2025-05-16

writing fail

sensationalist and overstated expressions

  • a beautiful design and an elegant interface
  • a bitter feud erupts
  • a bold new approach
  • a deep dive into
  • a dramatic escalation
  • a dynamic language
  • a fluent api
  • a game-changer for x
  • a growing chorus of voices
  • a paradigm shift in y
  • a robust, scalable, end-to-end solution
  • a seamless and intuitive experience
  • a solid foundation for enterprise solutions that provides a flexible and extensible architecture for building multi-lingual, multi-tenant applications
  • a stunning turn of events
  • a thin, airtight, amazing, flexible and beautiful tool
  • a truly bulletproof and flexible layout
  • a world-class, future-proof application
  • according to new research
  • amid mounting tensions
  • as we all learned in college
  • at the end of the day
  • begs the question
  • before diving into the code
  • before we dig into the api
  • breathe life into
  • built from the ground up
  • challenges what we thought we knew
  • c pointers into the ether
  • country draws fire from other country
  • deal a blow to {abstract concept}
  • drive customer loyality
  • earth shattering beauty
  • empowers developers to do more
  • engineering excellence at scale
  • everybody knows
  • experts are baffled
  • experts warn of silent killer
  • facing an uphill battle
  • found a fresh local cache
  • freedom under fire
  • future-proof your application
  • geeky stats
  • get your hands dirty in {abstract concept}
  • groundbreaking new study
  • harnesses the full power
  • hints at a deeper truth
  • if you care about x, read this
  • if you will
  • in no uncertain terms
  • it becomes intuitively obvious
  • it can often be visualised
  • it is natural/obvious/clear/known
  • it's not what you think
  • json love for your command line
  • let that sink in
  • like a modern code version of the mythical beast with 100 serpent heads, x runs http requests in parallel while cleanly encapsulating handling logic
  • mastering x
  • my attempt to convince you suffered two crippling blows
  • opens a new frontier
  • paint a picture of
  • peel back the layers
  • powerful and flexible
  • push the envelope
  • raise the bar
  • really double down and zero in
  • redefining what's possible
  • removes a whole lot of different tasks from the developers plate
  • reimagining the way we think about x
  • reshaping the landscape
  • screamingly fast
  • simply returning
  • scientists stunned by findings
  • shrouded in mystery
  • syntactic sugar
  • tackle the problems head on
  • take it to the next level
  • the file is sitting on the filesystem
  • the general rendering process of x is simple. {5 pages of explanation}
  • the last framework you'll ever need
  • the low-down on x
  • the plot thickens
  • the velocity function is simply the derivative of the position function. so what we have really shown is that integrating the velocity simply recovers the original position function
  • there is more than one way to skin a cat
  • this class is your one-stop-shop
  • this directory is an escape hatch for static assets
  • turbocharge x with y
  • unlock business insights
  • unlocks the secrets of
  • under the hood of x
  • we are not just scratching the surface
  • we need to talk about x
  • we will likely need to leverage modules
  • what is the difference between properties and attributes? the difference between attributes and properties can be important in specific situations
  • what is x? x makes you feel better
  • what makes x different? x is unique
  • what this means for the future of x
  • x gives you super powers
  • x killing y in an argument
  • x nukes y in a discussion
  • x utterly destroys y in a discussion
  • xprojects goal is to provide a thin, airtight, amazing, flexible and beautiful tool
  • you tattooed your name across my heart

clickbait and buzz titles

  • breaks the silence
  • dismantling
  • here's what we learned
  • if you care about x, read this
  • is x the future of y?
  • one simple trick to
  • reveals
  • the dark side of x
  • the end, game over, it is over, finally over
  • the rise and fall of
  • the shocking reason why
  • the truth
  • the untold truth
  • this will make you
  • wait until you see
  • what happens next will
  • what x does not want you to know
  • hat you secretly want to know
  • why everybody loves
  • why we are all thinking about
  • will blow your mind
  • x just changed the game
  • you'll never believe

law & order and politics

  • calls for resignation mount
  • could be banned for life
  • faces up to 30 years behind bars
  • rocked by scandal
  • under fire for controversial comments

finance and economy

  • crisis of confidence
  • economy on the brink
  • markets in turmoil
  • wipes billions off market value

technology and cybersecurity

  • alarming new trend among teens
  • hacker group claims responsibility
  • massive data breach affects millions
  • tech giant under investigation

health and science

  • deadly new virus discovered
  • groundbreaking new study
  • linked to cancer in mice
  • shocking new study reveals...

weather and environment

  • environmental time bomb
  • heatwave chaos
  • monster storm heading our way
  • snowmageddon

culture and society

  • backlash grows
  • nation divided over...
  • raises serious questions
  • sparks outrage

idioms

  • a lot: a ton

  • avoid: to fend off the demons of

  • based on: powered by

  • big: behemoth

  • catch: trap

  • compile: cook

  • create: whip up, cobble together, give birth to, pump out

  • creation: birth

  • dead: pushing up daisies; six feet under

  • desirable: mouth-watering

  • dollar: buck

  • ending something: killing something

  • endorsement: blessing

  • explanation: low-down

  • increase: boom

  • information: juicy information

  • it happened: the other shoe finally dropped

  • lacking: anemic

  • make it easier: make it a breeze

  • manage: shepherd

  • new: fresh

  • only: just

  • programming source code: logic

  • reduce: boil down

  • send: to fire

  • situation: ballgame

  • start/begin: get the feet wet; gear up

  • taken: lifted

  • talk: break the silence

  • trick: secret sauce

  • try: dip your toes into

  • use: leverage, harness

  • valid: kosher

  • write: spilling ink

  • access: crack open

  • add: sprinkle in, toss in

  • adjustment: tweaking

  • align: bring into harmony

  • answer: crack, nail, get a handle on

  • approach: take a stab at, tackle

  • attempt: take a swing at, go for it

  • backup: safety net, lifeboat

  • bug: hiccup, snag

  • build: erect, hammer out, forge

  • cause: spark, ignite, trigger

  • change: flip, pivot, overhaul

  • choice: menu, platter, spread

  • combine: meld, weave together

  • complex: byzantine, labyrinthine

  • connection: bridge

  • control: reign in, keep tabs on

  • danger: pitfall, minefield

  • delay: bottleneck, roadblock

  • delete: axe, wipe, nix

  • dependency: crutch, ball and chain

  • describe: paint a picture, sketch out

  • disconnect: sever, cut ties

  • distribute: scatter, fan out

  • document: paper trail, manual

  • easy: smooth sailing, walk in the park

  • efficient: lean, streamlined

  • error: misstep, foul-up

  • essential: bread and butter, backbone

  • example: case study, snapshot

  • execute: pull the trigger, hit go

  • experiment: trial run, sandbox

  • failure: flop, trainwreck

  • feature: bell and whistle, shiny object

  • fix: patch, iron out, clean up

  • flexibility: wiggle room, breathing space

  • focus: zero in on, hone in on

  • guide: roadmap, playbook

  • hard: tough nut to crack, uphill battle

  • help: lend a hand, prop up

  • important: critical, make-or-break

  • impossible: out of reach, pie in the sky

  • improve: polish, level up

  • incompatible: oil and water, square peg in a round hole

  • insignificant: drop in the bucket, small potatoes

  • knowledge: know-how, wisdom

  • legacy: fossil, relic

  • limit: cap, ceiling

  • lost: adrift, in the weeds

  • maintenance: upkeep, tlc (tender loving care)

  • mistake: slip-up, blunder

  • need: hunger for, thirst for

  • outdated: dinosaur, past its prime

  • performance: horsepower, bang for the buck

  • permission: green light, blessing

  • popular: trendy, hot

  • powerful: heavy-duty, top-tier

  • problem: can of worms, pandora’s box

  • random: scattershot, grab bag

  • redundant: deadweight, overkill

  • replace: swap out, trade in

  • restart: reboot, refresh

  • result: payoff, endgame

  • risk: roll of the dice, leap of faith

  • robust: rock-solid, bulletproof

  • secure: lock down, fortify

  • setup: rig, assembly

  • slow: sluggish, molasses in january

  • solution: silver bullet, magic wand

  • start over: clean slate, fresh start

  • store: stash, squirrel away

  • success: home run, jackpot

  • system: machine, ecosystem

  • terminate: pull the plug, cut off

  • test: trial balloon, shakedown

  • tool: gadget, swiss army knife

  • transform: morph, shape-shift

  • trust: put stock in, hang your hat on

  • unfinished: half-baked, in the works

  • update: refresh, give a facelift

  • upgrade: overhaul, step up

  • useful: handy, worth its salt

  • user: end user

  • valuable: goldmine, treasure trove

  • warning: red flag, shot across the bow

  • work: grind, hustle

  • wrong: off the mark, out of whack

  • halted: put the kibosh on it

  • terminated: gave it the ax

  • rejected: shot it down

  • ceased: pulled the plug

  • prevented: nipped it in the bud

  • discouraged: threw cold water on it

  • slowed: put the brakes on

  • postponed: put it on ice

  • discarded: canned it

  • eliminated: deep sixed it

  • nonsense: that's baloney

  • absurdity: that's hogwash

  • falsehood: that's a load of crap

  • worthlessness: that's bunk

  • ridiculousness: that's a crock

  • foolishness: what a bunch of malarkey

  • bluster: full of hot air

  • ignorance: talking out of his hat

  • deception: a snow job

  • teasing: pulling my leg

general

  • filler words like "simply", "easily", "just", "straightforward", "obvious", that can even come off as patronizing to a learner
  • vague, unverifiable hyperbole: language that is subjective, non-falsifiable, and inflationary, often relying on emotionally suggestive terms without substantive content. common examples include adjectives like "amazing", "beautiful", "elegant", "powerful", and "flexible", which imply value without specifying function, mechanism, or scope.
  • isolated quantification: phrasing that invokes measures, magnitudes, or impact (eg "30% improvement", "affects millions", "billions wiped") without a baseline, context, or comparative frame, creating the illusion of precision while avoiding meaningful interpretation.
  • unnecessary metaphors and idioms
  • filler, teasing and deferrence "how to do x? {first 90% of content irrelevant}"
  • teaching incorrect solutions first. "now forget everything you learned"
  • unnecessary adjectives for short descriptions of software projects

links