My wife tells me I use the word “clearly” far too often. Clearly, she doesn’t know how much I love using the word “absolutely.”
I’m not the only one who relies on crutch words, apparently. In a bit of self-reflection, The New York Times has published a piece called “Words We Love Too Much.”
It cites two major examples. First, the publication used the word “magisterial” 70 times last year, mostly in their Arts and Book Review sections. That doesn't hold a candle to "underscore," though. In the last month alone, the Times has used the word “underscore” as a verb 127 times. That really underscores how unaware we can become of our crutch words.
Phillip Corbett’s blog post also includes some grammar missteps that the paper has recently made, which is a fun read for any fellow grammar nerds out there.
So tell us— what are your crutch words? We’re all friends here. Feel free to air your verbal laundry in the comments section below.
I’m not the only one who relies on crutch words, apparently. In a bit of self-reflection, The New York Times has published a piece called “Words We Love Too Much.”
It cites two major examples. First, the publication used the word “magisterial” 70 times last year, mostly in their Arts and Book Review sections. That doesn't hold a candle to "underscore," though. In the last month alone, the Times has used the word “underscore” as a verb 127 times. That really underscores how unaware we can become of our crutch words.
Phillip Corbett’s blog post also includes some grammar missteps that the paper has recently made, which is a fun read for any fellow grammar nerds out there.
So tell us— what are your crutch words? We’re all friends here. Feel free to air your verbal laundry in the comments section below.
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