looking for something

Whom am I to disagree?

I typo a lot.  Actually most of time I misspell or just can't remember the spelling.  Let's just say my built-in dictionary and thesaurus are running on my laptop most of the time.  Back in school I discovered a paperback version of a thesaurus and found hope for my writing.

Last week as I was crafting my post to perfection seeing if I could string three words together, I went looking for a better word than "utilize".  I was surprised to find my thesaurus has a bit of attitude in a few places.  Apparently "utilize" is pet peeve of one of the authors.  Read this and tell me what you think.

"This is a puff-word. Since it does nothing that good old use doesn't do, its extra letters and syllables don't make a writer seem smarter. Rather, using utilize makes you seem like either a pompous twit or someone so insecure that he'll use pointlessly big words in an attempt to look smart. The same is true for the noun utilization, for vehicle as used for car, for residence as used for home, for indicate as used for say, for presently, at present, at this time, and at the present time as used for now, and so on. What's worth remembering about puff-words is something that good writing teachers spend a lot of time drumming into undergrads: "Formal writing" does not mean gratuitously fancy writing; it means clean, clear, maximally considerate writing."

Wow!  I needed to share this with my fellow bloggers.


Do any of you pompous puff-word writers utilize your vehicles for transportation around your residence at the present time?


I do agree that -

"Some of them want to utilize you
Some of them want to get utilized by you"

would have ruined the Eurythmics' song.

another circus