33 homophones that ensnare writers and s...

by Laura Hale Brockway “Galaxy Quest,” in case you haven’t seen it, is a science fiction parody about a group of actors who get caught up in a very real intergalactic battle between forces of good and evil. The movie is filled with pithy one-liners, clever word play, and even a lesson on homophones. A homophone (or homonym) is a word that is pronounced the same as another, but means something entirely different. Take, for instance, one scene from “Galaxy Quest” in which the crew visits a strange planet in search of a beryllium sphere they need to repair their...

8 more words that may not mean what you ...

Two weeks ago, inspired by “The Princess Bride,” I wrote about words that don’t mean what you think they mean, such as “poisonous” versus “venomous,” and “imply” versus “infer.” The response to this post was phenomenal—more than 450 comments were posted. PR Daily readers shared other examples of words that are commonly misused. Others discussed how language evolves, insisting that the meanings of words change because “majority rules.” Apparently, the word “literally” means the same thing as “figuratively” because everyone uses it that...

14 corporate verbs that you despise

Two weeks ago, I called for a ban on 24 lazy corporate verbs, among them “utilize,” “implement,” and “synergize.” At the end of the column, I asked PR Daily readers to share the verbs they thought should be banned. We heard you loud and clear. Turns out there are far more than just two dozen weak verbs driving you crazy. PR Daily readers shared roughly a hundred more verbs (and pseudo-verbs) they’d like to jettison. In case you didn’t have time to read all the comments, we went through them and grabbed 14 more words that need to be banned, along with the...

8 words that may not mean what you think...

In one of the early scenes of the film The Princess Bride, a mysterious man in black is pursuing the kidnapper Vizzini. [Editor’s note: If you haven’t seen this movie, stop reading this article right now—slap yourself across the face—and go watch it.] When Inigo Montoya (one of Vizzini’s hired hands) points out that they are being followed, Vizzini responds that it is “inconceivable.” With the man in black closing in, and Vizzini still insisting that this is “inconceivable,” Inigo says to him: “You keep using that word. I don’t think it means what you...

24 lazy corporate verbs you need to fire

by Laura Hale Brockway A common problem with corporate writing is that it’s full of lazy, meaningless verbs. Utilize, implement, leverage—these words litter our writing and weaken our message. “We are leveraging our core competencies to meet our customers needs.” I stopped reading when I saw the word “leveraging.” The verb is the powerhouse of your sentence. Choose clear, active verbs instead of throwaway ones. I hereby call for a ban on the following verbs from corporate writing, press releases, social media, and websites. Try these alternatives...