When you read something, do you like it when writers resort to “tropes,” i.e. twists or turns of language,” or do you prefer that they “tell it like it is”?<\/p>\n
For as long as I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve been able to read, I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve disliked the use of “cry” or “cried” when the writer means simply that someone shouted, or even cried out.”<\/p>\n
Why do I dislike such usage? I suspect too many writers try to be over-dramatic, as if the act of crying creates more animation than merely saying something.<\/p>\n
Look at the volumes of children\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s literature and count the number of times children (especially) cry for something quite pedestrian, like this:<\/p>\n
“Throw me the ball!” he cried. Assuredly, the writer means that the crier merely “cried out,” spoke in a loud voice, rather than actually turning on the waterworks.<\/p>\n
I think the shedding of tears should happen only when bigger, tougher kids on the playground swipe a smaller kid\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s ball and refuse to return it. That makes crying justifiable and explainable.<\/p>\n
But the authors generally have it wrong. Crying refers to what a person does when hurting, when overcome by emotion, or peeling onions.<\/p>\n
Crying involves real tears and is not synonymous with a shout. Now that we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve cleared that up, let\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s explore other ways authors perturb the rest of us.<\/p>\n
Writers use a million ways of expressing the simple concept of “he said.”<\/p>\n
Those with synonymania or dramania (don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t look up these words) search for equivalents to “he said,” and come up with “he emphasized,” “he stressed,” “he pointed out,” “he remarked,” and a few other terms.<\/p>\n
However, no matter how hard we try, we can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t get these words to mean precisely “he said.” True, one can inform others by stressing or emphasizing something, but the idea of saying something is unique.<\/p>\n
So people find alternatives. For example, note what\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s wrong with the following:<\/p>\n
“\u00e2\u20ac\u02dcThat\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s wishful thinking,\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 he snorted.”<\/p>\n
He snorted? Yes, we all get the idea of a snort, a loud, explosive sound made by the sudden forcing of breath through a person\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s nose, to express indignation or derision. Many of us have been treated snortfully, but there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s something about the limited musculature of the mouth that prevents someone from speaking and snorting at the same time.<\/p>\n
The three-word sentence above would take minutes if the snorter really were uttering the sentence at the same time.<\/p>\n
And in writing, there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s invariably someone who shows contempt or dislike for something by sniffing, as in “\u00e2\u20ac\u02dcI don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t like the boss\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s new proposal,\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 he sniffed.”<\/p>\n
Try sniffing \u00e2\u20ac\u201d which means the audible drawing in of air through the nostrils \u00e2\u20ac\u201d and speaking at the same time. It doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t work, as speaking requires exhalation, and sniffing demands the opposite.<\/p>\n
Laughing may come closest to the notion of expressing something while being humorous. Have you, for example, ever cracked up while telling a joke and barely getting out the punchline? It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s possible to laugh and speak at the same time \u00e2\u20ac\u201d far easier than speaking and snorting, or sniffing or drooling.<\/p>\n
Some former students in my composition classes tried to find substitutes for “said,” and in doing so came up with interesting creations. One student wrote, “\u00e2\u20ac\u02dcWe enjoyed the play,\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 he chortled.” Now, aside from “chortled” being a word one seldom encounters anywhere, the expression means to laugh in a breathy, gleeful way.<\/p>\n
But that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s too much like the easier talking-while-laughing procedure.<\/p>\n
“Chortle,” by the way, is one of Lewis Carroll\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s portmanteau words in “Alice in Wonderland,” a blending of “chuckle” and “snort.”<\/p>\n
About the only way to get around the “snorted” construction is to use “said” anyway, and add a Tom Swiftie, an adverbial pun. A good Tom Swiftie requires a follow-up phrase that reveals how the person said something. It adds a “twist.”<\/p>\n
A few examples:<\/p>\n
“\u00e2\u20ac\u02dcLet\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s go to the cemetery,\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 he said gravely.”<\/p>\n
“\u00e2\u20ac\u02dcMy investments are worth more every day,\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 said Tom appreciatively.”<\/p>\n
“\u00e2\u20ac\u02dcGive me a haircut,\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 Tom said barbarously.”<\/p>\n
“\u00e2\u20ac\u02dcI have to keep this fire lit,\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 Tom bellowed.”<\/p>\n
“\u00e2\u20ac\u02dcUse your own toothbrush,\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 Tom bristled.”<\/p>\n
“\u00e2\u20ac\u02dcMy car won\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t start,\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 Tom choked.”<\/p>\n
“\u00e2\u20ac\u02dcI\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll never get promoted to corporal,\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 he said privately.”<\/p>\n
“\u00e2\u20ac\u02dcDon\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t let me drown in Egypt!\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 pleaded Tom, deep in denial.”<\/p>\n
“\u00e2\u20ac\u02dcI manufacture tabletops,\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 said Tom counterproductively.”<\/p>\n
“\u00e2\u20ac\u02dcElvis is dead,\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 said Tom expressly.”<\/p>\n
“\u00e2\u20ac\u02dcFor what we are about to receive, may the Lord make us truly thankful,\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 said Tom gracefully.”<\/p>\n
Many believe Tom Swifties originated in the novel “Gulliver\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Travels,” by Jonathan Swift, but most sources credit Edward Stratemeyer, who wrote a series of strip cartoons about a character called Tom Swift, in the \u00e2\u20ac\u02dc20s.<\/p>\n
To test the efficacy of “said” over “cried,” “sniffed,” “grunted” or “snorted,” I checked all the locally written copy in today\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s edition and found that “said” is the word of choice.<\/p>\n
But that bit of research got interrupted when the boss, the other Tom, reminded me of straining the Optic\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s deadline.<\/p>\n
“I need to edit your copy again,” he re-marked. “And hurry up with that column; you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re past the deadline,” he cried.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
When you read something, do you like it when writers resort to “tropes,” i.e. twists or turns of language,” or do you prefer that they “tell it like it is”? For as long as I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve been able to read, I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve disliked the use of “cry” or “cried” when the writer means simply that someone shouted, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[2],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/rezio.net\/woa\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/270"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/rezio.net\/woa\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/rezio.net\/woa\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/rezio.net\/woa\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/rezio.net\/woa\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=270"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/rezio.net\/woa\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/270\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/rezio.net\/woa\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=270"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/rezio.net\/woa\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=270"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/rezio.net\/woa\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=270"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}