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5unit1-9*moreorlessdeftblows*scrupulouscleanEnglish*afieldanaptphrase*rifescrupulouswriters*malapropism*coercion*epitomize*disprove*expire*indigentUnit1HitthenailontheheadHaveyoueverwatchedaclumsymanhammeringanailintoabox?Hehitsitfirsttooneside,thentoanother,perhapsknockingitovercompletely,sothatintheendheonlygetshalfofitintothewood.Askillfulcarpenter,ontheotherhand,willdrivethenailwithafewfirm,deftblows,hittingiteachtimesquarelyonthehead.Sowithlanguage;thegoodcraftsmanwillchoosewordsthatdrivehomehispointfirmlyandexactly.Awordthatismoreorlessright,aloosephrase,anambiguousexpression,avagueadjective,willnotsatisfyawriterwhoaimsatcleanEnglish.Hewilltryalwaystogetthewordthatiscompletelyrightforhispurpose.TheFrenchhaveanaptphraseforthis.Theyspeakoflemotjuste,(theexactword)thewordthatisjustright.Storiesaretoldofscrupulouswriters,likeFlaubert,whospentdaystryingtogetoneortwosentencesexactlyright.Wordsaremanyandvarious;theyaresubtleanddelicateintheirdifferentshadesofmeaning,anditisnoteasytofindtheonesthatexpresspreciselywhatwewanttosay.Itisnotonlyamatterofhavingagoodcommandoflanguageandafairlywidevocabulary;itisalsonecessarytothinkhardandtoobserveaccurately.Choosingwordsispartoftheprocessofrealization,ofdefiningourthoughtsandfeelingsforourselves,aswellasforthosewhohearorreadourwords.Someoneonceremarked:HowcanIknowwhatIthinktillIseewhatIsay?thissoundsstupid,butthereisagreatdealoftruthinit.lemotjuste,Itishardworkchoosingtherightwords,butweshallberewardedbythesatisfactionthatfindingthembrings.Theexactuseoflanguagegivesusmasteryoverthematerialwearedealingwith.PerhapsyouhavebeenaskedWhatsortofamanisso-and-so?Youbegin:Oh,Ithinkhesquiteanicechapbuthesrather,andthenyouhesitatetryingtofindawordorphrasetoexpresswhatitisabouthimthatyoudontlike,thatconstituteshislimitation.Whenyoufindtherightphraseyoufeelthatyourconceptionofthemanisclearerandsharper.,,SomeEnglishwordshaveacommonrootbutareusedinverydifferentsenses.Considerhumanandhumane,forexample.Theiroriginisthesameandtheirmeaningsarerelated,buttheirusageisdistinct.Ahumanactionisnotthesamethingasahumaneaction.WecannotspeakofaDeclarationofHumaneRights.---Thereisaweaponcalledahumanekiller,butitisnotahumankiller.humanhumane,humanaction()humaneaction()humanekiller()humankiller()Wedonthavetolookfarafieldtofindevidenceofbadcarpentryinlanguage.Astudent,replyingtoaninvitationtodinner,finishedhisletter:shallbedelightedtocomeandIamlookingforwardtothedaywithanxiety.Anxietycarrieswithitsuggestionsofworryandfear.Whatthewritermeantwaspossiblyeagerness.Anxietyhassomekinshipwitheagernessbutitwillnotdoasasubstituteinthiscontext.anxietyAnxietyAnxietyTheleaderofapoliticalpartyinUgandawrotealettertothePresswhichcontainedthissentence:Letusallfightthisselfishness,opportunism,cowardiceandignorancenowrifeinUgandaandputintheirplacetruth,manliness,consistencyandsingularityofmind.Thisstirringappealisspoiltbyamalapropisminthelastphrase,thewordsingularity.Whatthewritermeant,Ithink,wassinglenessofmind,holdingsteadfastlytothepurposeinmind,withoutbeingdrawnasidebylessworthyobjects.Singularitymeansoddityorpeculiarity,somethingthatsinglesamanoutfromothermensingularitysingularityWithoutbeingamalapropism,awordmaystillfailtobetherightwordforthewriterspurpose,themotjuste.Ajournalist,writingaleaderaboutChristmas,introducedaquotationfromDickensbysaying:AllthatwaseverthoughtorwrittenaboutChristmasisimprisonedinthissentence,.Imprisonmentsuggestsforce,coercion,asifthemeaningwereheldagainstitswill.Itwouldbebettertowritecontainedorsummedup.Epitomizedmightdo,thoughitisratheraclumsy-soundingword.Searchingalittlefartherforthemotjustewemighthitontheworddistilled.Thishasmoreforcethancontainedorsummedup.Distillationsuggestsessenceandwemightfurtherimprovethesentencebyaddingthiswordatthebeginning:(imprisoned),,Imprisonment(contained)summedupepitomizedmotjuste()distilled.Distillation()essenceTheessenceofallthatwaseverthoughtorwrittenaboutChristmasisdistilledinthissentence.Englishhasawidevocabularyanditisaveryflexiblelanguage.Therearemanydifferentwaysofmakingastatement.Butwordsthatareverysimilarinmeaninghavefineshadesofdifference,andastudentneedstobealivetothesedifferences.Byusinghisdictionary,andaboveallbyreading,astudentcanincreasehissensitivitytotheseshadesofdifferenceandimprovehisabilitytoexpresshisownmeaningsexactly.ProfessorRaileighoncestated:therearenosynonyms,andthesamestatementcanneverberepeatedinachangedformofwords.Thisisperhapstooabsolute,butitisnoteasytodisprove.Evenaslightalterationinthewordingofastatementcansubtlyshiftthemeaning.Lookatthesetwosentences:InmychildhoodIlovedtowatchtrainsgoby.(1)WhenIwasachildIlovedwatchingtrainsgoby.12Atfistglancethesetwosentencesareexactlythesame.Butlookmorecloselyandyouwillseethatthereareverytinydifferences.InmychildhoodisashademoreabstractthanwhenIwasachild.Watchingperhapsemphasizesthelookingattrainsalittlemorethantowatch.Thisisaverysubtleexample,anditwouldbepossibletoargueaboutit,buteveryonewouldatonceagreethatthereisamarkeddifferencebetweenthenexttwostatements:Hediedpoor.Heexpiredi