Don Watson

I admit it:  I’m in danger of being a language bore.

'The decadence of our language is probably curable' - George Orwell's optimistic assessment in 1946.

I’m that guy who, when you say you’re ‘honing in’ on something, asks derisively if you’ve ever heard of a honing pigeon or a honing missile.

If you call me a ‘font of information’, I’m liable to take offence on the grounds that a font is a shallow bowl used for church christenings, and I’d rather be a fount, thank you.

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  • Jose Imenez says:

    07:01am | 25/05/10

    Confusing good writing with good thinking. Awk! No. not the Great Auk, but the Awk! of exasperation.   Correct writing arrives from correct thinking, neither of which has been taught since Rockefeller tampered with education as noted in the book, “The Leipzig Connection” by Paolo Lioni.   Liz claimed “Language… Read more »

  • Darryl Price says:

    10:27am | 01/10/09

    Worse than “learnings” in place of “lessons”, the past 5-6 years has seen “pedagogy” - the art of being a teacher - and its various forms used to describe almost anything to do with schooling. Why not just keep it simple. Also - “way, shape or form” - a Ruddworthy… Read more »

 

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