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Passing SAT 5

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Dimandja

Programmer
Apr 29, 2002
2,720
US
For non-US readers, SAT (Scholastic Aptitude Test) is used to assess the College readiness of High School graduates. I think I got that right. I should also add that this test is being contested by minority groups as biased (but that's another story).

Here is a sample. Spot grammatical errors (or lack thereof) from the underlined:

It is likely that the opening of the convention center, previously set for July 1, would be postponed because of the bricklayers' stride.

 
This is interesting...I've always had a good vocabulary, but I've never considered 'verbiage' to be derogatory. Then again, I've always used/heard it used as (what I've come to find out is) the second definition - simply the way words are used to communicate. So on the point that 'verbiage' is not considered by (most?) Americans to be offensive, I have to agree with CajunCenturion.

However, having checked (my new favorite one stop quick dictionary), I must admit that every source I've checked states that the primary definition of 'verbiage' is basically verbose or circumlocutory. I agree with Dimandja that these are words are not a very kind way to describe someone's writing.

I'm back to E2's suggestion that perhaps it's a regional thing...

[tt]-John[/tt]
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My instinct is that when used in a negative way, verbiage is accompanied by other words:

unnecessary verbiage
long-winded verbiage
over-flowery verbiage
stilted verbiage

but the following seem neutral or positive to me:

more concise verbiage
less wordy verbiage
pleasant verbiage
marketing verbiage
legal verbiage


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• Every joy is beyond all others. The fruit we are eating is always the best fruit of all.
• It is waking that understands sleep and not sleep that understands waking. There is an ignorance of evil that comes from being young: there is a darker ignorance that comes from doing it, as men by sleeping lose the k
 
sleipnir214 - I gather from your post that you believe verbiage, when meaning verbose, is a derogatory term.

Good Luck
--------------
To get the most from your Tek-Tips experience, please read FAQ181-2886
As a circle of light increases so does the circumference of darkness around it. - Albert Einstein
 
"Negative" is a better word than "derogatory" in this context. To be exact, I've never thought its meaning necessarily belittled anyone.



Want the best answers? Ask the best questions!

TANSTAAFL!!
 
stick-wielders' hands: bruised
beating stick: broken
horse: super extra dead

But then again, it can be fun to heat a dead borse.

-------------------------------------
• Every joy is beyond all others. The fruit we are eating is always the best fruit of all.
• It is waking that understands sleep and not sleep that understands waking. There is an ignorance of evil that comes from being young: there is a darker ignorance that comes from doing it, as men by sleeping lose the k
 
Only in the first meaning, not the second... which is what I was emphasizing.

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• Every joy is beyond all others. The fruit we are eating is always the best fruit of all.
• It is waking that understands sleep and not sleep that understands waking. There is an ignorance of evil that comes from being young: there is a darker ignorance that comes from doing it, as men by sleeping lose the k
 
Well, this comment from wordsmith.org about sums up where we are at this stage in the discussion:

wordsmith said:
Date: Tue Sep 13 00:03:05 EDT 1994
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--logomachy

lo.gom.a.chy \lo--'ga:m-*-ke-\ n [Gk logomachia, fr. log- + machesthai to
fight] : a dispute over or about words; esp : a controversy marked by
verbiage

It is better than what I was gonna say....

~Thadeus
 
And who misspelt "convention centre" in the first place? [wink]

Chris

Varium et mutabile semper Excel
 
It isn't misspelled. But misspelt is.

-------------------------------------
• Every joy is beyond all others. The fruit we are eating is always the best fruit of all.
• It is waking that understands sleep and not sleep that understands waking. There is an ignorance of evil that comes from being young: there is a darker ignorance that comes from doing it, as men by sleeping lose the k
 
Next time British dictionaries are updated, you should remember to correctly spell "centre" as "center". [smile]
 
Spelt and misspelt are far more common in the UK than in the USA, but both are correct. Spelt and spelled are both valid past participles of spell.

Good Luck
--------------
To get the most from your Tek-Tips experience, please read FAQ181-2886
As a circle of light increases so does the circumference of darkness around it. - Albert Einstein
 
I DID look up misspelt before claiming it was so. I guess I looked in the wrong dictionary.
 
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