# Authors with particular linguistic habits or tics, like often repeated or misused words or phrases **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** books-writing-myths\ **Created:** [October 16, 2022, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/authors-with-particular-linguistic-habits-or-tics-like-often-repeated-or-misused-words-or-phrases/973332 "2022-10-16T13:29:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2022, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/authors-with-particular-linguistic-habits-or-tics-like-often-repeated-or-misused-words-or-phrases/973332/101 "2022-10-17T22:10:55Z")
> [@mbh](#): > > “I think we should do X” > “So! You’re an idiot!” > “So, you’re an idiot?” > > Where I live, it’s usually more emphatic than a comma, but usually not emphatic enough for an exclamation point. More sarcasm than anger. ⁢ I think the usual way that’s written today is with a period. Though I’ve also seen use of a dash or ellipsis, if the emphasis is given by a pause. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2022, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/authors-with-particular-linguistic-habits-or-tics-like-often-repeated-or-misused-words-or-phrases/973332/102 "2022-10-17T22:15:58Z")
One author I’m liking a lot these days is Jerry Boyd. His “Bob’s Saucer Repair” series is up to 28 volumes now. Lightweight space opera, but the aforementioned “Bob” has some verbal tics that have spread through the fleet, so now everybody is using them. Among the most annoying is his inability to say “ASAP.” It is inevitably pronounced “Ass Ape.” That’s a “funny once,” Jerry. Stop using it a dozen times a book. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2022, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/authors-with-particular-linguistic-habits-or-tics-like-often-repeated-or-misused-words-or-phrases/973332/103 "2022-10-17T22:17:46Z")
> [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](#): > > Have we mentioned **Stephen King** ’s overuse of brand names to, I guess, make it all more authentic? This was enthusiastic advice given in every creative writing course I took in the 1980s. 1 point if you mention PopTarts. 2 points for Kellogg’s PopTarts. 3 for Kellogg’s Dutch Apple PopTarts! ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2022, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/authors-with-particular-linguistic-habits-or-tics-like-often-repeated-or-misused-words-or-phrases/973332/104 "2022-10-17T22:26:48Z")
Ian Fleming did this. If a scene involved a character grooming, Fleming would tell you what brand of toothpaste he used, what brand of razor, what brand of shaving cream, what brand of aftershave, what brand of hair tonic, and whether his comb was plastic or tortoiseshell. In one of the books, Bond and a pretty girl spend several pages discussing the sailor in the Old Spice advertisements. According to one biography, Fleming never got paid for this, although grateful manufacturers would often send him free samples afterward. ---
**Author:** ![SCAdian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scadian/32/3292_2.png) [@SCAdian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SCAdian)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2022, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/authors-with-particular-linguistic-habits-or-tics-like-often-repeated-or-misused-words-or-phrases/973332/105 "2022-10-17T22:48:13Z")
One of the Nero Wolfe mysteries focused on a writer who was fond of using “averred” instead of “said”. ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2022, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/authors-with-particular-linguistic-habits-or-tics-like-often-repeated-or-misused-words-or-phrases/973332/106 "2022-10-18T03:07:07Z")
> [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](#): > > Have we mentioned **Stephen King** I tried to read one of his stories once. It was a short story ina magazine called _Omni_. I could not finish it. Something about the writing style bothered me. I guess I would say it cloyed. ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2022, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/authors-with-particular-linguistic-habits-or-tics-like-often-repeated-or-misused-words-or-phrases/973332/107 "2022-10-18T03:50:30Z")
> [@mbh](#): > > In one of the books, Bond and a pretty girl spend several pages discussing the sailor in the Old Spice advertisements. Not Old Spice, Players cigarettes (in Thunderball). About eight years ago, we had a thread on [“Authors and the unusual words they like to overuse”,](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/authors-and-the-unusual-words-they-like-to-overuse) which helped me finally identify which was that author I couldn’t remember who used the word “roil” excessively (Stephen R. Donaldson, Thomas Covenant Chronicles). A lot of the examples there have reappeared in this thread. ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2022, 9:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/authors-with-particular-linguistic-habits-or-tics-like-often-repeated-or-misused-words-or-phrases/973332/108 "2022-10-18T09:15:50Z")
> [@SCAdian](#): > > One of the Nero Wolfe mysteries focused on a writer who was fond of using “averred” instead of “said”. That’s what _she_ averred. You’re right, doesn’t work. mmm ---
**Author:** ![Nyvaak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/5f8ce5/32.png) [@Nyvaak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nyvaak)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2022, 10:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/authors-with-particular-linguistic-habits-or-tics-like-often-repeated-or-misused-words-or-phrases/973332/109 "2022-10-18T10:53:50Z")
So. Arcite, I also came here to bring up Heinlein’s jarring use of that word, as you and others have discussed. I think you are right that sometimes it’s equivalent to, “is that so?” More often, though, it seems to stand for something rather like, “those things being so . . .” to introduce the next thought. I can’t remember coming across this exact construction in anyone else’s writing. What really throws me, though, and takes me right out of the story, is when Heinlein uses “so” to _end_ a thought. Used this way it seems to be a vague signal that the preceding should have emotional impact. For instance: _Even his abominable political and social philosophies could not wholly mar Heinlein’s stories, and his ability to spin a wonderful yarn would draw readers long after his passing. So._ ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2022, 10:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/authors-with-particular-linguistic-habits-or-tics-like-often-repeated-or-misused-words-or-phrases/973332/110 "2022-10-18T10:57:26Z")
The editors of the King James Bible used the phrase “And it came to pass” _727 times_ in the Old Testament. Joseph Smith must have really liked the repetition, because it pops up _1,404 times_ in the Book of Mormon. ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2022, 11:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/authors-with-particular-linguistic-habits-or-tics-like-often-repeated-or-misused-words-or-phrases/973332/111 "2022-10-18T11:07:22Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > Joseph Smith must have really liked the repetition, because it pops up _1,404 times_ in the Book of Mormon. Don’t you mean the Prophet Moroni must have really liked the repetition? Smith was just the transcriber 😄 ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2022, 11:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/authors-with-particular-linguistic-habits-or-tics-like-often-repeated-or-misused-words-or-phrases/973332/112 "2022-10-18T11:23:04Z")
> [@solost](#): > > Don’t you mean the Prophet Moroni must have really liked the repetition? Smith was just the transcriber 😄 Well, presumably he had some leeway in deciding how to translate the phrase from Reformed Egyptian. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2022, 11:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/authors-with-particular-linguistic-habits-or-tics-like-often-repeated-or-misused-words-or-phrases/973332/113 "2022-10-18T11:47:57Z")
Stephen King has a number of stylistic tics. Check out this partial list of the qualifying phrase “that is” from one novel alone, _Fairy Tale_. These are not meant to be the affectation of a particular character, as it appears in the utterances of numerous characters as well as the narrative itself, and also appears throughout many of his other books. I generally like King’s writing style, but the fact that this phrase occurs so often that it’s noticeable is a sure sign of overuse. - I always start out on the claimant’s side. Unless I find reasons not to be, that is. - … it was one of those songs you like more every time you hear it. Until it turns into an earworm, that is - You can buy anything on the Internet. If you can afford it, that is. - There’s nothing in that shed. Of use, that is. - “In the end, it seems to me that one or two good months are better than six bad ones. If it works at all, that is.” - “‘I could Wednesday night. If you’re not busy, that is.” - “‘Looks like your license expired in 2008. You might want to renew it. If you live long enough, that is.” - “She’ll be fine,” the old man said, “but if you have food, I suggest you bring it in. If you don’t want to find it gone in the morning, that is.” - " … it’s time to talk about what you must do to save your friend. If you still intend to go ahead, that is." - " … Another day’s walk will take you to the house of my cousin Claudia. If you move along briskly, that is." - … but they didn’t have his power and the butterflies didn’t die. Except, that is, for the ones that struck those high-voltage auras first. - And he was gone. If he was there at all, that is ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2022, 12:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/authors-with-particular-linguistic-habits-or-tics-like-often-repeated-or-misused-words-or-phrases/973332/114 "2022-10-18T12:44:18Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > Stephen King has a number of stylistic tics. Check out this partial list of the qualifying phrase “that is” from one novel alone, _Fairy Tale_. That’s funny, I recently finished _Fairy Tale_, and I didn’t notice the overuse of 'that is". I did figure that King would get at least a couple mentions in this thread. I was going to mention his use of various repeated sayings his characters use throughout his novels, though I don’t know if it’s an stylistic tic so much as just his signature style of dialog writing. Exclamations like “_ **Jesus please us!** _” which I’ve actually adopted in certain situations. ---
**Author:** ![StarvingButStrong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/starvingbutstrong/32/335_2.png) [@StarvingButStrong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StarvingButStrong)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2022, 12:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/authors-with-particular-linguistic-habits-or-tics-like-often-repeated-or-misused-words-or-phrases/973332/115 "2022-10-18T12:47:39Z")
> [@Nyvaak](#): > > More often, though, it seems to stand for something rather like, “those things being so . . .” to introduce the next thought. I can’t remember coming across this exact construction in anyone else’s writing. That’s close to the way we use it in speech. For example, hubby and I will have been discussing plans, like do we want to go out for dinner and on to a movie? Or should we order in a pizza and see if neighbors would like to join us in a game/conversation night? Or should we be ‘good’, eat the leftovers, and tackle organizing the tax papers we keep saying we should get to? And talking over the pros and cons of each plan, and what we feel is best/are in a mood for, until the conversation seems to taper off with both of us having had our say. And after a pause one of us will say, “So. What are we going to do?” Which sort of means, we’ve heard the evidence, what’s the judgment? ---
**Author:** ![Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/intergalactic_gladiator/32/112_2.png) [@Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Intergalactic_Gladiator)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2022, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/authors-with-particular-linguistic-habits-or-tics-like-often-repeated-or-misused-words-or-phrases/973332/116 "2022-10-18T13:41:00Z")
> [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](#): > > I used to notice this in comic books a lot. Some time in the early months of the Marvel Universe, Stan Lee must have picked “distaff” (highfalutin adjective for “female”) as his word for the day. He used it all over the place for a few years. Another one I noticed was Man-Thing writer Steve Gerber’s over use of the exclamation, “Oh, spit!”. It’s a cute way to get around the comics code, but it’s such an odd phrase that it might serve as an individual character’s catch phrase, but how come everybody in the story is saying it? Two more comic writers that I can think of offhand with their own linguistic tics are Chris Claremont and Simon Furman. [Chris Claremontisms - Comic Tropes video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tD1Nj5BeHYk&ab_channel=ComicTropes) [Furmanism - TFWiki](https://tfwiki.net/wiki/Furmanism) ---
**Author:** ![Knowed\_Out](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/knowed_out/32/7380_2.png) [@Knowed\_Out](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knowed_Out)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2022, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/authors-with-particular-linguistic-habits-or-tics-like-often-repeated-or-misused-words-or-phrases/973332/117 "2022-10-18T16:59:31Z")
This may not actually be that common, but Dan Simmons used the phrase “bruise-black sky” at least a couple of times. Could be I thought it was such a cool phrase, I noticed when he used it again and kept expecting it. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2022, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/authors-with-particular-linguistic-habits-or-tics-like-often-repeated-or-misused-words-or-phrases/973332/118 "2022-10-18T17:13:52Z")
Not unlike Homer’s repeated use of “wine-dark sea.” He uses the phrase 5 times in the _Iliad_ and 12 times in the _Odyssey_. ---
**Author:** ![SCAdian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scadian/32/3292_2.png) [@SCAdian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SCAdian)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2022, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/authors-with-particular-linguistic-habits-or-tics-like-often-repeated-or-misused-words-or-phrases/973332/119 "2022-10-18T18:16:15Z")
> [@MrAtoz](#): > > In Harry Turtledove novels, tanks don’t explode, they “brew up.” Like it’s a giant armored pot of coffee. From my reading, that was pretty much the standard description of a burning tank during WW II. ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2022, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/authors-with-particular-linguistic-habits-or-tics-like-often-repeated-or-misused-words-or-phrases/973332/120 "2022-10-18T18:22:41Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > Apparently E.L. James (_50 Shades_ series and other bad romance fiction) really loves the word “murmured,” to the point that people who read it to riff on it wind up thinking of her every time they see that word in other works. I hate “murmured” as a synonym for “said.” Too many people use it. Seanane McGuire, in particular. I just came across “juddered” in a story I read yesterday in a collection of horror stories. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/authors-with-particular-linguistic-habits-or-tics-like-often-repeated-or-misused-words-or-phrases/973332.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/authors-with-particular-linguistic-habits-or-tics-like-often-repeated-or-misused-words-or-phrases/973332.md?page=7)