POMPOUS TWIT or SOMEONE SO INSECURE THAT HE'LL USE POINTLESSLY BIG WORDS IN AN ATTEMPT TO LOOK SMART
what is this?
i'm writing a paper (hence the odd nightly hour) and i was using the built in thesaurus on my mac. and i input utilize. which gives me a few synonyms. along with the scolding.
there's this "Word Note" section below the synonyms where DFW just told me off.
DFW, show yourself!
(full word note entry below)
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WORD NOTE
utilize
This is a puff-word. Since it does nothing that good old use doesn't do, its extra letters and syllables don't make a writer seem smarter. Rather, using utilize makes you seem like either a pompous twit or someone so insecure that he'll use pointlessly big words in an attempt to look smart. The same is true for the noun utilization, for vehicle as used for car, for residence as used for home, for indicate as used for say, for presently, at present, at this time, and at the present time as used for now, and so on. What's worth remembering about puff-words is something that good writing teachers spend a lot of time drumming into undergrads: "Formal writing" does not mean gratuitously fancy writing; it means clean, clear, maximally considerate writing.
— DFW
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2 comments:
Did your thesaurus really just write that?
That is scary, I am sad for you and for whoever designed that thesaurus. They suck, time for an angry complaint
But, on the other hand how cool would it be if you knew your thesaurus had an attitude, and that was part of the deal? It could be a sellers dream, or just a fun ap worth spending 2 dollars on (by other people, not me- but I would capitalize on it and make it, in fact...)
Hi -- I researched this a bit after coming across the same entry. All Apple Thesaurus entries are from the Oxford American Writer's Thesaurus, and the author for "utilize" is David Foster Wallace.
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