(Read comments) - (Post a new comment)

xero_sky
2008-11-19 01:40 am UTC (link)

If at any point you find yourself going "is the average person likely to know what this word is", and the answer is "no"?
Find another way to write it.

Is there a number of syllables I should be shooting for here? Two or three? Is there a limit on the number of letters? Big words are bad, right? Got it. Gods know, I don't want to risk overtaxing the feeble mind of an "average person", especially since none of them can apparently use a dictionary.

(Reply to this)(Thread)

	shadowmonkey 2008-11-19 02:26 am UTC (link)
	I'd say anything less than four syllables since he's having trouble with both "vainglorious" and "dictionary". (Reply to this)(Parent)

	shark 2008-11-19 03:11 am UTC (link)
	The average person nowadays has a third-grade reading level. So, shoot for Goosebumps, Babysitters' Club, Sweet Valley and the Pony Pals. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	doomsday 2008-11-19 03:17 am UTC (link)
	So "he's a vainglorious peacock" translates to "he's all, like, 'Omigawd, I'm sooooo much cooler than you, and stuff'"? (Reply to this)(Parent)

	insanityprelude 2008-11-19 08:08 am UTC (link)
	I weep for humanity. (Reply to this)(Parent)

	deliciouschaos 2008-11-19 08:21 pm UTC (link)
	I read a set of guidelines for writing critical papers once (for college-level classes, mind you) that said to write on a third-grade level. I can only pray that this meant 'don't eat and then regurgitate a thesaurus on your paper', but my faith in humanity, it is low. (Reply to this)(Parent)

	vzg 2008-11-22 01:54 pm UTC (link)
	Syllables don't work, because I've been told "gloat" is too big a word to use in everyday conversation before. But then again, I've also had people make me count the syllables in "charismatic" to argue that a word was big... I don't know. SIGH. (Reply to this)(Parent)

	lady_ganesh 2008-11-23 04:58 am UTC (link)
	It's too bad there's not device that could help us look up words when a dictionary's not handy. It could be a 'search,' perhaps. Or a series of tubes. (Reply to this)(Parent)

(Read comments) -