![]() 133 As the one ys ful of hardnes and dyffyculty‥so the other ys facyle and esy. phrase as subject, and in phrase facile and easy.ġ483 Caxton Æsop 97 It is facyle to scape out of the handes of the blynd. I'll just toss into the fray the OED entry for Facile:įorms: 5–6 facyl(l)e, 6–8 facil(l, 5– facile.ġ.1 That can be accomplished with little effort = easy 11. Which definition more accurately represents the word as it is used in prose? 'Facile' and 'delightful' go together quite well. Ready quick expert as, he is facile in expedients he wields a facile pen. *This is treating Burns like a child, a person of so facile a disposition as not to be trusted without a keeper on the king's highway.*ĥ. Easily persuaded to good or bad yielding ductile to a fault pliant flexible. ![]() *I meant she should be courteous, facile, sweet.*Ĥ. Easy of access or converse mild courteous not haughty, austere, or distant affable complaisant. *The facile gates of hell too slightly barred.*ģ. Easy to be surmounted or removed easily conquerable readily mastered. will render the work facile and delightful.*Ģ. Easy to be done or performed: not difficult performable or attainable with little labor. Instead it makes me think that 'facile' is almost indistinguishable from 'ignorant'.Ĭompare that definition to the one from Websters 1913-1928 definition:įac"ile (?) a. That definition most certainly does not present a mental image of prose in which the best word is 'facile'. I think you are reinforcing the authors point. > I guess someone needs a better dictionary (this was sourced from Dictionary.app on MacOS, btw.) 2 (especially of success in sport) easily achieved effortless: a facile seven-lengths victory. (of a person) having a superficial or simplistic knowledge or approach: a man of facile and shallow intellect.> facile | ˈfasʌɪl, ˈfasɪl | adjective 1 ignoring the true complexities of an issue superficial: facile generalizations. Draft #4 is when you comb through it and look for crusty phrases, replacing them with "stuff that sings". While writing those drafts you were focused on the narrative or plot or whatever. If you've just finished a draft of a few thousand words, a lot of dull phrasing will have made it into the writing. ![]() But both use words that everyday people would understand. A good writer takes a crack at it and comes up with "We aim to please".įirst one sounds corporate and boring, the second one is friendly and informal. Or, let's say your marketing team proposes a new slogan: "Our intention is to make sure you're satisfied". Of the curtains revealing the window behind them, of the way the room gained illumination, etc. But the second one paints a better image in your mind. Todd parted the curtains and sunlight streamed into the roomīoth describe the same thing, and both use ordinary words. Todd opened the curtains and the room got brighter I know the writers you're talking about as well they're just doing it badly, or mimicking what they think a good writer does. None of that suggests the writer is looking to use obscure words. > He explains that for him, draft #4 is the draft after the painstaking labor of creation is done, when all that’s left is to punch up the language, to replace shopworn words and phrases with stuff that sings. It's about finding variants that better capture the essence what you're trying to say, or add life to the prose. Webster’s Eighth amends to “one who converses with much enthusiasm.” ’ And Webster’s Seventh isn’t even up-to-date. Are you a doctor? Do you have a doctorate? Most people like to put their diplomas up, I notice, if they have credentials. ‘A conversationalist is also one who, I’m sure you’ll recall, “excels in conversation.” ’ You actually charge a fee to converse much?’ And then but what’s that supposed to mean, “professional conversationalist”? A conversationalist is just one who converses much. If Himself made the appointment and paid for it the time’s supposed to be mine, right? Not yours. ‘Don’t start looking at your watch, as if I’m taking up valuable time of yours. ‘I am, yes, as I believe I just stated, a professional conversationalist.’ ‘You’re a professional conversationalist?’ ‘Hal, you are here because I am a professional conversationalist, and your father has made an appointment with me, for you, to converse.’
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