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Compromise: The Penguin Guide To Plain English

The document provides examples of words that are often misused or overused in plain English, and offers alternative phrases that are more clear and accurate. It analyzes words like "component", "compromise", and "core" which are commonly used in technical or business contexts but may have ambiguous meanings or unintended connotations. The document suggests replacing "component" with "contributed to", replacing terms where an object cannot literally be a "compromise", and notes that "core" is losing distinctive meaning through overuse. It aims to clarify language and avoid phrases that could be misleading or vague.

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73 views1 page

Compromise: The Penguin Guide To Plain English

The document provides examples of words that are often misused or overused in plain English, and offers alternative phrases that are more clear and accurate. It analyzes words like "component", "compromise", and "core" which are commonly used in technical or business contexts but may have ambiguous meanings or unintended connotations. The document suggests replacing "component" with "contributed to", replacing terms where an object cannot literally be a "compromise", and notes that "core" is losing distinctive meaning through overuse. It aims to clarify language and avoid phrases that could be misleading or vague.

Uploaded by

Ilias
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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The Penguin Guide to Plain English

features, attributes and factors. It is w orthw hile to pause before


plum ping for one. The following is a piece o f evolutionary theorizing
on BBC Radio 4:
We got to having a higher intelligence because shorter people had to be
cleverer, they had to be faster on their feet, they had to adapt in different
ways, and that may be one of the components in our progress.
The w ord com ponent (officially defined as a constituent part o f som e
thing m ore com plex) has strong technical and mechanical overtones,
and is out o f place in this hum an context. W hy not: and that may have
contributed to our progress?
compromise
A com prom ise is a settlement between tw o parties in a dispute, by
w hich they meet each other half way. In w ider use it can therefore
indicate a half-way meeting point between tw o opposing interests.
We chose a 40 ft boat because it seemed a sensible compromise between
the amount of living space aboard and running costs.
A boat cannot be a com prom ise between living space and expenditure.
A modest outlay m ight represent a com prom ise between heavy spending
and sharp economy. A 40 ft boat m ight represent a com prom ise between
an 80 ft boat and a 1o ft boat. There m ust be the relationship between
the two elements o f the com prom ise that allows o f a meeting point
on the same plane. W hat the w riter meant was: W e chose a 40 ft boat,
adjusting our wish for living space aboard by calculating the running
cost.
core
Used for the central part o f something, this w ord carries colourful
overtones o f w hat you find in the middle o f an apple. Over-use in the
business w orld is now reducing its connotation to the same diluted level
as that o f w ords like central, im portant or even essential. W here an
employee m ight once have been allotted his main task, he is now given
his core rem it.
credible I credibility
These tw o words, like the words creed and credulous, have to do w ith
belief. A m an w ho is credulous is too ready to believe w hat he hears,

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