31. Don’t use “suicide” as a verb. Say “he killed himself” and tell how.
32. Don’t use a foreign word or phrase when English will answer the purpose--and it nearly always will. “A dollar a day” is better than “a dollar per diem.” Don’t mix languages, as in “a dollar per day.”
33. Don’t say “fifty people were present.” Use “persons.” “People,” according to Webster’s Dictionary, means primarily “the body of persons who compose a community, tribe, nation or race; an aggregate of individuals forming a whole; a community; a nation”--as “the people of the United States.” “Persons” refers to individuals.
34. Don’t say “united in marriage” or “joined in the holy bonds of matrimony.” Say they were “married.”
35. Don’t use “depot” when you mean “station.” A depot is a storehouse for freight or supplies; railway passengers arrive at a station.
36. Don’t call a fire a “holocaust” or a “conflagration” unless circumstances warrant. Consult the dictionary.
37. Don’t call the wife of Dr. Jones “Mrs. Dr. Jones.” She is simply Mrs. Jones. A woman does not gain a title by virtue of her husband’s rank or profession.
38. Don’t make a practice of using a man’s occupation as a title, as in “Barber Smith.” He is “Smith, a barber.” Certain exceptions are permitted by most newspapers, as in “Policeman Riley.”
39. Don’t fall into the habit of describing every bride as “blushing,” or every five-dollar bill as “crisp” or every gold piece as “bright, new.”
40. Don’t say “among those present were ... and others.” Leave out “and others.”
41. Don’t tell the reader “this is a pathetic story.” If it is, he will find it out for himself.
42. Don’t overwork “well-known” and “prominent.” In revolt against a long line of “well-known grocers” and “prominent saloon keepers,” some newspapers have prohibited the use of these words altogether in referring to persons. It is always better to identify your characters specifically. Tell how a man is prominent.
43. Don’t say “Jones was present at the meeting and spoke.” Of course he was present. Simply say he spoke.
44. Don’t call a dog a “canine.” “Canine” is an adjective. You wouldn’t call a cow a “bovine.”
45. Don’t call a body found in a stream a “floater.”
46. Don’t use “lady” for “woman” under the impression that you are paying a compliment. “Woman” is a good, stanch word at which no real woman can take offense.