March 23, 2006: Issue 132
For quotation attribution, nothing beats plain old “says.” Flowery attributions (“chuckles,” “recalls,” “exclaims,” “proclaims”) steal focus from the quote. Let the speaker speak, and get out of his or her way.
Here’s what William Strunk Jr. and E. B. White say in The Elements of Style:
Inexperienced writers not only overwork their adverbs but load their attributes with explanatory verbs: “he consoled,” “she congratulated.” They do this, apparently, in the belief that the word “said” is always in need of support, or because they have been told to do it by experts in the art of bad writing.
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