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Impressive Phrases
One cannot always live in the palaces and state apartments of language,
but we can refuse to spend our days in searching for its vilest
slums. Words without thought are dead sounds; thoughts without words are
nothing. To think is to speak low; to speak is to think aloud. The first merit which attracts in the pages of a good writer, or
the talk of a brilliant conversationalist, is the apt choice and
contrast of the words employed. It is indeed a strange art to take
these blocks rudely conceived for the purpose of the market or the
bar, and by tact of application touch them to the finest meanings
and distinctions. It is with words as with sunbeams, the more they are condensed,
the deeper they burn. No noble or right style was ever yet founded but out of a sincere
heart. Words are things; and a small drop of ink, falling like dew upon
a thought, produces that which makes thousands, perhaps millions,
think. A good phrase may outweigh a poor library.
HOW TO USE THIS BOOK The study of words, phrases, and literary expressions is a highly interesting pursuit. There is a reciprocal influence between thought and language. What we think molds the words we use, and the words we use react upon our thoughts. Hence a study of words is a study of ideas, and a stimulant to deep and original thinking. We should not, however, study "sparkling words
and sonorous phrases" with the object of introducing them consciously
into our speech. To do so would inevitably lead to stiltedness and
superficiality. Words and phrases We acquire our vocabulary largely from our reading and our personal associates. The words we use are an unmistakable indication of our thought habits, tastes, ideals, and interests in life. In like manner, the habitual language of a people is a barometer of their intellectual, civil, moral, and spiritual ideals. A great and noble people express themselves in great and noble words. Ruskin earnestly counsels us to form the habit of looking intensely at words. We should scrutinize them closely and endeavor to grasp their innermost meaning. There is an indefinable satisfaction in knowing how to choose and use words with accuracy and precision. As Fox once said, "I am never at a loss for a word, but Pitt always has the word." All the great writers and orators have been diligent students of words. Demosthenes and Cicero were indefatigable in their study of language. Shakespeare, "infinite in faculty," took infinite pains to embody his thought in words of crystal clearness. Coleridge once said of him that one might as well try to dislodge a brick from a building with one's forefinger as to omit a single word from one of his finest passages. Milton, master of majestic prose, under whose touch
words became as living things; Flaubert, who believed there was
one and one only best word with which to express a given thought;
De Quincey, who exercised a weird-like Many persons of good education unconsciously circumscribe
themselves within a small vocabulary. They have a knowledge of hundreds
of desirable words which they do not put into practical use in their
speech or writing. It is intended and suggested that this study should be pursued in connection with, and as a supplement to, a good standard dictionary. Fifteen minutes a day devoted to this subject, in the manner outlined, will do more to improve and enlarge the vocabulary than an hour spent in desultory reading. There is no better way in which to develop the mental qualities of clearness, accuracy, and precision, and to improve and enlarge the intellectual powers generally, than by regular and painstaking study of judiciously selected phrases and literary expressions. PLAN OF STUDY First examine the book in a general way to grasp its character, scope, and purpose. Carefully note the following plan of classification of the various kinds of phrases, and choose for initial study a section which you think will be of the most immediate value to you. I. USEFUL PHRASES There are many advantages in keeping before you a definite purpose in your study of this book. A well-defined plan will act as an incentive to regular and systematic effort, and incidentally develop your power of concentration. It is desirable that you set apart a certain convenient
time each day for this study. Regularity tends to produce maximum
results. As you progress with this work your interest will be quickened
and you will realize the When you have chosen a section of the book which
particularly appeals to you, begin your actual study by reading
the phrases aloud. Read them slowly and understandingly. This tends
to impress them more deeply upon Few persons realize the great value of reading aloud.
Many of the foremost English stylists devoted a certain period regularly
to this practise. Cardinal Newman read aloud each day a chapter
from Cicero as a means of This study should be pursued with pencil in hand,
so that you may readily underscore phrases which make a special
appeal to you. The free use of a pencil in marking significant parts
of a book is good evidence of The habit of regularly copying, in your own handwriting, one or more pages of phrases will be of immense practical value. This exercise is a great aid in developing a facile English style. The daily use of the pen has been recommended in all times as a valuable means of developing oral and literary expression. A helpful exercise is to pronounce a phrase aloud and then fit it into a complete sentence of your own making. This practice gives added facility and resourcefulness in the use of words. As an enthusiastic student of good English, you
should carefully note striking and significant phrases or literary
expressions which you find in your general reading. These should
be set down in a note-book reserved for The taste for beauty, truth, and harmony in language can be developed by careful study of well-selected phrases and literary expressions as furnished in this book. A good literary style is formed principally by daily study of great English writers, by careful examination of words in their context, and by a discriminating use of language at all times. GRENVILLE KLEISER. **************************************************************************** SECTION IV IMPRESSIVE PHRASES
able, skilful, thorough, and genuine absolute, complete, unqualified, and final accurate, precise, exact, and truthful active, alert, vigorous, and industrious actual, positive, certain, and genuine adequate, uniform, proportionate, and equitable adventurous, fine, active, and gossipy adverse, antagonistic, unfriendly, and hostile advisable, advantageous, acceptable, and expedient affable, diffident, humble, and mild affectionate, tender, loving, and attached affluent, opulent, abundant, and ample allurements, pits, snares, and torments anger, indignation, resentment, and rage animate, impel, instigate, and embolden animosity, malice, enmity, and hatred annul, frustrate, reverse, and destroy Anti-vaccination fever: the hurt heard round the world anxiety, caution, watchfulness, and solicitude apparent, ostensible, plausible, and specious appropriate, use, arrogate, and usurp approval, enthusiasm, sympathy, and applause aptitude, capacity, efficiency, and power arbitrary, dictatorial, domineering, and imperious architecture, sculpture, painting, and poetry ardent, impatient, keen, and vehement argue, discuss, dispute, and prove arrangement, place, time, and circumstance art, science, knowledge, and culture artful, wily, insincere, and disingenuous artificial, soulless, hectic, and unreal assemble, amass, accumulate, and acquire assiduity, tenderness, industry, and vigilance assurance, persuasion, fidelity, and loyalty attention, effort, diligence, and assiduity august, magnanimous, important, and distinguished authoritative, independent, arbitrary, and supreme avaricious, grasping, miserly, and parsimonious aversion, dislike, hatred, and repugnance
bad, vicious, unwholesome, and distressing babble, prate, chatter, and prattle barbarous, brutal, inhuman, and cruel base, cowardly, abject, and hideous battle, defeat, frustrate, and ruin bearing, deportment, manner, and behavior beg, entreat, implore, and supplicate beliefs, doctrines, ceremonies, and practices boorish, clownish, rude, and uncultivated boundless, immeasurable, unlimited, and infinite bravery, courage, fearlessness, and confidence breadth, knowledge, vision, and power brilliant, beautiful, elegant, and faithful broaden, enlarge, extend, and augment business, profession, occupation, and vocation
Canadian health care system - health care in Canada - candid, sincere, familiar, and ingenuous captious, petulant, peevish, and splenetic cautious, discreet, considerate, and provident certain, confident, positive, and unquestionable chagrin, vexation, irritation, and mortification character, disposition, temperament, and reputation charm, fascinate, bewitch, and captivate chaste, modest, demure, chastity, modesty cheap, inexpensive, inferior, and common cheer, animate, vivify, and exhilarate [vivify = bring life to] chiefly, particularly, principally, and especially childhood, youth, manhood, and age circumstance, condition, environment, and surroundings claim, grab, trick, and compel clean, fastidious, frugal, and refined clear, distinct, obvious, and intelligible clumsy, crawling, snobbish, and comfort-loving coarse, gross, offensive, and nauseous coax, flatter, wheedle, and persuade cogitate, contemplate, meditate, and ponder cold, frigid, unfeeling, and stoical commanding, authoritative, imperative, and peremptory compassion, goodwill, admiration, and enthusiasm confirm, establish, sustain, and strengthen conform, submit, obey, and satisfy confuse, distort, involve, and misinterpret consistent, congruous, firm, and harmonious cool, collected, calm, and self-possessed copious, commanding, sonorous, and emotional cowardly, timid, shrinking, and timorous crazy, absurd, nonsensical, and preposterous crude, rough, jagged, and pitiless
daring, cordial, discerning, and optimistic darkness, dimness, dulness, and blackness deadly, destructive, fatal, and implacable deceit, delusion, treachery, and sham deep, abstruse, learned, and profound deficient, inadequate, scanty, and incomplete define, explain, determine, and circumscribe degrade, defame, humble, and debase delicacy, daintiness, tact, and refinement delicious, sweet, palatable, and delightful democracy, equality, justice, and freedom deny, dismiss, exclude, and repudiate deprive, dispossess, divest, and despoil The Dershowitz Treatment - Slime Throwing as "Debate" describe, delineate, depict, and characterize designed, contrived, planned, and executed desperate, extreme, wreckless, and irremediable despicable, abject, servile, and worthless destructive, detrimental, deleterious, and subversive desultory, discursive, loose, and unmethodical detestable, abominable, horrible, and hideous developed, revealed, measured, and tested Diemer - difference, disagreement, discord, and estrangement difficult, arduous, intricate, and perplexing diffuse, discursive, rambling, and wordy diligence, attention, industry, and assiduity disagreement, discrepancy, difference, and divergence disconsolate, desolate, pessimistic, and impossible discrimination, acuteness, insight, and judgment disgust, distaste, loathing, and abhorrence dissatisfied, rebellious, unsettled, and satirical distinct, definite, clear, and obvious distinguished, glorious, illustrious, and eminent disturbed, shaken, distressed, and bewildered docile, tractable, compliant, and teachable dogmatic, bigoted, libelous, and unsympathizing doubt, indecision, suspense, and perplexity dread, disgust, repugnance, and dreariness dreary, dispirited, unhappy, and peevish dry, lifeless, tiresome, and uninteresting dubious, equivocal, fluctuating, and uncertain dull, heavy, painstaking, and conscientious
earth, air, stars, and sea efficient, forcible, adequate, and potent emaciated, scraggy, meager, and attenuated endless, ceaseless, immutable, and imperishable energy, eagerness, earnestness, and enthusiasm enhance, exalt, elevate, and intensify enormous, base, prodigious, and colossal enrage, incense, infuriate, and exasperate enthusiasm, devotion, intensity, and zeal envy, discontent, deception, and ignorance equitable, reasonable, just, and honest equivocal, uncertain, cloudy, and ambiguous eradicate, extirpate, exterminate, and annihilate erroneous, faulty, inaccurate, and inexact eternal, unchangeable, unerring, and intelligent evil, misfortune, corruption, and disaster exacting, suspicious, irritable, and wayward exalt, dignify, elevate, and extol examination, inquiry, scrutiny, and research exceed, outdo, surpass, and transcend exceptional, uncommon, abnormal, and extraordinary excitement, distraction, diversion, and stimulation exhaustive, thorough, radical, and complete expend, dissipate, waste, and squander
facile, showy, cheap, and superficial faithful, truthful, loyal, and trustworthy fame, distinction, dignity, and honor fanatic, enthusiast, visionary, and zealot fanciful, unreal, fantastic, and grotesque fancy, humor, vagary, and caprice fashion, practise, habit, and usage fastidious, proud, gracious, and poised fate, fortune, contingency, and opportunity fatuous, dreamy, moony, and impracticable fear, timidity, cowardice, and pusillanimity feeble, languid, timid, and irresolute ferocious, restive, savage, and uncultivated fervent, enthusiastic, anxious, and zealous fiction, fancy, falsehood, and fabrication fine, fragile, delicate, and dainty firmness, steadfastness, stability, and tenacity flash, flame, flare, and glare flat, insipid, tame, and monotonous fluctuating, hesitating, vacillating, and oscillating folly, foolishness, imbecility, and fatuity foolhardy, hasty, adventurous, and reckless fop, coxcomb, puppy, and jackanapes [jackanapes = conceited person] force, vigor, power, and energy formal, precise, stiff, and methodical fortunate, happy, prosperous, and successful fragile, frail, brittle, and delicate freedom, familiarity, liberty, and independence frightful, fearful, direful, and dreadful frivolous, trifling, petty, and childish fruitful, fertile, prolific, and productive fruitless, vain, trivial, and foolish frustrate, defeat, disappoint, and thwart fully, completely, abundantly, and perfectly furious, impetuous, boisterous, and vehement
gaiety, merriment, joy, and hilarity gallant, ardent, fearless, and self-sacrificing Galloway's speech to Parliament, January 2007 garnish, embellish, beautify, and decorate generous, candid, easy, and independent genius, intellect, aptitude, and capacity genteel, refined, polished, and well-bred gentle, persuasive, affective, and simple genuine, true, unaffected, and sincere ghastly, grim, shocking, and hideous gibe, mock, taunt, and jeer giddy, fickle, flighty, and thoughtless gleam, glimmer, glance, and glitter gloomy, dismal, dark, and dejected glorious, noble, exalted, and resplendent glut, gorge, cloy, and satiate [cloy = too filling, rich, or sweet] good, safe, venerable, and solid government, law, order, and organization grand, stately, dignified, and pompous grave, contemplative, reserved, and profound great, joyous, strong, and triumphant greed, avarice, covetousness, and cupidity gross, academic, vulgar, and indiscriminate
habit, custom, method, and fashion handsome, exquisite, brilliant, and accomplished harmless, innocent, innocuous, and inoffensive harmony, order, sublimity, and beauty harsh, discordant, disagreeable, and ungracious hasty, superficial, impatient, and desultory hazards of single case history healed, soothed, consoled, and assuaged healthy, hale, sound, and wholesome heavy, sluggish, dejected, and crushing high-minded, truthful, honest, and courageous holy, hallowed, sacred, and consecrated homely, hideous, horrid, and unsightly honor, obedience, virtue, and loyalty hopefulness, peace, sweetness, and strength hopes, dreams, programs, and ideals hospitable, generous, tolerant, and kindly hot, hasty, fervent, and fiery humane, gentle, kind, and generous humble, simple, submissive, and unostentatious
idea, imagination, conception, and ideal idleness, recreation, repose, and rest ignominious, infamous, despicable, and contemptible illumine, instruct, enlighten, and inform imaginative, sensitive, nervous, and highly-strung impatience, indolence, wastefulness, and inconclusiveness impel, stimulate, animate, and inspirit imperious, wayward, empirical, and impatient improvident, incautious, prodigal, and thriftless impudent, insolent, irrelevant, and officious inadvertency, carelessness, negligence, and oversight indecision, doubt, fear, and lassitude indifference, caution, coldness, and weariness indolent, passive, sluggish, and slothful ineffectual, powerless, useless, and unavailing infamy, shame, dishonor, and disgrace infantile, childish, boyish, and dutiful informal, natural, unconventional, and careless insolent, impudent, impertinent, and flippant integrity, frankness, sincerity, and truthfulness intellectual, moral, emotional, and esthetic intense, earnest, violent, and extreme invent, discover, design, and contrive inveterate, confirmed, chronic, and obstinate invidious, envious, odious, and offensive invincible, unconquerable, insurmountable, and insuperable irksome, tiresome, tedious, and annoying irregular, uncertain, devious, and unsystematic irritable, choleric, petulant, and susceptible
jangle, wrangle, squabble, and quarrel jealousy, suspicion, envy, and watchfulness joyful, lively, happy, and hilarious judgment, discrimination, penetration, and sagacity just, impartial, equitable, and unbiased juvenile, childish, trifling, and puerile [puerile = immature; childish]
keen, intelligent, penetrating, and severe keep, protect, support, and sustain kind, sympathetic, ready, and appreciative kingly, noble, imperial, and august knowledge, learning, enlightenment, and understanding
lapses, makeshifts, delays, and irregularities lawful, legitimate, allowable, and just lazy, listless, drowsy, and indifferent Life in the Backwoods (Susanna Moodie) lightly, freely, unscrupulously, and irresponsibly lively, vivacious, vigorous, and forcible loss, deprivation, forfeiture, and waste loud, noisy, showy, and clamorous loutish, prankish, selfish, and cunning love, depth, loyalty, and faithfulness lucidity, impressiveness, incisiveness, and pungency
malice, anger, uncharitableness, and indignation malignity, brutality, malevolence, and inhumanity manners, morals, habits, and behavior marvelous, wonderful, extraordinary, and incredible massive, ponderous, solid, and substantial mastery, proficiency, dexterity, and superiority matchless, unrivaled, inimitable, and incomparable maxim, proverb, truism, and apothegm medley, mixture, jumble, and hodge-podge meekness, inwardness, patience, and self-denial merciless, remorseless, relentless, and ruthless Middle East Conflict: Resources for Peace, Justice, and Human Rights mild, gentle, humble, and submissive mismanagement, indecision, obstinacy, and hardihood mixture, medley, variety, and diversification modesty, fineness, sensitiveness, and fastidiousness money, position, power, and consequence mood, temper, humor, and caprice motive, impulse, incentive, and intimation mysterious, dark, secret, and enigmatical
narrow, limited, selfish, and bigoted necessary, expedient, indispensable, and unavoidable necessity, emergency, exigency, and crisis neglect, overlook, disregard, and contemn nice, finical, effeminate, and silly niggardly, close, miserly, and parsimonious noble, pure, exalted, and worthy nonsense, trash, twaddle, and rubbish novel, recent, rare, and unusual noxious, unwholesome, mischievous, and destructive
obdurate, unfeeling, callous, and obstinate obedient, respectful, dutiful, and submissive object, propose, protest, and decline obliging, kind, helpful, and courteous obscure, shadowy, intricate, and mysterious obsequious, cringing, fawning, and servile [obsequious = fawning.] observations, sentiments, ideas, and theories obstinacy, pertinacity, stubbornness, and inflexibility offensive, disagreeable, distasteful, and obnoxious officious, impertinent, insolent, and meddlesome organic products regulation Canada
particular, precise, formal, and punctilious [punctilious = scrupulous] passions, weaknesses, uglinesses, and deformities patient, loyal, hardworking Keuschheit and true
peace, quiet, tranquillity, and harmony peculiar, individual, specific, and appropriate perplex, embarrass, confuse, and mystify phrases, figures, metaphors, and quotations piteous, woebegone, dismal, and dolorous placid, meek, gentle, and moderate plain, transparent, simple, and obvious play, diversion, pastime, and amusement pleasant, jocular, witty, and facetious pliable, ductile, supple, and yielding poetry, sentiment, morality, and religion polished, deft, superficial, and conventional polite, polished, cultured, and refined positive, direct, explicit, and dogmatic powerful, efficient, vivid, and forcible precise, delicate, discriminating, and fastidious prejudicial, injurious, noxious, and pernicious preposterous, irrational, unreasonable, and nonsensical pretense, subterfuge, simulation, and disguise prevent, restrain, dissuade, and dishearten primary, foremost, leading, and principal probity, directness, simplicity, and sincerity [probity = integrity] profession, business, trade, and vocation profit, advantage, benefit, and emolument [emolument = compensation] profuse, excessive, copious, and extravagant progress, prosperity, peace, and happiness prolix, prosaic, prolonged, and wordy [prolix = excessive length] property, comforts, habits, and conveniences prudence, judgment, wisdom, and discretion pulsing, coursing, throbbing, and beating pure, kind, sweet-tempered, and unselfish purified, exalted, fortified, and illumined purpose, meaning, scope, and tendency
quack, imposture, charlatan, and mountebank qualified, powerful, vigorous, and effective quality, property, attribute, and character quarrels, misunderstandings, enmities, and disapprovals queries, echoes, reactions, and after-thoughts quick, impetuous, sweeping, and expeditious quiet, peaceful, sane, and normal
racy, smart, spicy, and pungent rational, sane, sound, and sensible ravenous, greedy, voracious, and grasping recreation, sport, pastime, and amusement relation, work, duty, and pleasure reliable, accurate, truthful, and duty-loving reports, stories, rumors, and suspicions reproach, dishonor, disgrace, and ignominy restrained, calm, quiet, and placid reverential, disciplined, self-controlling, and devoted rigid, inelastic, stiff, and unbending rough, rude, gruff, and surly rude, curt, insolent, and unpleasant
sad, despondent, melancholy, and depressed sane, sober, sound, and rational scandalize, vilify, traduce, and offend scanty, pinched, slender, and insufficient Science, art, religion, and philosophy scope, design, purpose, and judgment sensual, cruel, selfish, and unscrupulous sentence, judgment, verdict, and doom serene, composed, conservative, and orderly several, sundry, many, and various severe, stern, stiff, and stringent shameless, corrupt, depraved, and vicious shock, surprise, terror, and forlornness simple, hearty, joyous, and affectionate sin, injustice, grievance, and crime skill, courage, prowess, and attractiveness sleepy, soporific, sluggish, and dull [soporific = induces sleep] slim, slender, slight, and scraggy slow, dilatory, slack, and procrastinating [dilatory = postpone] solemn, profound, serious, and difficult solicit, urge, implore, and importune [importune = insistent requests] sorrow, disaster, unhappiness, and bereavement spontaneity, freedom, ease, and adequacy stately, stern, august, and implacable steady, reliable, dependable, and well-balanced stern, severe, abrupt, and unreasonable stories, pictures, shows and representations strength, agility, violence, and activity strong, inventive, daring, and resourceful sublime, consoling, inspiring, and beautiful substantial, solid, strong, and durable suffering, regret, bitterness, and fatigue superficial, shallow, flimsy, and untrustworthy superfluous, excessive, unnecessary, and redundant suspicious, cynical, crafty, and timid symmetry, proportion, harmony, and regularity
tact, courtesy, adroitness, and skill talents, opportunities, influence, and power talkative, selfish, superstitious, and inquisitive tastes, appetites, passions, and desires tease, tantalize, worry, and provoke tenacious, stubborn, pertinacious, and obstinate tendency, drift, scope, and disposition tests, trials, temptations, and toils theatrical, ceremonious, meretricious, and ostentatious theory, assumption, speculation, and conjecture think, reflect, weigh, and ponder tortuous, twisted, sinuous, and circuitous tractable, gentle, pliant, and submissive traditional, uncertain, legendary, and unverified traffic, commerce, and intercourse tricky, insincere, wily, and shifty trite, ordinary, commonplace, and hackneyed trivial, petty, frivolous, and insignificant true, upright, real, and authentic tumultuous, riotous, disorderly, and turbulent
ugly, evil, hateful, and base uncertain, questionable, erroneous, and mistaken unctuous, shrill, brisk, and demonstrative unhappy, unfortunate, distressed, and disastrous uninteresting, lifeless, obscure, and commonplace unity, aggressiveness, efficiency, and force unkind, severe, oppressive, and callous unpractical, childish, slipshod, and silly unreasonable, foolish, excessive, and absurd unrivaled, unequaled, incomparable, and matchless upright, high-minded, brave, and liberal urgent, important, immediate, and imperative usage, custom, habit, and practise
vain, useless, unproductive, and unavailing vanities, envies, devices, and jealousies vast, scattered, various, and incalculable versatile, eloquent, sagacious, and talented [sagacious = wise] vigorous, upright, dignified, and imperative vile, mean, debased, and sordid violent, impetuous, intense, and ungovernable virtuous, upright, honest, and moral visionary, dreamy, pensive, and sensitive vulgar, heavy, narrow, and obtuse
want, lack, poverty, and paucity warm, soft, clear, and serene waste, devastate, pillage, and destroy watched, tendered, fostered, and pruned weak, inefficient, stupid, and futile wealth, position, influence, and reputation well-being, happiness, prosperity, and distress wild, restless, aimless, and erring wisdom, judgment, understanding, and far-sightedness wit, purity, energy, and simplicity wonderful, interesting, active, and delightful works, sorrows, visions, and experiences worry, annoyance, awkwardness, and difficulty
**************************************** INTRODUCTION The most powerful and the most perfect expression of thought and feeling through the medium of oral language must be traced to the mastery of words. Nothing is better suited to lead speakers and readers of English into an easy control of this language than the command of the phrase that perfectly expresses the thought. Every speaker's aim is to be heard and understood. A clear, crisp articulation holds an audience as by the spell of some irresistible power. The choice word, the correct phrase, are instruments that may reach the heart, and awake the soul if they fall upon the ear in melodious cadence; but if the utterance be harsh and discordant they fail to interest, fall upon deaf ears, and are as barren as seed sown on fallow ground. In language, nothing conduces so emphatically to the harmony of sounds as perfect phrasing--that is, the emphasizing of the relation of clause to clause, and of sentence to sentence by the systematic grouping of words. The phrase consists usually of a few words which denote a single idea that forms a separate part of a sentence. In this respect it differs from the clause, which is a short sentence that forms a distinct part of a composition, paragraph, or discourse. Correct phrasing is regulated by rests, such rests as do not break the continuity of a thought or the progress of the sense. GRENVILLE KLEISER, who has devoted years of his diligent life to imparting the art of correct expression in speech and writing, has provided many aids for those who would know not merely what to say, but how to say it. He has taught also what the great HOLMES taught, that language is a temple in which the human soul is enshrined, and that it grows out of life--out of its joys and its sorrows, its burdens and its necessities. To him, as well as to the writer, the deep strong voice of man and the low sweet voice of woman are never heard at finer advantage than in the earnest but mellow tones of familiar speech. In the present volume Mr. Kleiser furnishes an additional and an exceptional aid for those who would have a mint of phrases at their command from which to draw when in need of the golden mean for expressing thought. Few indeed are the books fitted to-day for the purpose of imparting this knowledge, yet two centuries ago phrase-books were esteemed as supplements to the dictionaries, and have not by any manner of means lost their value. The guide to familiar quotations, the index to similes, the grammars, the readers, the machine-made letter-writer of mechanically perfect letters of congratulation or condolence--none are sententious enough to supply the need. By the compilation of this praxis, Mr. Kleiser has not only supplied it, but has furnished a means for the increase of one's vocabulary by practical methods. There are thousands of persons who may profit by the systematic study of such a book as this if they will familiarize themselves with the author's purpose by a careful reading of the preliminary pages of his book. To speak in public pleasingly and readily and to read well are accomplishments acquired only after many days, weeks even, of practise. Foreigners sometimes reproach us for the asperity and discordance of our speech, and in general, this reproach is just, for there are many persons who do scanty justice to the vowel-elements of our language. Although these elements constitute its music they are continually mistreated. We flirt with and pirouette around them constantly. If it were not so, English would be found full of beauty and harmony of sound. Familiar with the maxim, "Take care of the vowels and the consonants will take care of themselves,"--a maxim that when put into practise has frequently led to the breaking-down of vowel values--the writer feels that the common custom of allowing "the consonants to take care of themselves" is pernicious. It leads to suppression or to imperfect utterance, and thus produces indistinct articulation. The English language is so complex in character that it can scarcely be learned by rule, and can best be mastered by the study of such idioms and phrases as are provided in this book; but just as care must be taken to place every accent or stress on the proper syllable in the pronouncing of every word it contains, so must the stress or emphasis be placed on the proper word in every sentence spoken. To read or speak pleasingly one should resort to constant practise by doing so aloud in private, or preferably, in the presence of such persons as know good reading when they hear it and are masters of the melody of sounds. It was Dean Swift's belief that the common fluency of speech in many men and most women was due to scarcity of matter and scarcity of words. He claimed that a master of language possessed a mind full of ideas, and that before speaking, such a mind paused to select the choice word--the phrase best suited to the occasion. "Common speakers," he said, "have only one set of ideas, and one set of words to clothe them in," and these are always ready on the lips. Because he holds the Dean's view sound to-day, the writer will venture to warn the readers of this book against a habit that, growing far too common among us, should be checked, and this is the iteration and reiteration in conversation of "the battered, stale, and trite" phrases, the like of which were credited by the worthy Dean to the women of his time. Human thought elaborates itself with the progress of intelligence. Speech is the harvest of thought, and the relation which exists between words and the mouths that speak them must be carefully observed. Just as nothing is more beautiful than a word fitly spoken, so nothing is rarer than the use of a word in its exact meaning. There is a tendency to overwork both words and phrases that is not restricted to any particular class. The learned sin in this respect even as do the ignorant, and the practise spreads until it becomes an epidemic. The epidemic word with us yesterday was unquestionably "conscription"; several months ago it was "preparedness." Before then "efficiency" was heard on every side and succeeded in superseding "vocational teaching," only to be displaced in turn by "life extension" activities. "Safety-first" had a long run which was brought almost to abrupt end by "strict accountability," but these are mere reflections of our cosmopolitan life and activities. There are others that stand out as indicators of brain-weariness. These are most frequently met in the work of our novelists. English authors and journalists are abusing and overworking the word intrigue to-day. Sir Arthur Quillercouch on page 81 of his book "On the Art of Writing" uses it: "We are intrigued by the process of manufacture instead of being wearied by a description of the ready-made article." Mrs. Sidgwick in "Salt and Savour," page 232, wrote: "But what intrigued her was Little Mamma's remark at breakfast," From the Parliamentary news, one learns that "Mr. Harcourt intrigued the House of Commons by his sustained silence for two years" and that "London is interested in, and not a little intrigued, by the statement." This use of intrigue in the sense of "perplex, puzzle, trick, or deceive" dates from 1600. Then it fell into a state of somnolence, and after an existence of innocuous desuetude lasting till 1794 it was revived, only to hibernate again until 1894. It owes its new lease of life to a writer on The Westminster Gazette, a London journal famous for its competitions in aid of the restoring of the dead meanings of words. One is almost exasperated by the repeated use and abuse of the word "intimate" in a recently published work of fiction, by an author who aspires to the first rank in his profession. He writes of "the intimate dimness of the room;" "a fierce intimate whispering;" "a look that was intimate;" "the noise of the city was intimate," etc. Who has not heard, "The idea!" "What's the idea?" "Is that the idea?" "Yes, that's the idea," with increased inflection at each repetition. And who is without a friend who at some time or another has not sprung "meticulous" upon him? Another example is afforded by the endemic use of "of sorts" which struck London while the writer was in that city a few years ago. Whence it came no one knew, but it was heard on every side. "She was a woman of sorts;" "he is a Tory of sorts;" "he had a religion of sorts;" "he was a critic of sorts." While it originally meant "of different or various kinds," as hats of sorts; offices of sorts; cheeses of sorts, etc., it is now used disparagingly, and implies something of a kind that is not satisfactory, or of a character that is rather poor. This, as Shakespeare might have said, is "Sodden business! There's a stewed phrase indeed!" [Footnote: Troilus and Cressida, act iii, sc. 1.] The abuse of phrases and the misuse of words rife among us can be checked by diligent exercises in good English, such as this book provides. These exercises, in conjunction with others to be found in different volumes by the same author, will serve to correct careless diction and slovenly speech, and lead to the art of speaking and writing correctly; for, after all, accuracy in the use of words is more a matter of habit than of theory, and once it is acquired it becomes just as easy to speak or to write good English as bad English. It was Chesterfield's resolution not to speak a word in conversation which was not the fittest he could recall. All persons should avoid using words whose meanings they do not know, and with the correct application of which they are unfamiliar. The best spoken and the best written English is that which conforms to the language as used by men and women of culture--a high standard, it is true, but one not so high that it is unattainable by any earnest student of the English tongue. FRANK H. VIZETELLY. ****************************************
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