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On Fri, 30 Oct 2009 07:57:04 -0600, Vic Smith
wrote:

On Fri, 30 Oct 2009 08:05:26 -0500, wrote:

You just don't know how to enjoy yourself, Harry, do you? No, I
don't use a thesaurus, and I'm being completely honest. I don't have
to. And any journeyed student of English would be able to tell
immediately if a person is using a thesaurus since in such cases the
words chosen will often be chosen awkwardly and will not play well in
the sentence. Your "suspicion" denotes angst more than it speaks to
your immaculate credentials.

You might find a thesaurus handy. I'd prefer that you use scissors.
But perhaps I should elucidate this in a different manner more fitting
to the audience.
The employment of a thesaurus can obfuscate or clarify the flights of
fancy a overly self-indulgent mind often takes in composing prose - or
poetry.
If the thesaurus is retrieved in a deliberate and thoughtful manner -
which is quite appropriate and fitting given the other requirements of
writing useful prose - that action may at least give one pause to
consider if what is being said is more important than how it is being
said.
In other words - will anybody want to wade through this?
That pause and added thought can be productive if it serves to improve
the result.
But usually only if the thesaurus is put back on the bookshelf.
Of course if the pause is simply used to pore through the thesaurus
for more words to use, those words may be, as you say, inserted
awkwardly - or perhaps misapplied to a picture only one can see.
Which could well be an improvement to the writer's eye, though
instilling a more pyrrhic aspect to the work, since the result is
usually that even fewer will read it, and thus the war is lost.
Bottom line, proper use of the thesaurus is tricky.
Hey, that's why scissors are better.

--Vic

Your thoughtful missive is certainly worthy of contemplation, Vic. A
Thesaurus does have its place, and I do use a thesaurus on occasion.
But, I personally don't have the inclination to invest time rummaging
through a thesaurus to post notes in rec.boats. This is more of a
distraction for me. I suppose there are better distractions. But,
some of the the posts in this NG are rather witty and informative, and
except for the the racalcitrant progressive remonstration (sorry),
these can make for a pleasant diversion.

--
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