Declaring War on Trite Phrases

I read voraciously. Several hours a day I spend perusing dozens of online (Web sites, emails, and blogs) and offline (books and magazines) publications.

Driving me crazy are trite phrases authors employ in their craft, which is writing, apparently. Here is a list of examples of what I mean by this:

- "...it remains to be seen whether this latest innovation from [insert company name here] will be a hit or flop."
- "...was a reminder of how far [insert noun here] has come ..."
- "...only time will tell."
- "... it may still be early in the [insert product name]'s evolution."

...and many more.

What drove me over the edge (another trite phrase) was the article appearing in Managing Technology Wharton: "Will Microsoft's New 'Ultra-Mobile' Computer Fly or Flop? Past Experience Offers Some Clues". The Um-PC is a product I predict will flop. and so I am interested in reading reasons why it might succeed. The title of the article promises to provide an answer to the question, "Fly or flop?"

Here are the definitive statements made by the unnamed author:

- "remains to be seen whether this latest innovation from the software giant will be a hit or flop. "
- "technology history is littered with innovative products that never found a market"
- "Build-it-and-it-will-sell strategies are a mixed bag."
- "the initial reaction to the UmPC ... will become clear in just a few months."
- "On the plus side, products like cell phones ... didn't initially strike consumers as must haves, but became big hits. On the other side of the ledger, products like Apple Computer's Newton... was a commercial flop..."
- " there is potential for the devices,"
- "Microsoft's first challenge is targeting a market that could be hard to define"
- " If Microsoft can't convince these consumers, the UmPC will fail."

Six-word summary of the 2000-word essay: some new products succeed; others fail.

Against so much uncertainly, the author digs up a "balance" quote from Microsoft's Web site, probably ghost-written by its external pr firm: "We believe that UmPCs will eventually become as indispensable and ubiquitous as mobile phones are today," says Mitchell in a question and answer session on Microsoft's web site.

About 2/3 of the way through, my eyes glaze over from reading so many uncertainties. Was this article written as an student assignment for a class at Wharton?

Authors: recognize triteness in your writing. And then stamp it out, please.

Comments

[KevinT]

I had a history teacher who's pet peeve was "You never know".
Because in most cases you can or will find out.
How? Well, you see.....time will tell.