Orwell on ethos (or lack thereof)

“The great enemy of clear language is insincerity. When there is a gap between one’s real and one’s declared aims, one turns as it were instinctively to long words and exhausted idioms, like a cuttlefish spurting out ink.”

— George Orwell, Politics and the English Language. (Hat tip to Ed.)

The corollary: When you turn to long word and exhausted idioms, the reader suspects a gap between your real and your declared aims.

Comments

[Joanna Young]

Good reminder. That's one of my favourite Orwell quotes.

Joanna