lend out
less essential
link together
little sapling
lonely isolation
made out of
major breakthrough
may possibly
meet together
men who are unemployed
merge together
more preferable
more superior
mutual co-operation
nearly inevitable
necessary requisite
needless to say
need necessarily
never at any time
new beginning
new creation
new innovation
new recruits
new record
new renovations
new tradition
nobody else but
not at all
not generally available everywhere
old adage
old veterans
one of the last remaining
on the occasion when
on the question of
original source
over and done with
overtake a slower-moving vehicle
pay off the debt
pare down
partially harmless
passing pedestrian/car
passing phase
past history
patently obvious
peculiar freak
penetrate into
periods of time
petrol filling station
polish up
poor state of disrepair
prejudge in advance
presence on the scene
pressing for the imposition of a 30 mph limit
prominent and leading
proposed project
protrude out
quite empty
quite perfect
radical transformation
raze to the ground
recalled back
recommended back
reduce down
regular monthly meeting
repeat again
resigned his position as
results so far achieved
returned back
revert back
reward back
root cause
saved from his earnings
seldom ever
self-confessed
separate apart
serious danger
seriously incline
settle up
short space of time
sink down
skirt around
small in size
smile on his face
spent his whole life
staunch supporter
still persists/continues
strangled to death
sufficient enough
summoned to the scene
sunny by day
surgeon by occupation
surrounding circumstances
temporary reprieve
the court was asked to decide as to whether or not
throughout the whole length and breadth
to consume drink
topped the 200 mark
total contravention
total extinction
totally destroyed
track record (unless it is the running track)
true facts
uncommonly strange
unite together
universal panacea
usual customs
utterly indestructible
value judgments
vandals wilfully broke
violent explosion
vitally necessary
watchful eye
ways and means
whether or not
whole of the country
widow of the late
win out
worst ever
young infant
young teenager
Stale Expressions
Newspapers used to be rank with cliché. Few in the following list survive in the news pages. They lurk more in sports and features, especially in the form distinguished by an inevitable adjective or adverb (which is one coupled so inevitably with a noun as to have lost any separate life – breathless calm, lively admiration, bewildering variety). Inevitable adjectives and adverbs should be struck out and the noun left to fend for itself. Other stale expressions in the list can generally be felled at a stroke, too. But where other words are needed, beware of substituting an over-contrived simile or metaphor just for the sake of brightness.
acid test
aired their troubles
all walks of life
appear on the scene
armed to the teeth
at pains to explain
beat a hasty retreat
bees in his bonnet
beggars description
bewildering variety
bitter end
blaze (for fire)
blazing inferno
blissful ignorance
bolt from the blue
breakneck speed
breakthrough
breathless silence
bring up to date
brook no delay
brutal reminder
brute force
built in safeguard
burning issue
calm before the storm
chequered career
cheered to the echo
cherished belief
city fathers
clean pair of heels
cold collation
colourful scene
commendably patient
concerted move
conspicuous by its absence
cool as a cucumber
coveted trophy
crack troops
crowded to capacity
crude fact
crying need
curate’s egg
dame fashion
daring daylight robbery
dark horse
dashed to the rescue
dastardly deed
dazzling sight
deafening crash
deciding factor
deftly manipulate
dig in their heels
ding-dong struggle
doctors fought
dog in the manger
64,000-dollar question
dotted the landscape
dramatic new move
dreaming spires
drew a line
fair sex
fall between two stools
fall on deaf ears
far cry
fickle fortune
filthy lucre
finishing touches
fit and bronzed
fly in the ointment
foregone conclusion
from time immemorial
gay abandon
gay cavalier
getting into full swing
given the green light
glared daggers
goes without saying
gory details
grim reaper
hardy souls
headache (for problem)
heap coals of fire
heartfelt thanks
heart of gold
high dudgeon
hook, line and sinker
hot pursuit
hub of the universe
inextricably linked
in full swing
inspiring/unsporting display
internecine strife
in the nick of time
in the same boat
in the twinkling of an eye
iron out the difficulty/problem
lashed out
last but not least
last-ditch effort
leaps and bounds
leave no stone unturned
leave severely alone
left up in the air
lending a helping hand
like rats in a trap
limped into por
t
lock, stock and barrel
long arm of the law
long years
loom up
lucky few
luxury flat/yacht
mantle of snow
man worthy of his steel
marked contrast
marked improvement
marshal support
matter of life and death
mercy dash
milady
move into high gear
never a dull moment
news leaked out
nipped in the bud
none the worse for wear
not to be undone
not to put too fine a point on it
official capacity
open secret
order out of chaos
over and above
paid the penalty
painted a grim picture
paramount importance
part and parcel
patience of Job
paying the piper
pillar of the Church
pinpoint the cause
place in the sun
pool of blood
poured scorn
powder keg
pretty kettle of fish
pros and cons
proud heritage
psychological moment
raced/rushed to the scene
raining in sheets
rats in a trap
red faces
red-letter day
red rag to a bull
reduced to matchwood
reins of government
remedy the situation
rose to great heights
sadder but wiser
sea of upturned faces
selling like hot cakes
shackles which fetter
sigh of relief
sons of the soil
spearheading the campaign
speculation was rife
spirited debate
spotlessly white
spotlight the need
square peg in a round hole
staff of life
steaming jungle
stick out like a sore thumb
storm of protest
storm-tossed
stuck to his guns
sweeping changes
taking the bull by the horns
taking the situation in his stride
terror-stricken
this day and age
through their paces
throwing a party
tiny tots
tongue in cheek
top-level session
tower of strength
true colours
turned turtle
unconscionably long time
up in arms
upset the apple cart
vanish into thin air
voiced approval
wealth of information
weighty matter
whirlwind tour
widespread anxiety
winds of change
wreak havoc
writing on the wall
CHAPTER FIVE
The Structure of a News Story – Intros
‘Under the impression your peregrinations in this metropolis have not as yet been extensive and you might have difficulty in penetrating the arcana of the modern Babylon – in short,’ said Mr. Micawber, in a burst of confidence, ‘you might lose your way.’
CHARLES DICKENS
Hemingway, I read once, wrote the last page of A Farewell to Arms sixteen times before he was satisfied. It is the beginnings that give newspaper writers all the trouble. One does not wish to suggest Hemingway was not trying, but sixteen shots at the first sentence or paragraph of a news story is nothing, as is proved every day by the mortality tables of copydesk executives. Any effort to get the beginning right in a newspaper story is worthwhile, because the reader will stop there if the writer fails. What bothers journalists when they sit down to write their first paragraph (called an ‘intro’ in Britain and a ‘lead’ in America) is that it seems to them they are being asked to sum up in one paragraph a drama akin to King Lear crossed with My Fair Lady. If it is not that kind of story, it is the other kind, the fourteenth report of the sanitation and waterways committee, and everyone knows it is easier to follow Lear than the mental workings of a county surveyor committing himself or herself to prose. So despite the constant injunctions for intros to be kept short and to the point, reporters will keep coming up with thoughts impossibly complicated for a newspaper, and text editors will have to keep putting them right.
Before we get into this quagmire, let us glimpse the kind of solid ground provided by the late Eugene Doane in the New York Sun:
Chicago, Oct 31: James Wilson lighted a cigarette while bathing his feet in benzene. He may live.
Eugene Doane’s intro is a rare piece. It manages to tell the whole story from beginning to end. That is splendid, but only the brevity is commended for copying. To sum up such a sequence in two sentences is impossible in most stories. Until somebody like James Wilson does it again and somebody like Doane is around to record it, the wise reporter and text editor should concentrate the hard news intro on effects rather than origins, on what happened rather than how, when or where. They should offer a short sharp sentence conveying a maximum of impact in a minimum of phrase. Of course concentrating tersely on effects can be overdone. James Thurber once rebelled and wrote:
Dead. That’s what the man was when he was picked up.
The practical aim for journalists is somewhere between Thurber’s cannonball and Doane’s epigrammatic essay. An intro as short as 17 words can be inviting:
The first time 53-year-old Sidney Anderson was seen drunk was the last time he was seen alive.
That intro would have been spoiled if an address or a date or a location or the coroner’s name had been added. Many offices lay down a maximum number of words for an intro. That sounds primitive, but is necessary and helpful. It forces the writer to essentials. Where longer intros are tolerated, reporters and text editors easily drift into writing the comprehensive unselective intro, with grammatical constructions that are invariably confusing.
Essential English Page 11
