Anything apparently, as long as we disagree, can be deemed a rhetorical crutch
The assumption seems to be that once signal something as a rhetorical crutch, we have effectively disarmed and disproven it. We are the myth busters who see the fishing string and sleights of hand; we are the undupped.
But the two rhetorical crutches I will confess to have little to with the endless attacks against the arguments of others.
As I stated sometime last night, often when precisely is used we are being most imprecise. This is what interests me, those tired turns of phrase that slide into writing when we’ve nothing better to offer.
I find that in my own essays I tend to LOVE to exhaustion In fact and Indeed, which are little else than euphamisms for precisely.
that is wrong, they are not euphamisms, but they are of the same order as precisely
by Balthasar Gracián—May 15, 10:11 AM
Overdone they can indeed be crutches; in fact, they’re not necessarily so. They can be substantive, for example, or functional either as transitions or as cognitive pegs for readers. I’m not against them in principle, only in context.
by greg—May 15, 10:13 AM
That guy doesn’t look like he needs crutches, BTW.
by greg—May 15, 10:44 AM
Agreed. They are not all evil; and, in fact, most things deemed as rhetorical crutches are, given the right context, not.
by Balthasar Gracián—May 15, 10:46 AM
But if you’re on a mission to eradicate them from your writing, it’s probably because you see they’re a bit out of control. That’s when they’re crutches, I suppose, when you use them instead of something more appropriate and substantial.
by greg—May 15, 10:50 AM
Yeah, he doesn’t look like he needs crutches, in the least. Except his right foot is shoeless and his left shod.
by Balthasar Gracián—May 15, 10:57 AM
There is that… (and not a right shoe in sight).
by greg—May 15, 11:02 AM
Sounds like you may need a break from your writing (if you can afford it).
by JH—May 15, 11:32 AM
i will be able to afford this luxury in, say, 3 years, take one, but not give one.
by Balthasar Gracián—May 15, 11:40 AM
Hooray for generous tenure schedules!
by greg—May 15, 11:43 AM
How about an occasional “yea, verily, I say unto you” just to mix it up? Not hard—just a find and replace matter…
by JTB—May 15, 04:36 PM