# When writing news articles about earthquakes... **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [August 25, 2011, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-writing-news-articles-about-earthquakes/594105 "2011-08-25T23:53:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 1\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![BellRungBookShut-CandleSnuffed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bcef8e/32.png) [@BellRungBookShut-CandleSnuffed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BellRungBookShut-CandleSnuffed)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2011, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-writing-news-articles-about-earthquakes/594105/1 "2011-08-25T23:53:06Z")
Yes, we get it. The English language has exactly one (1) synonym for earthquake, not counting the diminuitive “quake.” Does it really make your article sound more intelligent to use it all the time? It’s like the crossword puzzle people who can’t make their puzzles work without the oh-so-difficult “Sapporo sash,” or “kimono closer” clue. Maybe it just gets me because a, I’ve been reading lots of articles about earthquakes recently, and b, my brain wants to read “trembler” instead of temblor. pointless I know, but it pisses me off