THE ART OF JARGON.*
Ova of the liveliest of Sir Arthur Quiller-Couch's lectures on The Art of Writing, recently reviewed in these columns, is that in which he examines the false prose or " jargon " of journalism and official documents. The two main features of jargon, he points out, are that it habitually beats about the bush, and prefers abstract generalities to the concrete noun. The need of his protest, in the interests of clarity and precision, is sufficiently proved by the book before us, which is nothing else than a wholly serious handbook of jargon, a compendium of periphras:s, padding, and visas cliché arranged under headings. We begin with a section headed" Complimentary of Things," and find, together with such old friends as "a very real asset," "a capital idea," and "the result exceeded my most sanguine expectations," unctuous modernisms such as "it is an uplifting habit," and a foimula suitable for the opening of an Exhibition : "It is a beautiful piece of industrial accomplishment." " Cordiality " is less productive, but contains at least one useful self- protective phrase : "I would be delighted to talk with you, but un- fortunately I am very hurried." Indeed, we cannot help thinking that this section would have been enriched by the remark of a Scotsman to a caller : " My father is a little queer in his heid, my sister suffers in her herrt ; I myifelf am a martyr to the liver complaint. Otherwise I should have been delighted to ask you to stay to supper." " Courtesy " ranges from the simplicity of" I thank you very much" to the cautious elegance of "The only recompense I can make you is goodwill," the judicious vagueness of "Does the game of — please your fancy ? " and tho frank suggestiveness of "Aren't you going ? " Conventional phrases are classified under the headings "At Weddings," "Apologetic," " Condolence," "On Leaving a Host.," and "On Being Introduced." Perhaps the best effort in the domain of apology is : "I am exceed- ingly sorry that your request comes to me at a time when I am so pressed by my own affairs that I cannot, with any convenience, comply with it." Replies to begging-letters or appeals are omitted, otherwise room should have been found for Lord Palmerston's famous formula : "I have to acknowledge your letter of the — inst., and beg to subscribe [thus far on the first page, then overleaf] myself yours faithfully, Palmerston." We pass to the section "Commendatory of Persons," in which the, note of flattery is struck in" You are looking as lovely as usual," while caution is shown in the saying, "He is above the average in point of conversation." But if we wish to be "Critical of Persons," a veritable battery of disparagement is placed at our disposal : "I would as soon take Beelzebub himself into my plans " ; "he is an odious old reprobate " ; "he is a derelict of mankind " ; "ho is ponderously dull." Our phrase-maker chivalrously abstains from any disparagement of women ; but "I will not use terms of endear- ment" can, of course, be applied to both sexes, and his freedom from national bias is shown by the admission : "The suspicion arises in at least some minds, that the reprehensible art of lying has several practi- tioners in this country." " Dissent " (not in the theological sense) yields "I loathe it " ; "decidedly not " ; "it is in a bad way " ; • The Happy Phrase : a Handbook of Expression for the Enrichment of Conversation, Writing, and Patio Speaking. Compiled and Arranged by Edwin liamlin Can. Londou : G. P. Putnam's SOIIII. (by. ed. net.) ." the very heart and soul of justice have been plucked out of her un- resisting carcass " ; and "he could out-slang the boldest bargeman." Under "Prefatory "—a long section—we are delighted to meet with "Paradoxical as it may seem," and the compiler's wide-ranging choice of jargon may be illustrated by his inclusion of such simple jumping-off phrases as "Frankly, I " ; "On the other hand " ; " Nevertheless " ; "In the meantime " ; as well as such a cri de cceur as "I have been falsely assuring everybody that" and "A very affecting circumstance happened yesterday." " Response " is quite bewilderingly lavish of suggestion—e.g., "He is in feeble health " ; "We haggled about the price " ; "I think she is a wee bit jealous " ; "I feel that I have no more backbone than a jelly-fish " ; "in no manner of way " ; " ho fled the city " ; "she is a widowed woman " ; and "that kind of apples is best." Part II. contain" General Phrases for Speech and Writing." Under the heading "Descriptive of Persons" we may note "a black, chubby, kinky-haired piccaninny " ; "a husky youngster " ; "a son frightfully dissipated " ; " an excellent musician " ; and "a fond mother." "Descriptive of Things" gives us "a crimson rosebud " ; "the most appetizing confection " ; "tire blissful skies " ; and "a suit of faultless cut." But it is in the " Figur ative " section that the compiler is seen at his best. "As idle as a painted ship upon a painted ocean" we seem to have heard before ; but" my heart palpitated like a trip hammer " ; "such a snore as the nose of innocence can produce " ; and "like fine-spun cobwebs, with greedy puffed-up spider-like lusts in the middle," show his fine command of imaginative simile. The " Militaristic " section reveals a strong p acificist bias, and the political phrases are with very few exceptions steeped in pessimism—e.g., "indulging simply in pure buncombe " ; "deliberate malfeasance in office " ; "political fakery " ; "it is regarded as a mere eczema on the body politic." Part III. comprises Phrases for Clergymen and Religious Workers." The first dozen pages are filled with quotations from Holy Writ, followed by " devotional " and " sermon " phrases. Thus on the next page to that which contains "it is more blessed to give than to resolve" and "The spirit truly is ready but the flesh is weak," we find "Clothe 11.3 with all social and domestic graces," and a little further on, under the heading of "Arraignment," "over head and ears in debt and drink " ; "words which will shock some
dainty soul " ; "The fires of a sensitive religious experience no longer glow " ; and, under that of "Invitation," "May the eternal and un- spotted life of blessedness infix itself in us." The force of anticlimax could no further go, unless it be in "the dynamics of a redeemed life" and "it teems with the virile life of rugged men." Part IV. supplies "Phrases for Letter Writers," mainly for condolence, in which people unable to cope with one of the meat difficult of epistolary duties are provided with a rich assortment of ready-made aids to consolation To those who are unable or unwilling to think this strange com- pilation may possibly be of some use, as a labour-saving instrument.
To all who desire to express themselves with conciseness, simplicity, and sincerity it is not without value as a monumental collection of things better left unsaid or said in a wholly different manner.
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