Using more words than are needed; wordy.

Americans brought up on fast-paced TV shows and action films have lost any patience they once had for *verbosity.* So most American writing is brisk, and American speakers usually don't waste many words. But many of us love our own voices and opinions and don't realize we're being verbose until our listeners start stifling their yawns. And students still try to fill up the pages of their term papers with unneeded verbosity.

A brief, often-repeated statement that expresses a general truth or common observation.

Proverbs probably appeared with the dawn of language. Sayings such as "A stitch in time saves nine," or "Pride goeth before a fall," or "Least said, soonest mended," or "To everything there is a season" are easily memorized nuggets of wisdom. But the convenient thing about proverbs is that there's often one for every point of view. For every "Look before you leap" there's a "He who hesitates is lost." "A fool and his money are soon parted" can be countered with "To make money you have to spend money." A cynic once observed, "Proverbs are invaluable treasures to dunces with good memories."

In the exact words; word for word.

*Verbatim* comes directly from Latin into English with the same spelling and meaning. Memorizing famous speeches, poems, or literary passages is a good way to both train the memory and absorb the classic texts of our literature and culture. At one time the ability to recite verbatim the Gettysburg Address, the beginning of the Declaration of Independence, and great speeches from Shakespeare was the mark of a well-educated person. But when that language was quoted by a writer, he or she was always careful to put quotation marks around it and tell readers who the true author was.

An excess of words, often with little content; wordiness.

Government reports are notorious for their unfortunate tendency toward empty verbiage, though part of the reason is simply that officials are anxious to be following all the rules. Legal documents are also generally full of verbiage, partly because lawyers want to be sure that every last possibility has been covered and no loopholes have been left. But writing that contains unneeded verbiage is often trying to disguise its lack of real substance or clarity of thought. And every writer, including government workers and lawyers, should be constantly on the lookout for opportunities to hit the Delete key.

Fiction, poetry, and philosophy have been full of similes for centuries. In fact, the oldest literature known to us uses similes, along with their close relatives known as metaphors (see metaphorical). This suggests that similes are an essential part of imaginative writing in all times and all cultures. When Tennyson, describing an eagle, writes “And like a thunderbolt he falls,” he's using a simile, since the line makes a specific comparison. “The road was a ribbon of moonlight” could be called a metaphor, though “The road was like a ribbon of moonlight” would be a simile.

(1) To take in and thoroughly understand. (2) To cause to become part of a different society or culture.

*Assimilate* comes from the Latin verb *assimulare,* “to make similar,” and it originally applied to the process by which food is taken into the body and absorbed into the system. In a similar way, a fact can be taken into the mind, thoroughly digested, and absorbed into one's store of knowledge. A newcomer to a job or a subject must assimilate an often confusing mass of information; only after it's been thoroughly absorbed can the person make intelligent use of it. An immigrant family assimilates into its new culture by gradually adopting a new language and the habits of their new neighbors—a process that's always easier for the children than for the parents.

A copy, especially a superficial likeness or imitation.

In its original meaning, a simulacrum is simply a representation of something else; so an original oil painting, marble statue, or plastic figurine could all be simulacra (notice the plural form) in the old sense. But today the word usually means a copy that's meant to substitute for the real thing—and usually a cheap and inferior copy, a pale imitation of the original. So in old Persia a beautifully laid out garden was a simulacrum of paradise. Some countries' governments are mere simulacra of democracy, since the people in power always steal the elections by miscounting the votes. And a bad actor might do a simulacrum of grief on the stage that doesn't convince anyone.

(1) To take on the appearance or effect of something, often in order to deceive. (2) To make a realistic imitation of something, such as a physical environment.

The zircon, that favorite of home shopping channels, simulates a diamond— more or less. A skilled furrier can dye lower-grade furs to simulate real mink. A skilled actress can simulate a range of emotions from absolute joy to crushing despair. And an apparatus that simulates the hazards of driving while intoxicated is likely to provide some very real benefits.