# What is your threshold tolerance for unusual or oft repeated words in books

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-threshold-tolerance-for-unusual-or-oft-repeated-words-in-books/983327>\
**Category:** Cafe Society\
**Tags:** books-writing-myths\
**Created:** [April 28, 2023, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-threshold-tolerance-for-unusual-or-oft-repeated-words-in-books/983327 "2023-04-28T22:15:52Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 1\
**Showing post:** 55

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**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\
**Post date:** [May 2, 2023, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-threshold-tolerance-for-unusual-or-oft-repeated-words-in-books/983327/55 "2023-05-02T02:23:19Z")

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> [@AHunter3](#):
>
> Didn’t we just do this?
> 
> > [@](#):
> >
> > Marguerite Henry was rather fond of the unusual phrase “sharp ecstasy”. It shows up twice in Misty of Chincoteague and also in some of her other books, most of which are aimed at young readers. Other children in other books are joyful or feel happy or even on occasion may be ecstatic, but only in Marguerite Henry’s world are they likely to “feel a sharp ecstasy”.

And in that 2022 thread it was pointed out that we had [done the same thing back in 2014.](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/authors-and-the-unusual-words-they-like-to-overuse/680731)

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