MLP says less is more

First, your Mrs. Language Person must correct herself. Last month two readers did alert her to her own (No! A redundancy; if it is hers she already owns it) faux-pas of pronoun selection. Case in point: The use of the subjective pronoun (e.g., "I") when it should have been the objective (e.g., "me"). Or was it the reverse?

In any case, mea culpa and bravo to those vigilant grammarians who caught that solecism (Latin "soelecismus" or Greek "soloikos" - speaking incorrectly; a minor grammar blunder). Yes, MLP makes mistakes too, quite a few. To miss the obvious sleeping little is undoubtedly her lame excuse. As she slept not a wink last night, let's see what solecisms result today. This snitty old bitty will keep it brief, much to readers' relief.

Speaking of brief, rather than bore, less is more. Wordiness is the unhappy stepchild of redundancy (couldn't make that rhyme), and together they elicit MLP's problem of last eve: snores. The longer it takes one to say something, the better the chance of losing the audience. Like crime, bore doesn't pay. Life's too short for wasted words, MLP notwithstanding.

Ready the red pencils, dear Reader; finger on the delete key:

A small number of ... What's wrong with "a few?"

Being of the opinion that (ugh! Violent shudder!)...Other than never starting a sentence with "being" one should simply write, "I believe."

Due to the fact that ... That's what "because" means.

Until such time as ... "Until" will do.

Excessive number of ... Try "too many"

For the purpose of ... You'll find "to" or "for" will usually suffice.

None at all ... "None." That's all.

With (in) regard to ... "Regarding" saves time and type. And if you must, it's "regard to" not "regards to," unless you mean to send greetings.

On a daily basis ... Why not "daily" or "regularly"?

The present time ... The present. Better yet, "now."

Subsequent to ... "After," "later," or "next" generally work and sound less awkward.

The majority of ... Most of the time, "most" works fine.

Reach a conclusion ... With "conclude," "end," or "finish" You'll get there faster.

And in regard to concluding, I too reach a conclusion, due to the fact that at the present time and subsequent to my lack of sleep on a daily basis until such time as I get sleep and being of the opinion that the majority of my readers consider this an excessive number of words for one column: Enough.

"I have only made this letter longer because I have not had the time to make it shorter." - Blaise Pascal

Mrs. Language Person is an occasional and rather irritating columnist for the Hagadone News Network. You may reach her at sholeh@cdapress.com.