Eureka!

by Walker Royce

  extradite (back)

  (extreme) hazard

  F

  (face) mask

  fall (down)

  (false) pretense

  (favorable) approval

  (fellow) classmates

  (fellow) colleague

  few (in number)

  filled (to capacity)

  (final) conclusion

  (final) end

  (final) outcome

  (first and) foremost

  (first) conceived

  first (of all)

  first time (ever)

  fly (through the air)

  follow (after)

  (foreign) imports

  (former) graduate

  (former) veteran

  (free) gift

  friend (of mine)

  (from) whence

  (frozen) ice

  (frozen) tundra

  full (to capacity)

  (full) satisfaction

  fuse (together)

  (future) plans

  (future) recurrence

  G

  gather (together)

  (general) public

  grow (in size)

  H

  (harmful) injuries

  (head) honcho

  heat (up)

  (hollow) tube

  (hot) water heater

  hurry (up)

  I

  (illustrated) drawing

  indicted (on a charge)

  input (into)

  integrate (together)

  integrate (with each other)

  introduced (a new)

  introduced (for the first time)

  (invited) guests

  J

  join (together)

  (joint) collaboration

  K

  killed him/her (dead)

  kneel (down)

  (knowledgeable) experts

  L

  lag (behind)

  later (time)

  lift (up)

  (little) baby

  limited (only) to

  (live) studio audience

  (live) witness

  (local) residents

  look (ahead) to the future

  look back (in retrospect)

  M

  made (out) of

  (major) breakthrough

  (major) feat

  manually (by hand)

  may (possibly)

  meet (together)

  meet (with each other)

  (mental) telepathy

  merge (together)

  might (possibly)

  mix (together)

  (mutual) cooperation

  (mutually) interdependent

  N

  nape (of her neck)

  (native) habitat

  (natural) instinct

  never (before)

  (new) beginning

  (new) construction

  (new) innovation

  (new) invention

  (new) recruit

  none (at all)

  nostalgia (for the past)

  (now) pending

  O

  off (of)

  (old) adage

  (old) cliché

  (old) custom

  (old) proverb

  (open) trench

  open (up)

  (oral) conversation

  (originally) created

  (original) founder

  (original) source

  (other) alternatives

  output (out of)

  (outside) in the yard

  (over) exaggerate

  (overused) cliché

  P

  (pair of) twins

  palm (of the hand)

  (passing) fad

  (past) experience

  (past) history

  (past) memories

  (past) records

  penetrate (into)

  penetrate (through)

  (perfect) circle

  period (of time)

  (personal) friend

  (personal) opinion

  pick (and choose)

  plan (ahead)

  plan (in advance)

  (Please) RSVP

  plunge (down)

  (polar) opposites

  (positive) identification

  postpone (until later)

  pouring (down) rain

  (pre)board

  (pre)heat

  (pre)record

  (private) industry

  (present) incumbent

  present (time)

  previously listed (above)

  proceed (ahead)

  progress (forward)

  (proposed) plan

  protest (against)

  pursue (after)

  R

  rarely (ever)

  reason is (because)

  reason (why)

  recur (again)

  re-elect (for another term)

  refer (back)

  reflect (back)

  (regular) routine

  reiterate (again)

  repeat (again)

  reply (back)

  retreat (back)

  return (back)

  revert (back)

  rise (up)

  round (in shape)

  S

  (safe) haven

  same (exact)

  scrutinize (in detail)

  (serious) danger

  share (together)

  (sharp) point

  shiny (in appearance)

  shut (down)

  (single) unit

  skipped (over)

  slow (speed)

  small (size)

  (small) speck

  socialize (together)

  soft (to the touch)

  speeding (too fast)

  spell out (in detail)

  spliced (together)

  square (in shape)

  start (off or out)

  (still) persists

  (still) remains

  (sudden) impulse

  (sum) total

  T

  tall (in height)

  tall (in stature)

  (temper) tantrum

  (temporary) reprieve

  (three-way) love triangle

  time (period)

  (tiny) bit

  (tired) cliché

  (total) destruction

  (true) facts

  (truly) sincere

  tuna (fish)

  (twelve) noon or midnight

  (two equal) halves

  (two polar) opposites

  U

  (ultimate) end

  (ultimate) goal

  (ultimate) outcome

  (unconfirmed) rumor

  undergraduate (student)

  (underground) subway

  (unexpected) emergency

  (unexpected) surprise

  (unintentional) mistake

  (unnamed) anonymous

  (usual) custom

  V

  various (different)

  (veiled) ambush

  (very) unique

  visible (to the eye)

  W

  warn (in advance)

  weather (conditions)

  whether (or not)

  (white) snow

  write (down)

  RELATIVE ABSOLUTES

  Some words represent absolute things or ideas; some words represent relative concepts. Here’s the difference: An absolute is something that cannot be modified; for example, a certain extreme state or condition. It is the epitome of what we mean when we say, “It is what it is.” These important words represent absolutes:

  absolute

  not relative; only has one state, measure, or meaning

  best

  most extreme element with some good quality

  better

  good in some higher degree

  dead

  not alive or functional

  equal

  exactly the same

  eternal

  forever, without beginning or end

  f
alse

  factually incorrect

  fatal

  deadly

  final

  conclusive

  finite

  bounded, not infinite

  identical

  exactly the same

  immortal

  lives forever

  infinite

  unbounded, not finite

  irrevocable

  granted forever

  opposite

  the other side of a binary condition

  parallel

  not converging or diverging; exactly the same direction

  perfect

  cannot be made better

  pregnant

  with child

  relative

  not absolute; has a spectrum of states, measures, or meanings

  round

  circular

  square

  at exactly right angles

  straight

  without a bend or curve

  supreme

  extreme, of the highest quality, degree, importance, etc.

  total

  complete, 100% of something

  true

  actual, real, correct

  unanimous

  in complete agreement

  unique

  one of a kind

  worse

  bad in some higher degree

  worst

  most extreme element with some bad quality

  Absolutes tend to have only one distinct meaning. Most of the time, an absolute is the end of some binary scale. You can frequently define an absolute by saying it is the opposite of the other end of the binary scale, as truth is the opposite of falsehood. Some absolutes have multiple meanings, but in general, they cannot be modified with adjectives and adverbs like most, least, more, less, very, not very, or almost. Modifying absolutes as though they were relatives is a common abuse. We frequently hear phrases like these:

  It was the most unique.

  She was very pregnant.

  That is more true.

  We need to make this more square. The vote was more unanimous.

  This poison is less fatal.

  These absolutes provide a large source of pleonasms. Put absolutely or relatively in front of any of the words listed above and you get a pleonasm.

  DOUBLE NEGATIVES

  We all learned in school that we shouldn’t use no double negatives. A double negative is created when two negative terms are used in the same clause. Logically, a double negative resolves to negating a negation; therefore, it resolves to a positive. In other words:

  negative one times negative one = positive one (-1 x -1 = +1)

  The Yale Book of Quotations, edited by Fred Shapiro, contains a great quote by the philosopher Sidney Morgenbesser. He listened to a speaker saying that although in many cases two negatives make a positive, he could think of no case in which two positives make a negative. To this, Morganbesser replied, “Yeah, yeah.” This is nice example of the importance of tone in delivery. Only humans can invent ways to circumvent the purity of mathematics and create a double positive that translates into a negative.

  Double negatives usually occur in informal speaking and vernaculars. Here are a few classic rock and roll double negatives with which almost everyone is familiar.

  I can’t get no satisfaction. (The Rolling Stones meant, “I can’t get any satisfaction,” but these words translate logically into I can get satisfaction, which we all know is true.)

  We don’t need no education. (Pink Floyd meant, “We don’t need any education,” but these words translate logically into we need education, which we all know is true.

  You ain’t seen nothing yet. (Bachman Turner Overdrive meant, “You have not seen anything yet,” but these words translate into you have seen something.

  I ain’t gonna work on Maggie’s farm no more. (Dylan meant, “I ain’t gonna work on Maggie’s farm any more,” which nobody misinterprets.)

  There are many common double negatives that are proper English. However, there are positive ways to say exactly the same thing with no confusion.

  Don’t go without me! (Wait for me!)

  I am not dissatisfied. (I am satisfied.)

  I don’t dislike that person. (I like that person.)

  It is not infinite. (It is finite.)

  I am not independent. (I am dependent.)

  I won’t ask you to not go. (Please leave.)

  It is not unusual. (It is common.)

  I don’t disagree. (I agree.)

  In most of these cases, the reasonable-looking double negatives are used by people who can’t bring themselves to say the positive form because it feels too strong to them. They resort to the double negative form, which feels softer. My favorite is the expression, “I don’t disagree.” We have all heard this a jillion times in business meetings, where it is almost always secret code for, “I don’t totally agree, but I don’t want to say I don’t agree.” The speaker usually follows this up with a sentence that begins with the word but. Try stopping someone right after they say, “I don’t disagree,” and ask, “But do you agree?” The person will usually squirm and stall, think over their answer, and respond either “Yes, but…” or “Well, partly,” and then state the points that they don’t agree with.

  I found my all-time favorite example of a double negative about 15 years ago in the sports section of a newspaper. A Cal Berkeley alumnus had just been traded to an NBA basketball team that had the worst record in the league. Asked about his team’s chances in the upcoming year, he was quoted as saying, “We are going to turn this team around 360 degrees.” Although this is not a double negative, it is a great example of a statement that has the same effect. This alumnus meant to turn the team around 180 degrees. He doubled the negation unintentionally, ignorantly setting the team on the same dismal path as the year before. I was not happy that my alma mater had not produced a basketball player who was not illiterate.

  Triple and quadruple negation can also occasionally be seen. It results in total obfuscation of the author’s real intent. The last sentence of the previous paragraph is a good example, as is my parenthetical comment regarding Dylan, above. While double negatives are frowned upon in English, the French commonly use two negatives to make a stronger negative, particularly in informal French. The Romance languages and Greek and Slavic languages routinely use double negatives. If you are a native English speaker and converse with non-English speakers using either spoken or written communications, you may notice that they use double negatives in their English. Imagine how hard it is to learn English as a second language when your native tongue routinely uses semantic structures that are considered incorrect in English.

  PUZZLE 12. COULD JEFFERSON WRITE?

  The preamble to the Constitution of the United States is a good example of a one-sentence paragraph. While it may be a rather long sentence (due to its list of intents), it is a well-structured thought with crisp, meaningful words. It stands alone as a strong paragraph.

  We the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution of the United States of America.

  Of all the abuses presented in this chapter, there are two specific instances that show up in one of America’s most revered paragraphs. Can you find them?

  Many of the examples of English abuse sprinkled throughout this book have been the works of very accomplished people. Perhaps it is insane for me to suggest that our preamble could have been written better. Perhaps I should strike the word perhaps from that last sentence. This paragraph has stood the test of time. My nitpicky judgments on some potentially poor usage are made more than 230 years later, when the usage models for some words have evolved quite a bit. Nevertheless, this is a great retrospective poser for pedantic language observers.

  CHAPTER 4r />
  Synchronize With

  Your Audience

  Communicating more effectively tops the list of organizational development needs year after year. It is emphasized and highlighted in feedback from every employee survey, leadership workshop, and management training session. Whenever managers or management consultants confer, they discuss the need for more effective communications, but then what? The how, why, when, what, and where are left to be dealt with later and usually by short-term, unsustained, and shallow efforts. You can’t significantly improve your communications skill with one quick-hitting lecture or book, or even a longer term curricula, it needs to be a long term self-motivated pursuit.