The English language is constantly changing. New words and phrases reflect evolving lifestyles and new technology. Back in 2000 no one had heard of the words podcast, vape or selfie – or the phrases post-truth or carbon footprint.

Some changes are more subtle. Take this headline in a column on 7 January 2024 from the Observer’s chief political commentator, Andrew Rawnsley. Until recently the headline would have talked about fighting, not battling, the Tories. But now the verb ‘to fight’ seems in terminal decline, at least outside the literal context of a street brawl. It’s a classic example of a noun becoming a verb.

I confess to feeling irritated by the verbal triumph of battle over fight. Yet I don’t bat an eyelid at hoovering or Googling, or reading that a strike is impacting commuters – and countless other examples of nouns becoming verbs. The difference, I think, is that ‘to battle’ has become almost ubiquitous in place of ‘to fight’. It is a linguistic example of groupthink, which is surprisingly common amongst professional writers and communicators. People who dislike a phrase often find themselves using it once it has grown commonplace.

Here’s another example, from The Times (Robert Lee, 22 December 2023). In the past, reporters would have written that ‘Britain and Brussels agreed to delay’… But for some reason the simple word ‘agree’ was usurped by the phrase ‘signed off’. In time even that was seen as too simple and became ‘signed off on‘. It’s hard to see any reason for this. In the past, sub editors would have ruthlessly cut any superfluous words. No longer. Executing [a plan or strategy] is now executing on. That extra word is completely unnecessary: pure padding.

Promises, promises…

(American Banker, 25 December 2023)

Long ago, people and organisations kept or broke their promises. But that was before the word ‘deliver’ became all-conquering. Now the ubiquitous phrase is ‘deliver on a promise’: an ugly term that I suspect is designed to make a broken promise – especially from a politician – seem less serious. This is just one example of how deliver and delivery are amongst the most common words in the political and business lexicon. We see talk of ‘delivering justice’ for subpostmasters in the Post Office computer scandal; no doubt the 2024 general election will feature countless promises to deliver.

Another beloved phrase

‘Beloved’ is another word that seems far more commonly used now. It’s often the right word, for example in talk of a beloved pet or parent. But it is sometimes a clumsy usurper of a more appropriate phrase. The headline above from the Royal Central website would have been better written as ‘loved by Queen Elizabeth II’. I was always taught to use active language (‘Joe stole the car’) rather than the passive voice (‘the car was stolen by Joe’). The modern preference for beloved is leading media to avoid this age-old journalistic practice.

Only the Four Tops should say ‘reach out’

Costa Coffee ‘reached out’ to me yesterday. There’s a lot of reaching out going on – but as an old boss used to joke, only the Four Tops should be allowed to use this phrase, on the strength of their 1967 hit, Reach Out (I’ll Be There).

I dislike the phrase because of its ubiquity. While we Brits have many different words and phrases for making contact (give me a bell, ping me, drop me a line, email me, get in touch…), Americans seem only to reach out. This was, no doubt, once a refreshingly vivid new phrase, but has now become a tiresome cliche. Unfortunately, as my email from Costa shows, it is spreading over here too.

The last word

I mustn’t leave the impression that I’m against linguistic change. I try not to let my irritation at certain phrases blind me to the merits of a story or communication. (I did use that Costa offer…) But writers should be wary of the phrases they use, as their readers may be put off. Almost 40 years ago, I read The Complete Plain Words, a wonderful guide to writing clearly, originally written by a distinguished civil servant, Sir Ernest Gowers. It advised writers to avoid splitting an infinitive (‘to boldly go’) not because it was grammatically wrong, but because ‘you care about your reputation with yours readers’. If the people you want to take notice or action are put off, your communication may fail.

The old taboo against splitting an infinitive has passed into history, but the advice to care about your reputation with your readers remains sound. Communication is simply passing an idea as exactly as possible from one person’s mind into another. Choosing the right words is fundamental to successful communication.