The war on 'said'
Apr. 2nd, 2010 09:01 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
silverflight8-clears throat-
---
"There is," she said primly, "absolutely nothing wrong with said."
The man sitting next to her on the train didn't respond. She glanced down at the paper and then stared at the trees going past as though facing down a disagreeable audience and continued with her monologue. "For instance, despite the admonishments delivered in grade school, the use of "said" is neither bland nor evil. It is, in fact, a versatile and most useful word."
She flicked her eyes carefully left and right, gauging the reactions of the people around her. Seasoned travelers, they ignored her presence and would probably stay like that even if the top of train came right off. She stifled a laugh at that and went on.
"Using the word 'said' avoids the forceful connotations that come with other words, such as 'cried', 'expostulated' and 'grated'. The excessive use of such words makes a story frightfully wordy--not unlike this speech."
Rather conveniently, the disembodied voice announced the arrival at the stop. Getting up, dignified, she swept off the train. A few passengers, confused, exchanged looks of puzzlement, and the train pulled out of the station.
--
I don't know what brought this on, I really don't.
tl;dr There is nothing wrong with said.
---
"There is," she said primly, "absolutely nothing wrong with said."
The man sitting next to her on the train didn't respond. She glanced down at the paper and then stared at the trees going past as though facing down a disagreeable audience and continued with her monologue. "For instance, despite the admonishments delivered in grade school, the use of "said" is neither bland nor evil. It is, in fact, a versatile and most useful word."
She flicked her eyes carefully left and right, gauging the reactions of the people around her. Seasoned travelers, they ignored her presence and would probably stay like that even if the top of train came right off. She stifled a laugh at that and went on.
"Using the word 'said' avoids the forceful connotations that come with other words, such as 'cried', 'expostulated' and 'grated'. The excessive use of such words makes a story frightfully wordy--not unlike this speech."
Rather conveniently, the disembodied voice announced the arrival at the stop. Getting up, dignified, she swept off the train. A few passengers, confused, exchanged looks of puzzlement, and the train pulled out of the station.
--
I don't know what brought this on, I really don't.
tl;dr There is nothing wrong with said.
