8,735 books
—
25,627 voters
“(i) Never use a metaphor, simile, or other figure of speech which you are used to seeing in print.
(ii) Never use a long word where a short one will do.
(iii) If it is possible to cut a word out, always cut it out.
(iv) Never use the passive where you can use the active.
(v) Never use a foreign phrase, a scientific word, or a jargon word if you can think of an everyday English equivalent.
(vi) Break any of these rules sooner than say anything outright barbarous.”
― Politics and the English Language
(ii) Never use a long word where a short one will do.
(iii) If it is possible to cut a word out, always cut it out.
(iv) Never use the passive where you can use the active.
(v) Never use a foreign phrase, a scientific word, or a jargon word if you can think of an everyday English equivalent.
(vi) Break any of these rules sooner than say anything outright barbarous.”
― Politics and the English Language
“Other words used in variable meanings, in most cases more or less dishonestly, are: class, totalitarian, science, progressive, reactionary, bourgeois, equality. Now”
― Politics and the English Language
― Politics and the English Language
“It is easier – even quicker, once you have the habit – to say In my opinion it is a not unjustifiable assumption that than to say I think. If you use ready-made phrases, you not only don’t have to hunt about for words; you also don’t have to bother with the rhythms of your sentences, since these phrases are generally so arranged as to be more or less euphonious.”
― Politics and the English Language
― Politics and the English Language
“It was the house that disfigured the land.”
― Mexican Gothic
― Mexican Gothic
“Life finds a way”
― Jurassic Park
― Jurassic Park
Maria’s 2025 Year in Books
Take a look at Maria’s Year in Books, including some fun facts about their reading.
Favorite Genres
Polls voted on by Maria
Lists liked by Maria








































