬

We intend to have a smoothly function¬

tious. 9 The nurses were up in arms

ing, well-integrated unit up and running

because

when we start in February. REPLACE

Replace with incensed.

of their

work

conditions.

WITH in operation. 9 This country needs massive amounts of aid to get these peo¬

up in the air A moribund metaphor

ple up and running. REPLACE WITH well.

(see page 21). confused; dubious; indeci¬

sive; in doubt; irresolute; open; question¬ Everyone, even Liam, offered their

able; tentative; uncertain; unconcluded;

expertise to get her up and run¬

undecided;

ning. — Rebecca Bloom, Tangled

unresolved; unsettled; unsure. 9 The issue

Up in Daydreams

is still very much up in the air despite a

undetermined;

unknown;

series of rulings in the 1980s. REPLACE up a tree A moribund metaphor (see

WITH unsettled.

page 21). 1. at risk; endangered; hard-

pressed; imperiled; in a bind; in a fix; in a

Or depending on his work sched¬

jam; in a predicament; in danger; in dif¬

ule, which was now up in the air,

ficulty; in jeopardy; in peril; in trouble;

he could urinate on them at what¬

jeopardized.

2.

ever time he got up. — James

enmeshed;

ensnared;

caught;

cornered; entangled;

Whorton, Approximately Heaven

entrapped; netted; snared; trapped. ups and downs A moribund metaphor up close and personal An infantile

(see page 21). alterations; changes; errati-

phrase (see page 20).

cism; fluctuations; fortuitousness; incon¬ stancies; shifts; uncertainties; vacillations; variations; vicissitudes. 9 A community 358

up to (my) eyeballs (eyebrows; eyes)

that can meet many of its needs by using

(step) up to bat A moribund metaphor

locally available natural, human, and

(see page 21).

financial resources will be less affected

endeavor; engage; participate; pursue;

by the ups and downs of the national and

seek; strive for; try. 2. advance; appear;

global economies. REPLACE WITH vicissi¬

approach; come forth; come forward;

tudes.

emerge; rise; show; surface; transpire. 3.

1.

aim for; attempt;

act; perform; speak; talk. 4. be account¬ cart A moribund

able; be answerable; be responsible. ■ In

metaphor (see page 21). confuse; dam¬

this regard, one campus organization

age; disorder; disrupt; disturb; jumble;

has stepped up to bat. REPLACE WITH

mess up; mix up; muddle; ruin; scramble;

emerged. ■ First up to bat is Philip

spoil; upset.

Cercone,

upset the apple

director of McGill-Queen’s

University up the ante A moribund metaphor (see

Press.

REPLACE WITH

to

speak.

page 21). So now Lora comes up to bat and up the creek (without a paddle) A

tells a story that is basically the

moribund metaphor (see page 21). 1. at

same as mine but utterly differ¬

risk; endangered; hard-pressed; imperiled;

ent.... — David Margolis,

in a bind; in a dilemma; in a fix; in a

Stepman

The

jam; in a predicament; in a quandary; in danger; in difficulty; in jeopardy; in peril;

up to (my) ears A moribund metaphor

in trouble; jeopardized. 2. caught; cor¬

(see page 21). 1. bury; deluge; flood; glut;

nered; enmeshed; ensnared; entangled;

immerse; infest; inundate; overburden;

entrapped; netted; snared; trapped.

overload; overpower; overrun; overwhelm; sate; swamp. 2. altogether; completely;

up till (until) A wretched redundancy

entirely; fully; perfectly; quite; roundly;

(see page 25). till (until). ■ Up until the

thoroughly; totally; unreservedly; utterly;

day he left, they hoped that he would

wholly.

play a major role in the new company as a key senior executive. REPLACE WITH

up to (my) eyeballs (eyebrows; eyes) A

Until.

moribund metaphor (see page 21). 1.

bury; deluge; glut; immerse; infest; inun¬

mm

I’d given him the pipe for Fathers

date; overburden; overload; overpower;

Day. Up until then he had never

overrun; overwhelm; sate; swamp. 2. alto¬

even smoked. — Sue Monk Kidd,

gether; completely; entirely; fully; perfectly;

The Mermaid Chair

quite; roundly; thoroughly; totally; unre¬ servedly; utterly; wholly. ■ The cam¬

up till

(until)

this point (time) A

paigns’ organizations are all up to their

wretched redundancy (see page 25).

eyeballs

until now. ■ Up until this point we have

REPLACE WITH overrun. ■ We are in this

been working in the dark.

now, up to our eyebrows and for the long

WITH Until now.

REPLACE

with

delegate-counting.

haul. Replace with fully.

359

up to par

up to par A moribund metaphor (see

V

page 21). 1. average; common; common¬

place; customary; everyday; mediocre; middling; normal; ordinary; quotidian; regular;

routine;

standard;

typical;

uneventful; unexceptional; unremarkable; usual. 2. acceptable; adequate; fine; good; good enough; healthy; passable; satisfacto¬

valuable asset An inescapable pair (see

ry; sufficient; suitable; tolerable; well.

page 20). This phrase is, like many inescapable pairs, also redundant, for an

up to scratch A moribund metaphor

asset is valuable.

(see page 21). acceptable; adequate; fine;

good; good enough; healthy; passable; sat¬

variations on a theme A torpid term

isfactory; sufficient; suitable; tolerable;

(see page 24).

well. Once she allowed herself to think up to snuff A moribund metaphor (see

that, then there was no stopping a

acceptable; adequate; fine;

flood of other suspicions — pri¬

good; good enough; healthy; passable; sat¬

marily variations on the theme of

isfactory; sufficient; suitable; tolerable;

the power and ubiquity of Ray’s

well.

‘Triends.”

page 21).

—

Jane

Smiley,

Duplicate Keys up to speed A moribund metaphor (see page 21).

acceptable; adequate; fine;

good; good enough; healthy; passable; sat¬

variety is the spice of life A popular prescription (see page 23).

isfactory; sufficient; suitable; tolerable; well.

various

and sundry An inescapable

pair (see page 20).

assorted; diverse;

use and abuse An inescapable pair (see

sundry; varied; various; varying. ■ I tried

page 20). ■ We all agree that we have

various and sundry ways to get her to see

been racially used and abused. ■ Lil

me. Replace with various. See also all

Franklin said her son had been used and

and sundry.

abused by two fundamentalist ministers. vehemently oppose An inescapable utilize A torpid term (see page 24).

pair (see page 20). ■ MCA vehemently

apply; employ; make use of; use. ■ I utilize

opposed Sony’s Betamax and the VCR

my bike for nearly everything. REPLACE

invasion.

WITH use. ■ These are all expository techniques that you will be utilizing

verboten A foreign phrase (see page

once you have mastered the basics of

19). banned; disallowed; enjoined; forbid¬

writing. REPLACE WITH using. See ALSO

den; prohibited; proscribed. ■ But once everything

was

set

up,

my

analog

modem worked on a previously verboten digital

lowed. 360

phone.

REPLACE WITH

disal¬

wait for the ax to fall

verily A withered word (see page 24).

visible

actually; indeed; in fact; in faith; in real¬

wretched redundancy (see page 23). vis¬

ity; in truth; truly.

ible

(invisible)

(invisible).

to

SEE

the ALSO

eye

A

audible

(inaudible) to the ear. very An overworked word (see page 22). The word very is often a needless inten¬

(a) vision of (loveliness) A moribund

sive, but preceding words like excellent,

metaphor (see page 21).

major, and delightful, it is ludicrous. ■ I think that’s a very excellent thought.

After talking for a couple of min-

Delete very. ■ It’s a very major plus for

utes, I asked Bruce who this vision

our state and our region. DELETE very. ■

of ebony beauty was. — E. Lynn

You seem very delightful. Delete very.

Harris, Invisible Life m

■ She’s a biochemist and very brilliant.

H HHi

f m H H W«m

xmmm - iXs H 11111

Delete very. ■ If the test cells were to

vive la difference A foreign phrase (see

be shut down, it would be very detri¬

page 19).

mental to the operation. DELETE very. ■ Moreover, the wind at the peak can be

voice

very deadly. DELETE very. SEE ALSO real¬

moribund metaphor (see page 21).

(crying)

in the wilderness A

ly. vote with

(their)

feet A moribund

viable alternative An inescapable pair

metaphor (see page 21). ■ People are

(see page 20).

voting with their feet, and politicians know this.

vicious circle An inescapable pair (see page 20).

w

vicious rumor An inescapable pair (see page 20). vim and vigor An inescapable pair (see page

20).

animation;

ardor;

dash;

dynamism; elan; energy; fervor; force; intensity;

liveliness; passion; potency;

power; spirit; stamina; strength; verve;

wages of sin A moribund metaphor (see

vigor; vitality; vivacity; zeal.

page 21).

virtue is its own reward A popular pre¬

(just have to) wait and see (what hap¬

scription (see page 23).

pens) A torpid term (see page 24). /

don't know; (it's) not (yet) known; (that's) vis-a-vis A foreign phrase (see page 19).

uncertain; (that's) unclear; (it's) unknown. See ALSO (it) remains to be seen; your

viselike grip A moribund metaphor

guess is as good as mine.

(see page 21). wait for the ax to fall A moribund metaphor (see page 21).

361

wait for the other shoe to drop

wait for the other shoe to drop A

draw fro?n; yield. ■ The state cannot

moribund metaphor (see page 21).

walk

away

from

that

obligation.

Replace with disregard. waiting for Godot An infantile phrase (the)

(see page 20).

walking

dead

A

moribund

metaphor (see page 21). waiting in the wings A moribund (a)

metaphor (see page 21).

walking,

talking

An

infantile

phrase (see page 20). wake the dead A moribund metaphor (see page 21). blaring; boisterous; boom¬

walk on air A moribund metaphor (see

ing; deafening; earsplitting; fulminating;

page 21). blissful; blithe; buoyant; cheer¬

loud; noisy; obstreperous; piercing; plan¬

ful; delighted; ecstatic; elated; enraptured;

gent; resounding; roaring; shrill; stentori¬

euphoric; exalted; excited; exhilarated;

an; strident; thundering; thunderous;

exultant;

tumultuous; vociferous.

humored; happy; intoxicated; jolly; jovial;

gay;

glad;

gleeful;

good-

joyful; joyous; jubilant; merry; mirthful; wake up and smell the coffee A mori¬

overjoyed; pleased; rapturous; thrilled.

bund metaphor (see page 21). be alert;

be attentive; be awake; be aware; be cog¬

walk on eggs (eggshells) A moribund

nizant; be conscious; be mindful; be per¬

metaphor (see page 21). ■ For years,

ceptive; be sentient; be wakeful.

Robinson walked on eggshells as the first black baseball

wake-up call A moribund metaphor (see page 21).

player in

the major

leagues.

admonition; caution;

warning. ■ The priest sexual scandal is a

(all)

wake-up call for the church.

metaphor (see page 21).

walk a fine line A moribund metaphor

walk sofdy and carry a big stick A

(see page 21).

popular prescription (see page 23).

walk

a

tightrope

A

moribund

walk

walks

(me)

of

life

through

A

A

moribund

moribund

metaphor (see page 21). chance; dare;

metaphor (see page 21). clarify; clear up;

endanger; gamble; hazard; imperil; jeop¬

describe; disentangle; elucidate; enlighten;

ardize; make bold; peril; risk; venture.

explain; explicate; illume; illuminate; interpret; make clear; make plain; reveal;

walk away from A moribund metaphor

simplify. ■ Can you walk me through the

(see page 21). abandon; abdicate; avoid;

process of how you wrote it?

brush aside; deny; desert; disavow; dis¬

explain. ■ Middle-school students will

count;

be told the details of the drill

disinherit;

disown;

disregard;

USE in

dodge; drop; duck; forgo; forsake; give up;

advance, and their teachers will walk

ignore; leave; neglect; omit; pass over; quit;

them through the steps on the day of the

recoil from; reject; relinquish; renounce;

event. USE describe.

shrink from; shun; shy away from; snub; spurn; surrender; turn away from; with¬ 362

water over the dam

wall of silence A moribund metaphor

quered; cowed; cursed; damned; defunct;

(see page 21).

doomed; fated; finished; gone; lost; ruined; vanquished.

(the)

walls

have ears A moribund

metaphor (see page 21).

wash (her) hands of (it) A moribund metaphor (see page 21). abandon; abdi¬

want to bet? An infantile phrase (see

cate; avoid; brush aside; deny; desert; dis¬

page 20).

avow; discount; disinherit; disown; disre¬ gard; dodge; drop; duck; forgo; forsake;

war clouds A moribund metaphor (see

give up; ignore; leave; neglect; omit; pass

page 21).

over; quit; recoil from; reject; relinquish; renounce; shrink from; shun; shy away

war is hell A quack equation (see page

from; snub; surrender; turn away from;

23).

withdraw from; yield. .

(as) warm as toast An insipid simile.

The

heated; lukewarm; mild; temperate; tepid;

washed his hands of me, but he

toasty; warm; warmish.

didn’t seem to hold any stubborn¬ ness

gambler

against

apparently

me.

—

had

Dashiell

Hammett, Red Harvest

warm the cockles of (my) heart A moribund metaphor (see page 21).

waste not, want not A popular pre¬ warn in advance A wretched redundan¬

scription (see page 23).

cy (see page 23). warn. ■ Management should be warned in advance that fines

(a) watched pot never boils A popular

are no longer the way to satisfy the sys¬

prescription (see page 23).

tem for a careless disaster. DELETE in

advance. See ALSO advance warning;

(like) watching grass grow An insipid

forewarn.

simile,

banal; barren; bland; boring;

deadly; dreary; dry; dull; everyday; flat; war of words A moribund metaphor

humdrum; inanimate; insipid; jejune;

altercation; argument;

lifeless; lusterless; mediocre; monotonous;

bickering; conflict; contention; controver¬

prosaic; routine; spiritless; stale; tedious;

sy; disagreement; disputation; dispute;

tiresome; unexciting; uninteresting; vapid;

feud; polemics; quarrel; row; spat; squab¬

wearisome.

(see page 21).

ble; strife; wrangle. ■ Yesterday’s war of words seemed like a replay of the bitter

watch (him) like a hawk An insipid

1988 campaign. REPLACE WITH squab¬

simile, be alert; be attentive; be awake; be

ble.

aware; be eagle-eyed; be heedful; be informed; be keen; be observant; be vigi¬

wash (their) dirty linen in public A

lant; be wakeful; be watchful.

moribund metaphor (see page 21). water

over

the

dam A

moribund

(all) washed up A moribund metaphor

metaphor (see page 21). 1. completed;

(see page 21). beaten; condemned; con¬

concluded; done; ended; finished; over; 363

water (runs) under the bridge

passed; through. 2. history; the past; yester¬

wears (her) heart on (her) sleeve A

day.

moribund metaphor

(see page 21).

demonstrative; emotional; emotive; sensi¬ water (runs) under the bridge A mori¬

tive; sentimental.

bund metaphor (see page 21). 1. com¬

pleted; concluded; done; ended; finished;

(the) weak link (in the chain) A mori¬

over; passed; through. 2. history; the past;

bund metaphor (see page 21).

yesterday. wear the pants A moribund metaphor A lot of water runs under the

(see page 21). administer; boss; com¬

bridge, a lot of it dirty.—Thomas

mand; control; dictate; direct; dominate;

Savage, The Sheep Queen

govern; in charge; in command; in con¬ trol; manage; manipulate; master; order;

(the) wave of the future A moribund

overpower; oversee; predominate; prevail;

metaphor (see page 21).

reign over; rule; superintend.

(like) waving a red flag (rag) in front

weather the storm (of) A moribund

of a bull An insipid simile.

metaphor (see page 21). ■ A tremen¬ dous thank you goes out to each of you

wax and wane An inescapable pair (see

who has helped our family weather this

page 20).

storm. SEE ALSO reach epidemic propor¬ tions.

ways and means An inescapable pair (see page 20). approaches; means; mecha¬

weighs a ton An insipid simile, bulky;

nisms; methods; techniques; ways.

heavy; hefty; weighty.

(the) way to a man’s heart is through

weight in proportion (proportionate)

his stomach A popular prescription (see

to height A torpid term (see page 24).

page 23).

Men

should

eschew

women

(and

women, men) whom they’ve not yet (as) weak as a baby An insipid simile.

met and who describe their physiques as

dainty; debilitated; delicate; enervated;

weight in proportion (proportionate) to

feeble; f agile; frail; infirm; nonmuscular;

height.

puny; sickly; unhealthy; unwell; valetudi¬ narian; weak; weakly.

Let us men prefer an athletic; brawny;

firm; fit; medium-build; mesomorphic; muscular; robust; sinewy; toned; well-

(as) weak as a kitten An insipid simile.

built woman or a bony; ectomorphic;

dainty; debilitated; delicate; enervated;

lanky; lean; petite; rail-thin; scraggy;

feeble; fagile; fail; infirm; nonmuscular;

scrawny; skeletal; skinny; slender; slight;

puny; sickly; unhealthy; unwell; valetudi¬

slim; small; spare; spindly; svelte; sylphid;

narian; weak; weakly.

thin; tiny; trim; wispy woman or a big¬ boned, big-breasted, big-bellied, or big-

weak

in

the

knees

A

moribund

bottomed; bulbous; bulky; busty; buxom;

metaphor (see page 21). dizzy; faint;

chubby; chunky; corpulent; curvaceous;

giddy; lightheaded; weak.

curvy; dumpy; endomorphic; enormous; 364

what (he) doesn’t know won’t hurt (him)

fiat; flabby; fleshy; full-figured; globular;

cent; naive; raw; simple; undeveloped;

heavy; heavyset; hefty; huge; large; obese;

unfledged; unskilled; unskillful; unsophis¬

plump; portly; pudgy; rotund; round;

ticated; untaught; untrained; unworldly.

squat; steatopygic; stocky; stout; volup¬ tuous; zaftig woman — if not for her

wet

womanliness then at least for her words.

metaphor (see page 21). drink; guzzle;

(my)

whistle

A

moribund

imbibe; quaff. weird An overworked word (see page 22).

aberrant; abnormal; anomalistic;

anomalous; atypical; bizarre; curious;

we’ve all got to go sometime A popu¬ lar prescription (see page 23).

deviant; different; distinct; distinctive; eccentric; exceptional; extraordinary; fan¬

we’ve got to stop meeting like this An

tastic; foreign; grotesque; idiosyncratic;

infantile phrase (see page 20).

independent; individual; individualistic; irregular; novel; odd; offbeat; original;

what a difference a day makes A tor¬

peculiar; puzzling; quaint; queer; rare;

pid term (see page 24).

remarkable; separate; singular; strange; uncommon; unconventional; unexampled;

what are you going to do A plebeian

unique; unnatural; unorthodox; unparal¬

sentiment (see page 23). This is still

leled; unprecedented; unusual. SEE ALSO

another

strange.

Though phrased as a question, it is rarely

expression spoken

of

resignation.

interrogatively,

so

(all) well and good A wretched redun¬

resigned, so hopeless are those who use

dancy (see page 25). adequate; all right;

it. See ALSO such is life; that’s how (the

excellent; fine; good; O.K.; satisfactory;

way) it goes; that’s how (the way) the ball

well. ■ That’s all well and good for the

bounces; that’s how (the way) the cookie

hobbyist running a bulletin board or the

crumbles; that’s life; that’s life in the big

IT worker who does side programming

city; that’s show biz; what can you do.

jobs in his off-hours at home. REPLACE WITH good. ■ Well, this is all well and

what can I say? An infantile phrase (see

good, but who’s going to pay for it —

page 20).

not my insurance company! REPLACE WITH fine. ■ This is all well and good,

what can I tell you? An infantile phrase

but what do experts say? REPLACE WITH

(see page 20).

good. ■ That’s all well and good, but what about my son? REPLACE WITH fine.

what can you do A plebeian sentiment

See ALSO fine and dandy; still and all.

(see page 23). SEE ALSO such is life; that’s

how (the way) it goes; that’s how (the way) well-nigh A withered word (see page

the ball bounces; that’s how (the way) the

24). almost; nearly.

cookie crumbles; that’s life; that’s life in the big city; that’s show biz; what are you

wet behind

the

ears A moribund

going to do.

metaphor (see page 21). artless; awk¬

ward; callow; green; guileless; immature;

what (he) doesn’t know won’t hurt (him)

inexperienced; inexpert; ingenuous; inno¬

A popular prescription (see page 23).

365

whatever

whatever An infantile phrase (see page

some

important

questions.

DELETE

20). As a one-word response to another’s

What is. See ALSO what happened (is).

comment or question, whatever is as dis¬ missive as it is ill-mannered. SEE ALSO

what is the world coming to? A ple¬

excuse me.

beian sentiment (see page 23).

whatever happens happens An infan¬

what’s done is done A quack equation

tile phrase (see page 20). SEE ALSO it just

(see page 23). ■ What’s done is done, but

happened; what(ever) must (will) be,

rethinking the choice now will help you

must (will) be.

make a better choice next time.

what goes around, conies around A

what’s good for (the goose) is good

popular prescription (see page 23). This

for (the gander) A popular prescription

is the secular equivalent of “as you sow,

(see page 23).

so

shall you

reap.” As

such,

it

is

nonetheless a moralistic prescription —

what will they think of next? A ple¬

intoned by those who think in circles —

beian sentiment (see page 23).

that too easily explains the way of the what you don’t know can’t (won’t)

world.

hurt you A popular prescription (see what goes up must come down A pop¬

page 23).

ular prescription (see page 23). what you see is not always what you what happened

(is)

An ineffectual

get A quack equation (see page 23).

phrase (see page 19). ■ What happened

was I woke up one morning and just

what you see is what you get A quack

decided to leave. DELETE What hap¬

equation (see page 23).

pened was. M What happened was we applied for welfare. DELETE What hap¬

wheel and deal An inescapable pair (see

pened was. ■ What happened was when I

page 20). bargain; contrive; deal; do busi¬

said that to him he got upset and left in

ness; negotiate; plan; plot; scheme.

a huff. Delete What happened was. ■

What has happened is, my identity has

when and if A wretched redundancy

gotten lost in this ordeal. DELETE What

(see page 25). if; when. ■ People are ask¬

has happened is. SEE ALSO what is.

ing when and if there will be a demo¬ cratic government. REPLACE WITH if or

what ... is An ineffectual phrase (see

when. See ALSO if and when; if as, and

page 19). M What you want is someone

when; when and whether; when, as, and

who will stand by his work once it is

if; whether and when.

completed. Delete What is. ■ What we are finding is that they want to measure

when and whether A wretched redun¬

up to our standards of integrity. DELETE

dancy (see page 25). when; whether. ■

What is. ■ What this course is about is

She will decide when and whether and

What is. ■

under what circumstances she’ll become

empowerment.

DELETE

What we have is a program that asks

a

366

mother.

REPLACE WITH

when or

where’s the beef?

whether. See ALSO if and when; if, as,

when it rains, it pours A moribund

and when; when and if; when, as, and if;

metaphor (see page 21).

whether and when. when push comes to shove A mori¬ when, as, and if A wretched redundan¬

bund metaphor (see page 21). ■ When

cy (see page 25). if; when. SEE ALSO if

push comes to shove, liberalism collapses,

and when; if, as, and when; when and if;

society polarizes itself, and the gloves are

when and whether; whether and when.

removed.

whence A withered word (see page 24).

when the cat’s away, the mice will play

1. from where. 2. from what source. 3.

A moribund metaphor (see page 21).

from which. when the going gets tough, the tough when (you) come right down to it A

get going A popular prescription (see

wretched redundancy (see page 25). all

page 23).

in all; all told; altogether; eventually; finally; in all; in the end; on the whole;

where angels fear to tread A moribund

overall; ultimately.

metaphor (see page 21).

when hell freezes over A moribund

whereat A withered word (see page 24).

metaphor (see page 21). never; no; not at

at which point.

all; not ever; not in any way; not in the wherefore A withered word (see page

least.

24).

1. why. 2. for which.

3. therefore.

when in Rome (do as the Romans do) A popular prescription (see page 23).

wherein A withered word (see page 24).

abide by; accede; accommodate; accord;

how; in what way.

acquiesce; adapt; adhere to; agree; behave; is concerned A wretched

comply; concur; conform; correspond; fol¬

where ...

low;

redundancy (see page 25). about; as for;

harmonize;

heed;

mind;

obey;

observe; submit; yield.

as to; concerning; for; in; of; on; over; regarding; respecting; to; toward; with. ■

when it comes to A wretched redun¬

Our gangs are just getting off the

dancy (see page 25). about; as for; as to;

ground where violence is concerned.

concerning; for; in; of; on; over; regarding;

REPLACE WITH concerning. ■ Obviously,

respecting; to; toward; when; with. ■ I

time doesn’t heal all wounds, especially

feel I’m more experienced when it comes

where the

to looking for a job. REPLACE WITH in. ■

Replace with regarding. See also as far

I’m an expert when it comes to marriage.

as ... (goes; is concerned).

Red

Sox are concerned.

Replace with about. ■ When it comes to middle-age dating, there are four stages.

whereon A withered word (see page

Replace WITH As for. ■ She is not rea¬

24). on what; on which.

sonable when it comes to me. REPLACE

WITH with.

where’s the beef? An infantile phrase (see page 20).

where there’s a will, there’s a way

where there’s a will, there’s a way A

same time; while simultaneously.

popular prescription (see page 23). Once in the elevator, it was impor¬ where there’s smoke there’s fire A pop¬

tant to stand in silence beside the

ular prescription (see page 23).

bags, to erase oneself behind the dignity of the uniform, while at

where the rubber hits the road A

the same time not seeming cold or

moribund metaphor (see page 21). ■

indifferent and indeed remaining

That, for Christians, is where the rubber

alert to any sign of helplessness in

hits the road — where we intersect with

the traveler. — Steven Millhauser,

people who are poor or marginalized.

Martin Dressier

wherethrough A withered word (see

while

simultaneously

A

wretched

page 24). through which.

redundancy (see page 25). simultaneous¬

ly; while. ■ So you can work on applica¬ whereto A withered word (see page 24).

tions while simultaneously watching TV

to what; to which.

in a resizable window. DELETE simulta¬

neously. See ALSO simultaneously at the whereunto A withered word (see page

same time; while at the same time.

24). to what; to which. whilst A withered word (see page 24). wherewith A withered word (see page

while. ■ Whilst it delivers the required

24). with what; with which.

protection, most users will probably feel strangely unsatisfied after some hard

whet

(my)

appetite

A

moribund

metaphor (see page 21).

use.

Replace with

While. ■ Some

imply a functional relationship between variables whilst others are of a more

whether and when A wretched redun¬

exploratory

dancy (see page 25). when; whether. ■

while.

nature.

REPLACE

WITH

Lee will be the one to determine whether

and when he isn’t up to the job. REPLACE

whip

WITH when or whether. SEE ALSO if and

metaphor (see page 21). acerbate; anger;

when; if as, and when; when and if;

annoy; bother; bristle; chafe; enrage;

when and whether; when, as, and if.

incense; inflame; infuriate; irk; irritate;

into

a

frenzy A

moribund

madden; miff; provoke; rile; roil; vex. which way the wind blows A mori¬ bund metaphor (see page 21).

whip into shape A moribund metaphor (see page 21).

while at the same time A wretched redundancy (see page 25). at the same

whistle

time; while. ■ It provides us with an

metaphor (see page 21).

in

the

dark A

moribund

opportunity to honor his memory while

at the same time assisting future stu¬

whistling Dixie A moribund metaphor

dents. REPLACE WITH at the same time or

(see page 21).

while. See ALSO simultaneously at the 368

whoop it up

(as) white as a ghost An insipid simile. 1.

anemic; ashen; blanched; bloodless;

whither A withered word (see page 24). 1. where. 2. wherever.

cadaverous; colorless; deathlike; doughy; haggard; lusterless; pale; pallid; pasty;

(the) whole ball of wax A moribund

peaked; sallow; sickly; wan; whitish. 2.

metaphor (see page 21). aggregate; all;

achromatic; alabaster-white; albescent;

all things; entirety; everything; gross; lot;

bleached; chalky; colorless; ivory; milk-

sum; total; totality; whole.

white; milky; niveous; pearly; pearlywhite; snow-white; snowy; uncolored;

(my) whole, entire (life) An infantile

whitish.

phrase (see page 20). ■ People like you laughed at me my whole, entire life. ■

He tells me that the Dictator was

With this on, you will attract more

receiving all this in silence, but

women than you have in your whole,

that he was as white as a ghost. —

entire lives.

Thornton Wilder,

The Ides of

March

(the) whole is greater than the sum of its parts A popular prescription (see

(as) white as a sheet An insipid simile. 1.

page 23).

anemic; ashen; blanched; bloodless;

cadaverous; colorless; deathlike; doughy;

(the) whole nine yards A moribund

haggard; lusterless; pale; pallid; pasty;

metaphor (see page 21). aggregate; all;

peaked; sallow; sickly; wan; whitish. 2.

all things; entirety; everything; gross; lot;

achromatic; alabaster-white; albescent;

sum; total; totality; whole. ■ You’ve won

bleached; chalky; colorless; ivory; milk-

the Sony TV, the VCR, the stereo sys¬

white; milky; niveous; pearly; pearly-

tem,

white; snow-white; snowy; uncolored;

yards. REPLACE WITH everything.

the camcorder,

the whole nine

whitish. (the)

whole

shebang A moribund

(as) white as snow An insipid simile. 1.

metaphor (see page 21). aggregate; all;

achromatic; alabaster-white; albescent;

all things; entirety; everything; gross; lot;

bleached; chalky; colorless; ivory; milk-

sum; total; totality; whole.

white; milky; niveous; pearly; pearlywhite; snow-white; snowy; uncolored;

(the) whole shooting match A mori¬

whitish. 2. anemic; ashen; blanched;

bund metaphor (see page 21). aggregate;

bloodless; cadaverous; colorless; deathlike;

all; all things; entirety; everything; gross;

doughy; haggard; lusterless; pale; pallid;

lot; sum; total; totality; whole.

pasty; peaked; sallow; sickly; wan; whitish. who let the cat out of the bag? A mori¬ (like) white on rice An insipid simile. 1.

bund metaphor (see page 21).

congenital; fundamental; genetic;

hereditary; inborn; inbred; ingrained;

whoop it up A moribund metaphor

inherent; inherited; innate; intrinsic;

(see page 21). 1. be merry; carouse; carry

native; natural. 2. all over; everywhere;

on; celebrate; debauch; disport; frolic;

omnipresent; ubiquitous.

party; play; revel; riot; roister; rollick; romp; skylark. 2. bay; bawl; bellow; blare; 369

who’s minding the store?

caterwaul; cheer; clamor; cry; holler; hoot;

wild

howl; roar; screak; scream; screech; shout;

metaphor (see page 21).

goose

chase

A

moribund

shriek; shrill; squawk; squeal; vociferate; Copulatory leads to copulation,

wail; whoop; yell; yelp; yowl.

the union of the sexes in the art of who’s minding the store? A moribund

generation and I don’t know what

metaphor (see page 21).

that means and I’m too weary going from one word to another in

who would have (ever) thought A ple¬

this heavy dictionary which leads

beian sentiment (see page 23).

me on a wild goose chase from this word to that word and all because

why didn’t (I) think of that? A ple¬

the people who wrote the diction¬

beian sentiment (see page 23).

ary don’t want the likes of me to know

anything.

—

Frank

McCourt, Angelas Ashes

why me? A plebeian sentiment (see page 23).

wild horses couldn’t (keep me away) (the)

why and

(the)

wherefore A

A moribund metaphor (see page 21).

wretched redundancy (see page 23).

aim; cause; design; end; goal; intent;

wild horses couldn’t drag it from (me)

intention; motive; object; objective; pur¬

A moribund metaphor (see page 21).

pose; reason. window wide

of

the

mark

A

moribund

dressing

A

moribund

metaphor (see page 21).

metaphor (see page 21). erroneous; false;

incorrect;

inexact;

mistaken;

untrue;

wrong.

window of opportunity A moribund metaphor (see page 21). chance; occa¬

sion; opening; opportunity; possibility; wild and crazy An inescapable pair (see

prospect. Only able writers know that

page 20).

window of opportunity is unable to influ¬ ence or involve us. Window of opportu¬

However wild and crazy they may

nity is a language that lulls and then

be, they stand by their friends. —

deadens. ■ I think we have a terrific window of

Matthew Reilly, Scarecrow

opportunity to make progress this year. wild and woolly An inescapable pair

REPLACE WITH chance. ■ There may be

(see page 20).

a window of opportunity between 12 and 1 for us to talk. REPLACE WITH time. ■

wild

blue

yonder

A

moribund

One redesign of an ASIC can cause the

metaphor (see page 21). air; atmosphere;

system vendor to completely miss the

biosphere; empyrean; ether; firmament;

window of opportunity for a particular

heaven; heavens; outer space; sky; space;

product. REPLACE WITH opportunity. ■

stratosphere.

On the conflict in Darfur, the High Commissioner said he saw a window of

opportunity to reach a political settle370

with a big (capital) (A)

ment for the strife-torn region. REPLACE

he’s made the honor role every year. Replace with academically. ■ She is attractive and much smaller sizewise than me. DELETE sizewise. ■ I’ll let you know what I get from them information-

WITH chance. See ALSO a barrage of.

window on the (world) A moribund metaphor (see page 21).

wise. Replace with what information I

winds of change A metaphor (see page 21).

moribund

get from them. ■ By spending our devel¬

opment time, future ads will be very reasonable pricewise. REPLACE WITH rea¬

wine and dine An inescapable pair (see page 20).

sonably priced.

The cream of the East and Middle West, engineering-wise and managerwise, was met in the amphitheater of the Meadows. — Kurt Vonnegut, Jr., Player Piano

win hands down A moribund metaphor (see page 21). beat; conquer; crush; defeat; outclass; outdo; overcome; overpower; overwhelm; prevail; quell; rout; succeed; triumph; trounce; vanquish; win.

(as) wise as Solomon An insipid simi¬ le. astute; bright; brilliant; clever; discern¬

win, lose, or draw A moribund metaphor (see page 21). regardless.

ing; enlightened; insighful; intelligent; judicious; keen; knowledgeable; learned; logical; luminous; penetrating; perceptive;

win (his) spurs A moribund metaphor (see page 21).

perspicacious; rational; reasonable; saga¬ cious;

sage;

sapient;

sensible;

sharp;

shrewd; smart; sound; understanding;

wipe the slate clean A moribund metaphor (see page 21). begin anew;

wise.

start afresh; start over.

wit and wisdom An inescapable pair (see page 20).

-wise A grammatical gimmick (see page 19). We fasten the suffix -wise to words when we have not sufficiently thought about what we want to say or, even more so, how we want to say it. With wise, though there may be some sub¬ stance to our thought, there is scant style. ■ I’ve been very successful businesswise. Replace with in business. ■ Burialwise, I don’t feel they’re responsi¬ ble enough to take care of my wishes. REPLACE WITH my burial wishes. ■ I do have a photo of a model who resembles

with a big (capital) (A) An infantile phrase (see page 20). ■ It’s crisp, with a capital C. DELETE with a capital C. ■ He loves conversation — with a big C. DELETE with a big C. ■ These establish¬ ments offer dining with a capital D. REPLACE WITH elegant dining.

So he knew a little bit about Beauty too. Beauty with a capital B: not just a pretty face or a pic¬ turesque landscape, ... — Robert Hellenga, Philosophy Made Simple

me bodywise. REPLACE WITH whose body resembles my own. ■ And academicwise,

371

(go over) with a fine-toothed comb

(go over) with a fine-toothed comb A

with

bated

breath

A

moribund

moribund metaphor (see page 21). ana¬

metaphor (see page 21). agitatedly; anx¬

lyze; canvass; comb; examine; explore; fil¬

iously; apprehensively; excitedly; fearfully;

ter; forage; hunt; inspect; investigate; look

nervously; suspense fully; timidly; timo¬

for; probe; quest; ransack; rummage;

rously; tremulously; worriedly.

scour; scrutinize; search; seek; sieve; sift; with bells on A moribund metaphor

winnow.

(see page 21). animatedly; eagerly; ebul¬ moribund

liently; effervescently; effusively; enthusias¬

metaphor (see page 21). coercively; dra-

tically; excitedly; lively; spiritedly; spright¬

conianly; harshly; oppressively; severely.

ly; vivaciously.

with

with (their) eyes wide open A mori¬

with

a

heavy

all

(my)

hand

A

heart A

moribund

metaphor (see page 21). earnestly; fer¬

vently; genuinely; heartily; honestly; sin¬ cerely; unreservedly; wholeheartedly.

bund metaphor (see page 21). by design;

consciously; deliberately; intentionally; knowingly; on purpose; purposely; willful¬ ly; with intent. M They did this with their

with

an

open

hand A moribund

metaphor (see page 21). altruistically;

beneficently; bountifully; charitably; gen¬ erously; liberally; munificently; unselfishly; unstintingly.

eyes wide open. REPLACE WITH deliberate¬ ly. with

flying

colors

A

moribund

metaphor (see page 21). beautifully; bril¬

liantly; dazzlingly; excellently; grandly; impressively; magnificently; marvelously;

with

a

vengeance

A

moribund

metaphor (see page 21). actively; aggres¬

sively; dynamically; emphatically; energet¬

outstandingly; splendidly; sublimely; suc¬ cessfully;

superbly;

triumphally;

tri¬

umphantly; victoriously; wonderfully.

ically; fast; furiously; fervently; fiercely; fo rcefully; frantically; ftenziedly; fu riously; hard; intensely; intently; mightily; pas¬

with (her) heart in (her) mouth A moribund metaphor (see page 21). anx¬

sionately; powerfully; robustly; savagely;

iously; apprehensively; fearfully; pavidly;

spiritedly; strenuously; strongly; vehement¬

timidly; timorously; tremblingly; tremu¬ lously.

ly; viciously; vigorously; violently; wildly; with vigor.

within a hair s breadth of A moribund with a wink and a nod A moribund

metaphor (see page 21). (very) close (to);

metaphor (see page 21). clandestinely;

(very) near (to). ■ Some visionaries are

confidentially; covertly; furtively; mysteri¬

within a hair’s breadth of achieving unat¬

ously; in private; in secret; privately; qui¬

tended

etly; secludedly; secretly; slyly; stealthily;

Replace with close to.

computer

center

operation.

surreptitiously; undercover. ■ Bostons most infamous criminal partnership

(beaten) within an inch of (his) life A

began with a wink and a nod. Replace

moribund metaphor (see page 21). bru¬

WITH furtively.

tally; cruelly; ferociously; fiercely; harshly; mercilessly; ruthlessly; severely; viciously; violently. 372

without rhyme or reason

Alderman Schlumbohm, heckled

(welcome) with open arms A mori¬

to within an inch of his life, fol-

bund metaphor (see page 21). affection¬

lowed to the council door by three

ately; cheerfully; eagerly; enthusiastically;

hundred of his fellow-citizens, was

gladly; happily; joyously; readily; unre¬

there left with

the admonition

servedly; warmly. ■ We have welcomed

that they would be waiting for

them with open arms. REPLACE WITH

him when he should make his exit.

cheerfully. ■ I hope I am welcomed back

— Theodore Dreiser, The Titan

with open arms. REPLACE WITH unre¬ servedly.

within

a whisker

of A moribund

metaphor (see page 21). (very) close (to);

(went off) without a hitch A mori¬

(very) near (to).

bund metaphor (see page 21). accurate¬

ly; easily; exactly; excellently; faultlessly; (handle; treat) with kid gloves A mori¬

flawlessly; flowingly; impeccably; inde¬

bund metaphor (see page 21). carefully;

fectibly; methodically; perfectly; precisely;

cautiously; delicately; gently; gingerly;

regularly; smoothly; systematically; well.

mildly; sensitively; tactfully; with care. without cost or obligation A wretched with machinelike precision An insipid

redundancy (see page 25). free.

simile, accurately; easily; exactly; excel¬

lently; faultlessly; flawlessly; flowingly;

without

impeccably; indefectibly; methodically;

phrase (see page 20). at once; directly;

perfectly; precisely; regularly; smoothly; sys¬

forthwith;

tematically; well.

promptly; right away; straightaway; sum¬ marily;

with might and main A moribund

further

ado

An

immediately;

unfalteringly;

infantile

instantly;

unhesitatingly;

without delay.

metaphor (see page 21). actively; aggres¬

Of course, any speaker who drones

sively; dynamically; emphatically; energet¬

without further ado at the end of his

ically; ferociously; fervently; fiercely; force¬

prefatory remarks probably ought never

fully; frantically; frenziedly; furiously;

himself to be introduced.

hard; intensely; intently; mightily; pas¬ sionately; powerfully; robustly; savagely;

without missing a beat A moribund

spiritedly; strenuously; strongly; vehement¬

metaphor (see page 21). accurately; easi¬

ly; viciously; vigorously; violently; wildly;

ly; exactly; excellently; faultlessly; flawless¬

with vigor.

ly; flowingly; impeccably; indefectibly; methodically; perfectly; precisely; regularly;

with (her) nose in the air A moribund

smoothly; systematically; well.

metaphor (see page 21). arrogant; cava¬

lier; condescending; contemptuous; despot¬

without rhyme or reason A moribund

ic; dictatorial; disdainful; dogmatic; dom¬

metaphor

ineering; haughty; imperious; insolent;

foolish; idiotic; illogical; incomprehensi¬

lofty; overbearing; overweening; patroniz¬

ble; meaningless; nonsensical; senseless;

ing; pompous; pretentious; scornful; self-

stupid; unintelligent; unintelligible.

important; supercilious; superior; vainglo¬ rious.

373

(see page 21).

decerebrate;

with (my) tail between (my) legs

with (my) tail between (my) legs A

(the) wonderful world of A moribund

moribund metaphor

metaphor (see page 21).

(see page 21).

abjectly; ashamedly; humbly; ignobly; ignominiously; ingloriously; in humility;

(he) won’t bite A moribund metaphor

in shame; meekly; shamefully; submissive¬

(see page 21).

ly. M But she was not happy at the school and left before graduation with

won’t budge (an inch) A moribund

her tail between her legs. REPLACE WITH

metaphor (see page 21). adamant; close-

ingloriously.

minded; contumacious; firm; immovable; immutable;

inflexible;

intransigent;

Anne came home with her tail

invariable; obstinate; resolute; resolved;

between her legs and slumped into

rigid; steadfast; stubborn; unalterable;

her fathers smoking chair. — Elle

unbending; unchangeable; unchanging;

Eggels,

The House of the Seven

unwavering; unyielding.

Sisters won the battle but lost the war A with the exception of A wretched

moribund metaphor (see page 21).

redundancy (see page 25). apart from;

aside from; barring; besides; but for;

won’t take no for an answer An infan¬

except; except for; excepting; excluding;

tile phrase (see page 20). insist.

other than; outside of. H We found that our first 50 patients were wide awake

(the) (F)-word An infantile phrase (see

and alert the next day with the exception

page 20). ■ Many men have trouble

of one patient. REPLACE WITH except for.

with the C-word. REPLACE WITH com¬

mitment. ■ During the holidays, many woefully inadequate An inescapable

people write and ask about the D-word,

pair (see page 20). Little is inadequate

depression.

that isn’t woefully so.

Nearly everyone involved with the con¬

DELETE

the D-word.

M

tract was using the H-word, “historic,” (the) wolf at the door A moribund

to describe it. DELETE the H-word. ■

metaphor (see page 21).

Journalists agonized over asking about the “A” word. REPLACE WITH affair. ■

wolf in sheeps clothing A moribund

For most middle-aged women, the M-

metaphor (see page 21). apostate; charla¬

word is not a laughing matter. REPLACE

tan; deceiver; dissembler; fake; fraud; hyp¬

WITH

ocrite; impostor; knave; mountebank;

Clinton has three schemes in his play-

pharisee; phony; pretender; quack; rascal;

book to divert us all from the “M” word.

recreant; renegade; scoundrel; swindler;

Replace with Monica.

menopause. ■ The see-through

tergiversator; traitor. words cannot describe (express) A ple¬ (a) woman’s place is in the home A

beian sentiment (see page 23). ■ Words

popular prescription (see page 23).

cannot express the terrible emptiness we feel or how much we miss her. SEE ALSO

(a) woman’s work is never done A

there are no words to describe (express).

popular prescription (see page 23).

374

(looks) (the) worse for wear

work (my) butt (tail) off A moribund

can make your word processor more

metaphor (see page 21). drudge; grind;

useful and can open up a whole new

grub; labor; moil; slave; strain; strive;

world of power. See ALSO a barrage of.

struggle; sweat; toil; travail; work hard. (and) (the) world will beat a path to work (his) fingers to the bone A mori¬

(your) door A moribund metaphor (see

bund metaphor (see page 21). drudge;

page 21).

grind; grub; labor; moil; slave; strain; strive; struggle; sweat; toil; travail; work

worlds apart A moribund metaphor

hard.

(see page 21).

(a) work in progress

A torpid term

worn

threadbare

A

moribund

(see page 24). A work in progress is often

metaphor (see page 21). 1. banal; bro-

periphrastic for something or someone

midic; common; commonplace; hack¬

■

neyed; overused; overworked; pedestrian;

Islamicizing liberal democracy is still a

platitudinous; prosaic; stale; trite. 2. dam¬

work in progress. ■ Georgia State is a

aged; decayed; decrepit; deteriorated;

work in progress. ■ She’s a work in

dilapidated; ragged; shabby; shopworn;

progress and a person to whom we can all

tattered; worn.

undone,

unfinished,

incomplete.

relate.

worried

to

death

A

moribund

working stiff A moribund metaphor

metaphor (see page 21). agitated; anx¬

(see page 21). aide; apparatchik; assis¬

ious; apprehensive; distraught; distressed;

tant; cog; dependent; drudge; flunky;

fearful; nervous; panicky; stressed; stress¬

helper; hireling; inferior; junior; minion;

ful; tense; tormented; troubled; uneasy;

secondary; servant; slave; subaltern; subor¬

worried. See ALSO to death.

dinate; underling; vassal. (looks) (the) worse for wear A mori¬ work like a dog An insipid simile.

bund metaphor (see page 21). 1. broken-

drudge; grind; grub; labor; moil; slave;

down;

strain; strive; struggle; sweat; toil; travail;

decrepit; depleted; deteriorated; dilapidat¬

work hard.

ed; dingy; dirty; exhausted; filthy; flimsy;

crumbly;

damaged;

decayed;

foul; frayed; grimy; grubby; grungy; (the) world is (his) oyster A moribund

ragged; ramshackle; rickety; seedy; shabby;

metaphor (see page 21).

shaky; soiled; sordid; sullied; squalid; tat¬ tered; tired; tottering; unclean; unsound;

Suburbs

are the

best of both

worlds, all you need is a car and

used up; washed-out; worn; worn-out. 2. aged; aging; elderly; hoary; old; seasoned.

the world is your oyster, your Edsel, your Chrysler, your Ford.

The conferees had, by that time,

The

acquainted themselves with the

— Ann-Marie MacDonald,

accommodation provided in one

Way The Crow Flies

of the University’s halls of resi¬

(a) (whole new) world of A moribund

dence, a building hastily erected in

metaphor (see page 21). ■ Mail merge

1969, at the height of the boom in

375

(he) worships the ground (I) walk on

higher education, and now, only

Mariah

ten years later, looking much the

nightmare: Ian Fletcher has disap¬

worse for wear. — David Lodge,

peared with Faith. — Jodi Picoult,

Small

Keeping Faith

World:

An

Academic

awakens

to

her worst

Romance (the) worst of all (possible) worlds A (he) worships the ground (I) walk on

moribund metaphor (see page 21).

A moribund metaphor (see page 21).

adore; cherish; esteem; eulogize; exalt;

worth (her) salt A moribund metaphor

extol; glorify; honor; idealize; idolize;

(see page 21). advantageous; beneficial;

laud; love; panegyrize; prize; revere; treas¬

cost-effective; effective; effectual; effica¬

ure; venerate; worship.

cious; gainful; lucrative; productive; prof¬ itable;

worst-case scenario An overworked

serviceable;

useful;

valuable;

worthwhile.

word (see page 22). ■ The worst-case sce¬

nario would be for Question 3 to pass

worth (its) weight in gold A moribund

and for Question 3 to fail. ■ The indict¬

metaphor (see page 21). 1. costly; dear;

ment of a top executive on child-porn

expensive; inestimable; invaluable; pre¬

charges represents a worst-case scenario

cious; priceless; prized;

for any company and its IT managers. ■

advantageous; beneficial; effective; effectu¬

He could ultimately be a progressives

al; efficacious; essential; helpful; indispen¬

worst-case scenario.

sable; profitable; serviceable; useful; valu¬

valuable.

2.

able; vital; worthwhile. Sometimes the worst-case scenario comes true. But, of course, it was¬

would appear (hope; imagine; seem;

n’t the worst-case scenario at all:

submit; suggest; suspect; think) A

she could have died; she could

wretched redundancy (see page 25).

have been paralyzed from the neck

appear (hope; imagine; seem; submit; sug¬

down rather than the waist; she

gest; suspect; think). ■ I would think so.

could have been disfigured as well.

DELETE would. ■ I would hope a deci¬

— Daniel Stolar, The Middle of the

sion would be reached before the term

Night

of office expires. DELETE would. ■ It

would appear that the state wants to (every parent’s) worst nightmare A

jeopardize the project. REPLACE WITH

moribund metaphor (see page 21). ■ It’s

appears.

every mother’s worst nightmare. ■ This

Not only is the

would in would

defendant is every persons worst night¬

appear {hope; imagine; seem; submit; sug¬

mare. ■ Being a stepparent is my worst

gest; suspect; think) superfluous, it calls

nightmare. ■ Perhaps the cliche is true

into question the accuracy and knowl¬

about its being a woman’s greatest fanta¬

edge of whoever uses the phrase. Only

sy and a mans worst nightmare. SEE ALSO

the intellectually timorous, the dimwit-

it was a nightmare.

ted, need to so qualify their words.

wouldn’t be caught (seen) dead A tor¬ pid term (see page 24). 1. abhor; abom376

yell and scream

incite; detest; hate; loathe. 2. averse; disin¬

wrong end of the stick A moribund

clined; loath; opposed; reluctant; unwill-

metaphor (see page 21).

ing. (what’s) wrong is wrong A quack equa¬

‘

Jason wouldn’t take her on dates,

tion (see page 23).

wouldn’t be caught dead holding hands with her in public or step¬

(the) wrong side of the tracks A mori¬

ping onto a dance floor. — Tom

bund metaphor (see page 21).

Perrotta, Little Children (he) wrote the book (on) A moribund wouldn’t hurt a flee (fly) A moribund

metaphor (see page 21).

metaphor (see page 21). 1. affable; agree¬

able; amiable; amicable; compassionate; friendly;

gentle;

good-hearted;

good-

natured; humane; kind; kind-hearted;

X, Y, Z

personable; pleasant; tender; tolerant. 2. dovish; irenic; nonviolent;pacific; pacifist; pacifistic; peaceable; peaceful; peace-lov¬ ing; unbelligerent; uncontentious. (I) wouldn’t touch it with a ten-foot pole A moribund metaphor (see page

x

marks

the

spot

A

moribund

21).

metaphor (see page 21).

wrapped up in (herself) A moribund

year in (and) year out A moribund

metaphor (see page 21). egocentric; egois¬

metaphor (see page 21). always; ceaseless¬

tic; egotistic; egotistical; narcissistic; self-

ly; constantly; continually; continuously;

absorbed; selfish; solipsistic.

endlessly; eternally; everlastingly; ever¬ more; forever; forevermore; immortally;

wreak havoc An inescapable pair (see

indefinitely; interminably; permanently;

page 20). demolish; destroy; devastate;

perpetually;

injure; obliterate; rack; ravage; ruin; shat¬

unremittingly.

persistently;

unceasingly;

ter; smash; undo; wrack; wreck. ■ A handful of companies is wreaking havoc

(62) years young An infantile phrase

on the rest of the industry. REPLACE

(see page 20). ■ I’m 43 years young.

WITH ravaging.

DELETE years young.

moribund

yell and scream An inescapable pair

metaphor (see page 21). beaming; glow¬

(see page 20). bay; bawl; bellow; blare;

ing; smiling.

caterwaul; clamor; cry; holler; hoot; howl;

wreathed

in

smiles

A

roar; screak; scream; screech; shout; shriek; (it’s) written all over (you) A mori¬

shrill; squawk; squeal; vociferate; wail;

bund metaphor (see page 21).

whoop; yell; yelp; yowl. ■ Two months later, he’d lost all his hair, and his wife started yelling and screaming about my

377

yell (her) head off

not making him continue.

REPLACE

WITH scream or yell. SEE ALSO yell and

you can’t change the world in a day A popular prescription (see page 23).

scream. you can’t fight city hall A popular pre¬ yell

(her)

head

off A

moribund

scription (see page 23).

metaphor (see page 21). bay; bawl; bel¬

low; blare; caterwaul; clamor; cry; holler;

you can’t fit a square peg in a round

hoot; howl; roar; screak; scream; screech;

hole A popular prescription (see page

shout; shriek; shrill; squawk; squeal; vocif¬

23).

erate; wail; whoop; yell; yelp; yowl. you can’t get blood from (out of) a yes, Virginia, (there is) An infantile

stone A popular prescription (see page

phrase (see page 20).

23).

(the) yin and the yang A moribund

you can’t get there from here An infan¬

metaphor (see page 21).

tile phrase (see page 20).

you are what you eat A popular pre¬

you can’t go home again A popular

scription (see page 23).

prescription (see page 23).

you can catch more flies with honey

you can’t have everything A popular

than with vinegar A popular prescrip¬

prescription (see page 23).

tion (see page 23).

you can’t have it both ways A popular you can fool some of the people some

prescription (see page 23).

of the time, but you can’t fool all of the people all of the time A popular

you can’t have something for nothing

prescription (see page 23).

A popular prescription (see page 23).

you can lead a horse to water, but you

you can’t have your cake and eat it too

can’t make (him) drink A popular pre¬

A popular prescription (see page 23).

scription (see page 23).

you can’t judge a book by its cover A you can make a difference A popular

popular prescription (see page 23).

prescription (see page 23).

you can’t live on love alone A popular you can say that again An infantile

prescription (see page 23).

phrase (see page 20).

you can’t live with (them) and you you can’t be all things to all people A

can’t live without (them) A popular

popular prescription (see page 23).

prescription (see page 23).

you can’t buy love A popular prescrip¬

you can’t lose what you never had A

tion (see page 23).

popular prescription (see page 23).

378

(do) you know?

you can’t make a silk purse out of a

you (have to) do what you have to

sow’s ear A popular prescription (see

(do) A popular prescription (see page

page 23).

23).

you can’t please everyone A popular

you get what you pay for A popular

prescription (see page 23).

prescription (see page 23).

you can’t put new wine in old bottles

you had to be there A grammatical

A popular prescription (see page 23).

gimmick (see page 19). This is merely an admission of having badly told a tale.

you can’t serve God and mammon A popular prescription (see page 23).

you have everything to gain and noth¬ ing to lose A popular prescription (see

you can’t take it with you A popular

page 23).

prescription (see page 23).

you have nothing to lose A popular you can’t teach an old dog new tricks

prescription (see page 23).

A popular prescription (see page 23).

you have to give to get A popular pre¬ you can’t win them all A popular pre¬

scription (see page 23).

scription (see page 23).

you have (got) to start somewhere A (so quiet) you could hear a pin drop

popular prescription (see page 23).

A moribund metaphor (see page 21). 1.

dumb; hushed; motionless; mum; mute;

you have to understand (that) An inef¬

noiseless; quiet; reticent; silent; soundless;

fectual phrase (see page 19). ■ First of

speechless; stationary; still; stock-still; sub¬

all, you have to understand that many

dued; taciturn; unmoving; voiceless; word¬

black men are in prison. DELETE you

less. 2. becalmed; calm; halcyon; irenic;

have to understand that. See ALSO it is

pacific; peaceable; peaceful; placid; quies¬

important to understand (that).

cent; reposeful; serene; tranquil. (do) you know? An ineffectual phrase you don’t miss what you never had A

(see page 19). ■ I felt like I was enlight¬

popular prescription (see page 23).

ened, you know? DELETE you know? ■ You never know whafs going to happen,

you do the best you can A suspect

you know? DELETE you know? ■ The

superlative (see page 24). Dwelling on

translation sounded too straightfor¬

our failures is no better than dismissing

ward, you know? DELETE you know? ■ I o

them, but you do the best you can, still

an extent, I think everybody is racist.

another expression of resignation, may

You know? Delete You know? See also

too easily excuse us for our missteps and

(you) hear what Im saying? (you) know

mistakes, our failures and inadequacies.

what I mean? (you) know what Im say¬

Here, the best is surely suspect.

ing? (you) know what Im telling you?

379

you learn something new every day

you learn something new every day A

most banal we utter. We say it uncon¬

plebeian sentiment (see page 23). It’s the

trollably — less in stupefaction than in

event of having learned something —

stupidity — and without a moment’s

something taught, not thought — that

reflection. The more commonplace the words

gives rise to the remark.

you use, the more commonplace the you made your bed, now lay in it A

person you are. SEE ALSO re ally l you’ve

popular prescription (see page 23).

got to be kidding.

you name it A grammatical gimmick

you’re not alone A plebeian sentiment

(see page 19). and others; and so forth;

(see page 23). ■ Feeling depressed, lone¬

and so on; and the like; etc. ■ Today, in

ly, restless, bored, upset? You’re not alone.

our state, those who do the publics work — teachers, cops, public-health

you’re not the only one An infantile

nurses,

highway

phrase (see page 20). as I do; I do too;

builders, prison guards, you name it —

neither do I; no more do I; nor do I; so do

are held up to ridicule.

I.

you never know A plebeian sentiment

you’re only young once A popular pre¬

(see page 23).

scription (see page 23).

you never know till you try A popular

your guess is as good as mine An

prescription (see page 23).

infantile phrase (see page 20). I don’t

social

workers,

know; (it’s) not (yet) known; (that’s) young and foolish An inescapable pair

uncertain; (that’s) unclear; (it’s) unknown.

(see page 20).

See ALSO (it) remains to be seen; (just

have to) wait and see. you owe it to yourself A popular pre¬ scription (see page 23). ■ Believe me,

yours truly An infantile phrase (see

you owe it to yourself to take advantage of

page 20). I; me. ■ And you can bet that

this exciting opportunity.

yours truly will do something crazy. Replace with /.

you’re (only) as old as you feel A pop¬ ular prescription (see page 23).

you scratch my back,

I’ll scratch

yours A popular prescription (see page you’re either part of the solution or

23). ■ It’s an approach that resonates

part of the problem A popular pre¬

equally with businessmen steeped in the

scription (see page 23).

win-win jargon of negotiations and politicians deep in the pragmatic you-

you’re either with

(me)

or against

(me) A popular prescription (see page

scratch-my-back-I’ll-scratch-yours conver¬ sations that make Washington run.

23). you think too much A plebeian senti¬ you’re kidding An infantile phrase (see

ment (see page 23). You think too much

page 20). This expression is among the

is, of course, commentary that only

(a) zillion (s) (of)

those who rarely think could ever offer. These are the people who cower from consciousness. SEE ALSO I (just) don’t

think about it. you’ve come a long way (baby) An infantile phrase (see page 20). you’ve got to be kidding An infantile phrase (see page 20). See ALSO really?

you’re kidding. you win a few (some), you lose a few (some) A popular prescription (see page 23). zigs and zags An inescapable pair (see page 20).

(a) zillion(s) (of) An infantile phrase (see page 20). Doubly infantile are the Ph rases ba-zillion and ga-zillion. ■ I’ll bet their mothers spent a zillion hours trying to get their sons to clean up after themselves. REPLACE WITH countless. ■ I made a zillion mistakes. REPLACE WITH

innumerable. ■ There may be grating aspects to 20- and 30-somethings earn¬ ing kazillion-dollar bonuses, but at least wealth gives them the self-confidence to ask for a date. REPLACE WITH million.

381

Mr. Fiske has signed on, evidently for life, for that best of all losing causes, the battle to keep language clear, *

fresh, free from the pollution of empty jargon, idiotic euphemism, self-serving imprecision, comic redundancy, nonsense generally.

—From the forward by Joseph Epstein