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The Well-Spoken Thesaurus

The Most Powerful Ways to Say Everyday Words and Phrases

Tom Heehler

First annotation on . Last on .

23 quotes

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Lesson 3: Ernest Hemingway

  • What makes Hemingway remarkable is his ability to make simplicity sophisticated, to give ordinary language a timeless and poetic feelAug 4 2022 11:20AM

Ii

  • IS [consider dropping this word in special circumstances] “Good-bye—if you hear of my being stood up against a Mexican stone wall and shot to rags please know that I think that [ ] a pretty good way to depart this life. It beats old age, disease, or falling down the cellar stairs. To be a Gringo in Mexico—ah, that is euthanasia!” Ambrose Bierce in a letter to his niece Lora -remains -constitutes -is by far -is, if nothing else -as is standard practice when -qualifies as -is proving to be -is subject to -survives -is of course -serves as -has tendencies towards -is that of -finds itself -is of great importance -is the personification of -personifies -is the product of -amounts to no more than -is at once apparent inMar 29 2023 2:35AM

Ll

  • LOOKING FOR -in search of -out for -trolling for -in pursuit of -in want ofMar 29 2023 2:33AM

Chapter 29

  • LEARN -glean -gather -acquire an understanding of -familiarize oneself with -unearth -stumble upon -increase your knowledge beyond -gain a better understanding ofFeb 24 2023 2:30AM
  • LIKE (I LIKE IT) -I welcome it -is it to your liking -it resonates with me -I’m leaning towards the view -it has found favor among -I find her agreeable -I favor -I have an affinity for -it was well received -they are responding well to the -it appeals to many -I’m partial to -I have an affection for -I’m fond of -I took pleasure in -I was taken with her -she speaks well of him -there’s something to be said forFeb 24 2023 2:31AM
  • LIKE (SIMILAR) -recalls a certain -much like -reminiscent of -marked by “His movements were marked by the lizard’s disconcertingly abrupt clockwork speed; his speech was thin, fluty, and dry.” Aldous Huxley, Chrome Yellow -akin to -much the same as -it’s ____ian -has the character of -calls to mind -reflects -captures the elegance of -epitomizes -is suggestive of “He is in shirt sleeves, with a vest figured with faded gold horseshoes, and a pink-striped shirt, suggestive of peppermint candy.” Upton Sinclair, The Jungle -conveys -evokes -is akin to -reminds me of nothing so -rather like -along the lines of -bears a resemblance to -bears the stamp of -is not dissimilar to -is in the nature of -is analogous to -corresponds with -is in the manner of -is characteristic of -it’s not my nature to -is typical of -is evocative of -is similar to that of -is an echo of -as “The walls are cracked and water runs upon them in thin threads without sound, black and glistening as blood.” Ayn Rand, Anthem -is in the form of -as expressed in -such as one might expect from -in a way that suggests -much as -of the sort -with the air of -wore the stamp of *Consider dropping “like” altogether: “The young man reveres men of genius, because, to speak truly, they are more [ ] himself than he is.” Ralph Waldo Emerson, “The Poet”Mar 2 2023 11:16AM

Mm

  • MOST IMPORTANT -foremost of these -above all -seminal -more so than anything else -central to -overriding -salient -chief -most noted -pre-eminent -____ of the first rank -of the greatest consequenceMar 29 2023 2:31AM
  • MOSTLY -in large part -to a great extent -primarily -largely -principally -chieflyMar 29 2023 2:31AM

Chapter 31

  • NO -far from it -I think not [confrontational] -no such -not by any means -not in the least -in principle, yes [diplomatic] -no _____ to speak of -not the slightest -I won’t allow it -you’ll do nothing of the sort -to the contrary -quite the contrary -none amongFeb 24 2023 2:34AM
  • NOT -by no means -not by any means -not gone so far as to -not for a moment -not so much as -nary a -a far cry from -not in the least -on no account -in no respect -God forbid -nothing doing -anything butFeb 24 2023 2:34AM

Chapter 32

  • OBVIOUS -evident -conspicuous -goes without saying -axiomatic -explicit -manifest -a forgone conclusion -patent -well-pronounced -plainFeb 24 2023 2:35AM
  • ON THE SAME PAGE -working from the same script -simpaticoFeb 24 2023 2:36AM

Chapter 33

  • PLAYING DUMB -laying on the Socratic irony She’s playing dumb to make you look ridiculous. She’s using Socratic irony to make you look ridiculous.Feb 24 2023 2:11AM

Chapter 37

  • TO QUOTE -to borrow from -to approximate____’s remark “It was only that, having written down the first few fine paragraphs, I could not produce any others—or, to approximate Gertrude Stein’s remark about a lesser writer of The Lost Generation—I had the syrup but it wouldn’t pour.” William Styron, Sophie’s ChoiceFeb 24 2023 2:19AM

Chapter 38

  • ULTIMATE ACHIEVEMENT -ne plus ultra {Latin, nee plus UL-truh} “The Reagan Revolution is widely considered to be the ne plus ultra of the conservative movement.”Feb 24 2023 2:20AM
  • UNBELIEVABLE -I find that hard to accept -implausible -frankly it stretches credulity -incredulous -scarcely to be imagined -it flies in the face of credulity -beyond beliefFeb 24 2023 2:20AM
  • UNDERSTAND (I UNDERSTAND THAT) -I take it that -I recognize -I can gather -I can’t fathom -I comprehend -I can’t make out why -the______does not escape him “The irony does not escape him: that the one who comes to teach learns the keenest of lessons, while those who come to learn learn nothing. It is a feature of his profession on which he does not remark to Soraya.” J. M. Coetzee, Disgrace -I grasp the situation -I am given to understand -I have come to understand -it is not lost on me -I arrive at understanding -I have it that “It is simply this. That Space, as our mathematicians have it, is spoken of as having three dimensions, which one may call length, breadth, and thickness, and is always definable by reference to three planes, each at right angles to the others.” H. G. Wells, The Time Machine As far as I know, the flow of oil has stopped. I am given to understand that the flow of oil has stopped.Feb 24 2023 2:21AM
  • UNIQUE -stands apart from -inimitable -sui generis {Latin, SOO-eye JEN-er- us} -singularFeb 24 2023 2:21AM

Chapter 39

  • VERY -you are nothing if not -terribly -desperately -all too -most -markedly -highly -particularly -exceptionally -well -fiercely -intensely -exceedingly -profoundly -startlingly -immensely -only too -far and away -much -painfully -fearfully -more than a bit -acutely -heartily -decisively -in the worst way -to a great extent -ever so -considerably -by far -______to an extreme -clearly -indeed -assuredly -so muchFeb 24 2023 2:23AM

Chapter 40

  • WANT -favor -require -intend for -covet -desire -care to -wish to -long for -have designs on -long toFeb 24 2023 2:23AM
  • WANTED TO -had hoped to -felt very much inclined to -it had been the ambition of _____ to be -burned to “He had burned several times to enlist. Tales of great movements shook the land. They might not be distinctly Homeric, but there seemed to be much glory in them. He had read of marches, sieges, conflicts, and he had longed to see it all. His busy mind had drawn for him large pictures extravagant in color, lurid with breathless deeds.” Stephen Crane, The Red Badge of Courage -desired to -longed to be -cared to -did so want to -yearned to “It was not that I no longer wanted to write, I still yearned passionately to produce the novel which had been for so long captive in my brain.” William Styron, Sophie’s ChoiceFeb 24 2023 2:24AM

Chapter 41

  • YEARS OLD -a man of seventy five - years of age “The stranger’s eyes were green, his hair burnt to a straw colour. I judged he was sixty years of age.” J.M. Coetzee, FoeFeb 24 2023 2:28AM
  • YES -precisely -so it seems -to be sure -no doubt -it would seem so -most assuredly -without reservations -such is the caseFeb 24 2023 2:28AM

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