Styling Culture (12)—Exhausted Words, Phrases, and Sentence Starters

Click here to read the introduction to the Round and Square series "Styling Culture." 

[a] Exhausted RF

In the next few weeks I will be posting the text for a "volume" that I have been distributing for the last fifteen years. Back in 1997, I handed out a two-page set of instructions that I called "Rob's Style Sheet." I quickly learned that it could be a useful teaching tool, allowing me to describe the practicalities and esoterica surrounding grammar and style in the higher education classroom (and beyond). It also became apparent that it could be a useful tool for writing comments on student papers. Instead of trying to explain in the margins of a paper that s/he was using "number" in problematic ways (we'll get to that), I could write "#19," and have her know exactly what I mean. The most impressive students learned the material very well, and some of them have already gone on to be successful writers—in and beyond academia and the corporate world.

I will be posting the manuscript that I have provisionally entitled Styling Culture on Round and Square during the autumn and into the winter. As you will quickly see, it is meant to be a grammar book for the anthropologist of American English. It has its prescriptive elements, to be sure (this is all explained in the introduction to the series), but it is meant far more powerfully to be a genuinely useful guide to the culture wars surrounding grammar and usage. In particular, I have great venom for both the annoying critics who always seem to be correcting people and (this is important) for the "good guys" who tell you that it doesn't matter.

They're both wrong, and they will hurt you if you listen to them. I'm here to help you, so read on.

12. Exhausted Words, Phrases, and Sentence Starters

[b] Starters RF

There are many ways to begin a memorable sentence, and almost any word can attract the attention of your reader and rivet her to the flow of your argument. However, a number of words and phrases have been used so often (and to such little effect) that they are worthy of extra editorial attention. Try to avoid these phrases unless you have exceptional reasons for employing them in your growing argument.

Please pay extra attention to a key point here. You may have heard various “rules” about not beginning sentences with, for example, “hopefully.” It is not a rule, but it is poor writing. Understanding the distinction between "rule following" and powerful-yet-nuanced expository writing is the whole point of these Styling Culture posts. Correct your use of "hopefully" because it is sloppy and unoriginal, and then move on. 

Please note that any sentence beginning with one word ("personally") followed by a comma is almost always problematic and should (almost always) be changed. It is a "lazy" usage that should (almost always) be deleted. 

Surprisingly, yYour sentence will "work" better than before.

Phrase                    Comment
a. hopefully              You probably mean “I hope.” Phrased in the “-ly” way, it is usually cliché-ish and unoriginal.
b. interestingly         Just don’t start sentences with “-ly” endings. Surprisingly, they don’t work.
c. in regards to         In regards to this phrase, you probably mean “with regard to” (w/r/t) or “regarding.”
d. on the flip side      It is overly colloquial. On the the flip side, it is wordy.
e. also                      This should (almost) never be used to start a sentence. Also, it sounds clumsy.
f. seeing as              Seeing as this is a real problem, try “since,” or “because.”  Think of something different.
g. being that             Being that this is a real problem, try “since” or “because” (as above).
h. first off/firstly        Just begin. First off, "enumeration" rarely enhances a written argument Second off...?
i. personally             Personally, I don’t think this is an effective way to begin a sentence.
j. obviously              This word is rarely an effective way of noting broad agreement, and is obviously problematic.
k. additionally          Highly problematic. Additionally, it almost always weakens the sentence.
l. however               This is almost never a strong sentence opening. However, find something stronger.
m. importantly         This usual indicates lack of importance. Importantly, there are more effective openings.
n. thus/thusly          "Thus” is, in itself, ineffective. Thus, the –ly ending just makes it worse.
o. that is                   This phrase can be removed. That is, it is unnecessary.
p. often                     Often, it is just clumsy to begin a paragraph in this way.
q. basically               This word is basically flawed, and just takes up space.
r. to begin (with)       Just begin. To begin with, you don’t need the phrase to make your points.
s. funnily                   Funnily, it just doesn't work (and matters are rarely humorous when this word is used.

Please note, as well, the following words that I have (after reading poor use of them in papers for fifteen years) deemed to be “exhausted.”  Please let them rest and, perhaps after several decades of slumber, they may reappear with freshness and bounce. For now, though, they are tired. Don’t disturb them. Let them sleep.

t. incredibly                 Incredibly, this word has lost its credibility and inspires no awe (see also 15e)
u. due to                     Due to overuse, the phrase has reached the point of meaninglessness.
v. huge                        It is a huge waste of time. Mountains, buildings, "impacts"—none benefit from this word.
w. aspect                    This word has been pummeled by misuse. One aspect of the problem is derivative thinking.

***  ***

This list has grown over the years, and you haven't even seen the other sections yet (tomorrow we will examine "messy" terms and phrases. I have been baffled over the years by the seeming need for writers to begin sentences with one word (or a cliché phrase) followed by a comma.

Often, it is problematic.         It is problematic.

[c] Tired RF

I cannot stress powerfully enough that this is not about "following the rules" of grammar. People who tsk, tsk at you because you said "...hopefully I will pass the test tomorrow" are petty little morons with their own peculiar insecurities. Note, however, that I am only criticizing a particular kind of grammar policing. If you happen to write "...hopefully the European Union will be saved", even I will "correct" you.

[d] Bored RF

Here is the difference, and I think that it should matter a great deal more to both the tsk, tsk-ers and the rest of us. The problem is not that you failed to say (or even write) "It is to be hoped." The problem is that the word "hopefully," after showing an early vitality and resonance that pushed speech and writing forward with fresh possibilities (I am guessing this reached its peak in about 1880) has become ridiculously overused, unoriginal, and hopelessly contradictory. It is almost never used "well" anymore, and has become so shopworn as to be useless even in such a (nicely accurate) sentence as "...the dachshund stared hopefully at the tender biscuit."

We have damaged our language, people, and it is due to boring, repetitive, and starkly unoriginal thinking. Go ahead and mock those who would police your speech and criticize you for not knowing, or following, "rules." Go ahead; they deserve it (but be civil). Understand, however, that many of the same things they decry are problematic for a much more important reason—and one that you should notice. The problem is cliché and boring word choice, not "grammar rules."

If you really start thinking about these matters, you may even come to enjoy reading grammar books. If you read them the right way, they will point you toward rich sets of choices you can make in your daily speech and writing. Think of it a little bit like a meal in your school's dining hall (I am not only speaking to students, but I assume that we all can relate). You have a plate of chipped beef on toast with a bowl of lettuce and a little dressing. You wash it down with a glass of milk. Feel free to adapt this example (mundane food) to your own dietary preferences, but be sure to make it boring vegan or boring organic.

[e] Readin' RF

O.k., here's your grammar problem. If you are like most of us when we get into writing ruts, your sentences begin with...chipped beef on toast and limp lettuce. Interestingly, this writing "tastes" about as good as the old French dressing on your salad. Obviously, I don't mean to say that "ordinary" words are at fault. Hardly. The problem is words and phrases that have no verve, no panache, and no hope of striking anything in your reader other than boredom—sort of like those creamy beef chips on your toast at lunch. Words such as those in the columns above are the chipped beef on toast (with old salad and stale milk) of English usage.

Personally, I would be delighted to see you make more vibrant rhetorical choices.


NEXT
Messy Terms and Phrases
We only cracked the surface today with our list of exhausted words. We will move on to clumsy words that eat away at the solidity of your sentences like raging termite crews. Stay tuned for a descent into the Heart of Clumsiness on Styling Culture.