Sound of Prose (2).
Today: Awkward Repetition.
Too much repeating of sounds can enfeeble your style, especially if two different forms of the same root appear close together — e.g.:
o "The major role of legislative liaisons is to answer legislators' [read 'lawmakers'] questions about the impact of proposed legislation [read 'bills'] on various agencies." Editor's Note to a letter to the editor, Chicago Sun-Times, 22 June 1992, at 18.
o "The next stop is the House-Senate conference, where conferees [read 'legislators'] will try to reconcile differences." Susie T. Parker, "Energy Bill Faces Possible Sinking, DOE Aide Warns," Oil Daily, 16 July 1992, at 1.
o "If you’re getting the impression [read 'idea'] we weren't impressed with our $20,000 test truck, you're right." Tom Incantalupo, "Pickup Was Hard Ride," Newsday (N.Y.), 24 Feb. 1995, at C6.
o "It set aside $3.25 million . . . to cover expected losses from liquidating [read 'selling'] liquid crystal display screens and other assets left over from the Epson deal." Robert Trigaux, "Jabil Circuit Takes Loss on Contract," St. Petersburg Times, 17 Mar. 1995, at E2.
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Quotation of the Day: "We of this latter day, we painters and poets and writers — artists — must labour with all the wits of us all, all the strength of us, and with all that we have of ingenuity and perseverance, to attain simplicity." Frank Norris, "Simplicity in Art," in Foundations of English Style 112, 113 (Paul M. Fulcher ed., 1927).
