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Economy
2

Economy

Economy

(OP)
OK, you wouldn't guess it from my posts but i admire economy.

There is an art in using the langauge to convey whole concepts in a very few words. Often there are constraints of time or space or attention span within which to transmit the message.

I'll give you two examples.

In Kojak, with Telly Savalas, one phrase epitomised this for its conciseness and the force of its descriptive power. Kojak describes a particular group as "little finger martini drinkers."

In advertising, perhaps the best i have encountered is Castrol Oil's description of its product as "liquid Engineering".

If i could write reports with this economy, or craft phrasing that compels belief, i would be more effective. But creating is tough. It would be nice to have a glossary of such phrases with which to beguile management.

Any contributions?

JMW
www.viscoanalyser.com

RE: Economy

Homer Simpson, "Doh!"  It’s plain, simple and eloquent.

But to be fair, the reason many of our technical writtings get so long winded is due to liability concerns.

Ray Reynolds
"There is no reason anyone would want a computer in their home."
Ken Olson, president, chairman and founder of Digital Equipment Corp., 1977
Have you read FAQ731-376 to make the best use of Eng-Tips Forums?

RE: Economy

Hmm, I am reminded of Johnson's dictum, from memory: "Whenever I have finished writing a particularly fine passage I strike it out".

If your neat phrase shades the meaning in any way away from your actual intent then it does not belong in a technical report.


Cheers

Greg Locock

RE: Economy

The "Guinness Book of Records" used to have (still does have?) an entry for the most concise correspondence on record.

An author in the 19th or early 20th century (I can't recall who) was travelling overseas, and wanted to know how his latest book was selling. He sent the shortest telegram he could think of to his publisher. (This was some time before the advent of mobile phones and e-mail, and telegrams were charged by the character sent.):

?

He got an equally concise response from his publisher by return telegram:

!

RE: Economy

Oh brave new world that has such language in it ! I think that the day we wax lyrical about the linguistic skills of Kojak we are surely staring into the abyss ! All I can recall from that show is Savalas screaming "Crocker" at the top of his voice, although that was undoubtedly a fine example of sentence economy from the screen writers perspective.

RE: Economy

There was a telegraphic conversation between a New York editor and his foreign correspondent:

Editor: Why Unnews?
FC: Unnews goodnews
Ed: Unnews unjob

which seemed to epitomise the manager/staff relationship perfectly!

Good Luck
johnwm

RE: Economy

I was told that the most concise, KISS, report was during WWII from a PBY on antisubmarine patrol in the North Atlantic.

The telegraphed report was "sighted sub sank same".

RE: Economy

Sighted Sub Sunk

RE: Economy

One of my proudest moments as a writer was in freshman English class in college.  I turned in a three page paper for an assignment that was supposed to be five to seven pages.  I got an "A" on the paper, with a note that said, "Thanks for not making me read 2 pages of filler."

Due to illness, the part of The Tick will be played by... The Tick.
http://www.EsoxRepublic.com

RE: Economy

TheTick: I believe there is currently a US television commercial (I can't quite remember what for - something to do with computers or the Internet), in which a small girl hands in a massive tome-like homework assignment to a teacher, who says something along the lines of "but I only asked for a one page summary on Thomas Jefferson", whereupon the girl points out that she also burned a CD to make it a bit easier to handle. This commercial seems to be attempting to send a message which is somewhat different from yours !

RE: Economy

There’s definitely a difference between being thorough and being tedious.

I like to be thorough, except in instances where I am asked to do something outside my job function, then I love to be tedious, hoping that the “powers that be” won’t ask me ever again.  Unfortunately, I haven’t learned my lesson yet.

Ray Reynolds
"There is no reason anyone would want a computer in their home."
Ken Olson, president, chairman and founder of Digital Equipment Corp., 1977
Have you read FAQ731-376 to make the best use of Eng-Tips Forums?

RE: Economy

I would like to believe that I have jobs outside my normal job function.  However, my job description has that wonderful jack of all trades phrase ...

And other assigned duties.

RE: Economy

CanEngJohn- I think that they all do, or at least all the good jobs.

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