SUMMARY [1.5]: Overused words and phrases

Subject: SUMMARY [1.5]: Overused words and phrases
From: Rowena Hart <rhart -at- INTRINSYC -dot- COM>
Date: Thu, 15 Oct 1998 14:37:17 -0700

>From Linda H., who sent an Olympic-sized list -

Words Ending in -ity
documentability
functionality (do you mean features, functions or features and functions?)
granularity (sorry, software features are not granular)
installability
interoperability
optionality
salability
tailorability
testability
Words Ending in -able
addable
referenceable (very awkward, use "accounts that can be referenced," or
better yet, "customers who will recommend our product")
writable
tailorable
Words Ending in -ize
utilize (some people think this sounds more grand than "use")
facilitized
facilitizing
prioritize
productize/productization
Too Dramatic
disambiguated (explained or interpreted)
impedance mismatch (an electrical term used in a presentation to
characterize a miscommunication between people)
linkage
morass
verbiage (use text or words)
capture (data or information)
syntactically (this is borderline acceptable)
Too Formal
employs (uses)
entitled/titled
facile (easy)
inasmuchas (puhleez!)
having dialog (talking or conferring)
herewith enclosed
heretofore
herein
hence
whence
Created Words and Concepts
alternatively (alternately, no -ive)
irregardless (always regardless)
disaggregating
instate (used as the antonym of reinstate)
intuit (was used as a verb!)
mandatory optionality (the ultimate oxymoron)
prepend (used as the opposite of append)
robust (robust refers to a physical human state; using it to describe
software is a stretch)
ubiquitous (used as "ubiquitous PC workstations")
versioning

>From Suzette S. -

My do not use words include some that affect readability levels,
such as prior to, in conjunction with, subsequently, etc. I believe
that less is better and advocate the use of before, after, together,
therefore, etc.

I also have a list of words that I hate, such as input. I hate this
word because it's overused. It can be a noun; it can be a verb. It
is often thrown around by people who are trying to impress you
with their knowledge. I also hate it when, after expressing an opinion
or something someone (usually your manager) comes back at you
with "I appreciate your input".

I also hate invented words. The last company I worked at liked to
make up words to suit the occasion. Securitization was one such
word. My fingers would cramp everytime I had to type it. No amount
of argument could dissuade them from continually eroding the english
language by embellishing it with their own "invented" word.

>From Jennifer D. -

PLEASE don't use the phrase "paradigm shift" or even the word
paradigm, for that matter, unless you're using it in the same manner
as Thomas Kuhn, who coined the term in the 50s.

It doesn't just mean a change in the way we do business. It means a
fundamental shift in the way people perceive, think about, and use new
information. It means a new world order, not just a new company policy.

>From Cyndy D. -

EMPOWER
VALUE-ADDED
PARADIGM SHIFT
UTILIZED

>From Dianna M. -

effective
cost-effective
efficient
turnkey
end-to-end
software-centric
server-side/client-side
scalable
robust
high-end
user friendly
user-oriented

>From Karen F. -

Anyone care to debate the merit of a product's "functionality"?
Several years in software documentation and I still have no idea
what that word really means. Rowena, please add it to your list,
along with my (probably vain) hope that it will be banished from the
universe forever.


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