The Taney County republican. (Forsyth, Mo.) 1895-1992, 1902-04-17
BIG WORDS.
Often a Convenience to Writers But .
Stumbling Block TO Readers

otsWpiihk piVSA W hcaueiS
II do not like big words as a usua!
thing, but occasionally they are u
great convenience, for they are great
savers Of space and time remarked
a gentleman the other day who oc.
ca,loually breaks into a magazine
with a heavy weight, speaking with
a New Orleans mcs-DcmoGrat man
by multiplying the prcliXcs, or
saudwiohiug in the fraction Of the
root of some word from here ard
there, n combination can be arranged
that VIII convey in a single word and
at singl, glance an idea that or.
dinarily it would take a multiplicity
of words to convey. For TIN, reason
medical jurisprudence. and scientific
Literature generally, are rich with
what i, regarded as rare and cXtraor.
binary vocabulary. Yet there are but
few word, used in any ofthc branches
OF science which mere novice in
language could not understand il he
would but analyzc the combination
and think fora moment Of the doriya.
tive fragments which are TO he found.
| Sometimes the word may string out
over half q line in an ordinary news
pA.tr column. but an examination OF
! II viii show that, even independent Of
the context, one may easily under.
stand it if one will but reflect for a
moment upon the fragments Of other
similar word, which are preserved in
the combinations had an amazing
experience once with a big word. and
incidentally the use Of it prodted mG
in small way. had bla2cd out on
the negro problem, and in a discus.
sion Of the mental status Of the negro
! had occasion to refer to the popular
belief among negroes in the mate
rial heaven. and urged, in my conten-
tior, that the negro race was prim.
tive race: that even his conception Of
a deity had not yet undergone the
| processes Of dcanthropomorphization
, Thc word struck me because OF liz con-
yeniencc and cXpressiyCncss, convey.
ing %, it does an idea that could scarce
~ bc conveyed by anything less than
dozen words. There was lean,
cadaycrou, bill collector who walked
in my shadow on pay day. lie walked
into the office with copy of my ar.
! ll,lc in his hand. Excuse me, he
said, but me and my wife read your
article on the negro question, and,
being southerners, we indorse all YOU
say. But there is one thing about it,
he continued, timidly, which We do
not understand, and since We have
failed to find the word in the diction-
ary, thought would ask you what
j, meant, ! did not know exactly
what he was driving at and thought
al first he wa, joking me- He point
, I'd out the word 'dcanthropomorphi2a.
, ticn,' picked it to pieces for him
, and handed ii to him in sections, and
Q be smiled blandly, and in his EN-.
bHrrassmcnt forgot 10 present the bill
which he had been trying to collect.
and never after that did he dun me.
But it taught me a more scriou. les
:. son, for honestly believe that what
:, ever mcrit there was in my article
, WIS los; on that couple because Of the
I intense interest and curious concern
- which cenicrcd in the word which they
did not understand. have not used
the word since, and while it may be a
convenience in literary construction,
y ! believe would rather spell the idea
- out in smaller characters"