I try hard to stifle my natural pedantic nature, but it's impossible. I bet I have a thousand language-related pet peeves. One that has been catching my attention lately is when people turn an adjective into a noun or vice versa, but instead of using the form that already exists for that purpose, they lengthen a word. For example, "The incorrigible boy looked around the shop with mischievousness on his mind." 'Mischief' was right there!
I'm with you on simplicity! Usually, when I edit, I cut out 25% of my original writing. Also, you need the word "that" a lot less than you might think.
I'm not a linguist, but I know that this word comes from Latin. Also, it goes back to the Romans. They used it as a form of punishment - https://www.etymonline.com/word/decimate
I try hard to stifle my natural pedantic nature, but it's impossible. I bet I have a thousand language-related pet peeves. One that has been catching my attention lately is when people turn an adjective into a noun or vice versa, but instead of using the form that already exists for that purpose, they lengthen a word. For example, "The incorrigible boy looked around the shop with mischievousness on his mind." 'Mischief' was right there!
I'm with you on simplicity! Usually, when I edit, I cut out 25% of my original writing. Also, you need the word "that" a lot less than you might think.
Why is there even a word to refer to a death rate of specifically one in 10? What possible circumstances gave rise to that?
I'm not a linguist, but I know that this word comes from Latin. Also, it goes back to the Romans. They used it as a form of punishment - https://www.etymonline.com/word/decimate