You achieve plain English when you use the simplest, most straightforward way of expressing an idea. You can still choose interesting words. But you’ll avoid fancy ones that have everyday replacements meaning precisely the same thing.
– Bryan Garner on “Plain English”
And you will find several excellent tools at the plainlanguage.gov website.
A great post on etymology with several examples. Thanks to Professor Piderit for the pointer.
One writer’s opinion about a popular word: popular as in “of the people” and also “used often”.
Sucks is the most concise, emphatic way we have to say something is no good. As a one-syllable intransitive verb, it offers superb economy.
Call me Oxonian but it is still too informal for professional use and consumption.
That’s exactly what this site is about and why you should see it.
