(With apologies to Oasis…)

Why do people feel simple words aren't good enough? This question has featured before in Ertblog. I called it word inflation in a January 2008 post asking if we need a language policy committee. 

My current gripe is the way the lovely word 'story' is being replaced by 'narrative'. Columnists seem the worst offenders, as regularly seen in The Guardian's comment pages:

"Privately, they know human tragedy is a raw material ready to be forged into facile tabloid narratives.." Richard Peppiatt

Why do they do it? Surely journalists of all people should know better than replace simple words with overblown buzzwords? 

If you can't beat them, join them. Here are a few suggestions:

Bedtime narrative

Rags to riches narrative

Tell us a narrative

Narrative time

Same old narrative

Narrative teller

Love narrative

Never ending narrative (sorry, Limahl…)

Multi-narrative car park (oops, wrong storey…)