3 Cases of Distracting Usage

3 Cases of Distracting Usage 3 Cases of Distracting Usage 3 Cases of Distracting Usage By Mark Nichol Word choice is problematic when the sense of a selected word, when read in association with another word, creates a diversion for the reader that distracts from the content. Here are three sentences with distracting words, along with solutions for revising them to avoid the distraction. 1. â€Å"He turned heads in scientific circles when he proposed that climate change is the driving force in human revolution.† The association of the past tense of the idiom â€Å"turn heads,† which means â€Å"draw sudden attention,† with the phrase â€Å"scientific circles,† a figure of speech in which the plural form of circle refers to a broad community of people with a common interest, unfortunately suggests that the subject caused the heads of his colleagues to rotate in a scientific manner. Revise one expression or the other: â€Å"He turned heads in the scientific community when he proposed that climate change is the driving force in human revolution† or â€Å"He attracted attention in scientific circles when he proposed that climate change is the driving force in human revolution.† 2. â€Å"The redrawn logo has drawn criticism.† The proximity of the adjective redrawn, which refers to the act of drawing an illustration over again, and the use of drawn as a verb to mean â€Å"attracted† creates an unintentionally humorous collision of ideas. Again, reword the adjective or the verb: â€Å"The revised logo has drawn criticism† or â€Å"The redrawn logo has attracted criticism.† 3. â€Å"An Ohio city will settle a lawsuit over 911 calls.† Because over is often used in place of â€Å"more than† to mean â€Å"an excess of,† the reader may momentarily assume that the number 911 is an amount rather than a sequence of digits that constitute a phone number. Replace over with another word (â€Å"An Ohio city will settle a lawsuit regarding 911 calls†) or, better, provide unambiguous details: â€Å"An Ohio city will settle a lawsuit regarding emergency 911 calls† or â€Å"An Ohio city will settle a lawsuit regarding calls made to 911.† Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Style category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:What Is Irony? (With Examples)How Long Should a Paragraph Be?I wish I were...