Bayan - Words that sell: more than 6,000 entries to help you promote your products, services, and ideas

Richard Bayan was advertising copy chief at Day-Timers for 14 years. Previously he served as chief copywriter at Barrons Educational Series and staff writer for Time-Life Books. His work has won the John Caples Creative Award, the American Catalog Award, and the Benjamin Franklin Award, among others. He first broke into print with a series of essays in National Review and later joined the staff of The New American Review. He is also the author of More Words That Sell, The Best in Medical Advertising and Graphics, The Cynics Dictionary, and over 150 online columns and essays. Mr.

Bayan graduated from Rutgers College with a major in history, then earned a masters degree in journalism from the University of Illinois. He currently lives in Philadelphia with his wife and son.

During my formative years as an advertising copywriter, I thought it might be a wise idea to compile a notebook of words and phrases to help me in my work. I toyed with the notion and let it pass. Then a strange thing happened: somebody offered to pay me for compiling such a notebook. Motivated by the prospect of fame and riches, I set to work, produced a boxful of note cards, and emerged with the first edition of this book (which I finally did get to use in my work).

Roughly 20 years later, my publisher approached me about creating an updated edition of Words That Sell. I would like to thank the people who helped make this new and improved edition a reality: my editor, Monica Bentley, who offered me this project and remained gracious even through the deadline crunch; Pattie Amoroso, the kind of editing supervisor with whom every writer hopes to work; copyeditor Alice Manning and proofreader Frances Koblin, for their scrupulous attention to detail; production supervisor Cheryl Hudson, who helped turn a stack of pages into a handsome book; LaShae Ortiz, who designed the eye-catching cover; and marketing manager Seth Morris, with whose help (and a little luck) this edition of Words That Sell will reach even more readers than its predecessor. I would also like to thank my wife, Anne, for her priceless love and support, and for letting me spread this project over the entire surface of our dining room table for nearly three months. Our son, Guy, who was a toddler when I compiled this edition, deserves a fatherly nod simply for being his delightful self. I should also acknowledge, once again, all those nameless writers of advertisements, brochures, catalogs, and sales letters whose collective opus furnished me with so much of my raw material.

What follows is a partial listing of inflated words and phrases that have pummeled their way into our language over the objections of writers and other worthy citizens. What follows is a partial listing of inflated words and phrases that have pummeled their way into our language over the objections of writers and other worthy citizens.

Some of these terms are elaborate disguises for mundane or unpalatable concepts; others are simply poor usage. Those that Ive marked with an asterisk can be safely (even effectively) put to use in your copywriting, but try to assess your audience first.

On this list are some prime examples of phrases that amount to little more than dead wood. Most can be trimmed to a single word. Nothing can subvert the cause of good copy like a well-placed spelling error. The surprising thing is that so many everyday words are packed with opportunities for mistakes.

This list, based on U.S. spelling conventions, should help you catch many potential errors before they find their way into print. The best way to use this list is to review it at one or two sittings and jot down on a sheet of paper the words that you typically misspell. Keep your list in plain view until youve committed the spellings to memory. Note: Parentheses indicate acceptable alternative spellings. aberration abridg(e)ment absence accede accelerate acceptable acceptance accessible accessory accidentally acclaimed accolade accommodate accumulate accustomed achieve acknowledg(e)ment acquainted acquiesce acquire acrylic adaptable adequate adjustable aerial (a)esthetically affiliated ag(e)ing aggressive alcohol alibi allege allotment allotted already ambience (-ance) analogous analysis analyze anonymous appalling apparatus archetype ascertain assimilate associate athlete attendance awkward balloon bazaar beggar believe benefit(t)ed biased bicycle boundary boutique breathe bulletin burglar caffeine calendar camouflage campaign cancel(l)ed cancellation candor cannot caress caricature casualty catalog(ue) category cemetery changeable channel(l)ed character chic chief choose cigarette circuit clientele climactic collaborate collapsible colleague collectible (-able) colossal column commemorate commission commitment committee compatible compel competent complexion conceive conjure connoisseur conscience conscientious consensus consistency contemporary coolly copywriter correspondence council [group] counsel [advice, lawyer] counsel(l)ed counselor counterfeit courteous cries cruelly deceive decorator deductible defense dependent description despair desperate deterrent develop development diagram(m)ed dialogue dilemma disappear disappoint disastrous disciplined disillusioned dissension disservice dissolve distributor dubious ecstasy eerie eighth elegant embarrass enclosure encumbrance endeavo(u)r endorsement entrepreneur equal(l)ed exaggerate exceed excusable exercise exhibitor exhilarating existence exorbitant extraordinary exuberant facsimile feasible fiery flammable flier (flyer) fluorescent focus(s)ed forecast foregone foremost foresee foreword [preface] forgettable fortieth forty forward [ahead] fries frivolous fulfill (-fil) fulfilled gaiety genealogy gibberish glamo(u)r grammar grievous guarantee gullible handkerchief harass height heroes hindrance homogeneous homogenized hors doeuvre(s) hungrily hygiene hypocrisy illegible imperil(l)ed impostor (-er) incontestible (-able) independent indict indispensable ingenious innocuous innuendo inoculate installed instilled intention iridescent irrelevant irreparable irresistible jamboree jeweler jewelry judg(e)ment keenness khaki knowledgeable label(l)ed laboratory lacquer laid legitimate leisure lengthwise level(l)ed liable liaison license lik(e)able likely liqueur [cordial] liquor loathsome luscious madam maintenance maneuver marvel(l)ous mathematics matinee meager (-re) medi(a)eval medicine memento(e)s mileage milieu miniature minuscule (miniscule) miscellaneous mischievous misspell model(l)ed monogrammed mortgage movable naive necessary negligent nickel ninety ninth noticeable nuisance nutrient occasionally occurrence offense officially omelet(te) omission oneself onward optimism pageant paid panel(l)ed panicked parallel paralyzed paraphernalia partisan pastime pavilion perennial permanent permissible perseverance personnel picnicking plaque plausible playwright poignant possession potato potatoes practice precede precious predecessor predictable preferred preposterous presence prestigious pretense privilege procedure proceed pronunciation propeller quarrel(l)ing questionnaire quotient rarity receding receipt receive recollect recommend reconnaissance recurrent registrar reinforce reminiscence remittance renaissance reparable repellent (-ant) repertoire resemblance reservoir resistance resource restaurant restaura(n)teur reversible rhyme rhythm rival(l)ed sacrilegious salable satellite scenery scissors scrumptious secretary seize separate serviceable shield shovel(l)ed silhouette simultaneously sincerely skeptic smo(u)lder software souvenir specimen spontaneity strategy stratified strength stubbornness stupefying subtlety successful summarize supersede surreptitious synonymous systematic terrific theater (-re) threshold tomato tomatoes total(l)ed tranquil(l)ity transferable tries truly twelfth tying vacillate vacuum valuable vehicle vengeance veteran veterinarian vicious warehouse warranty weird whims(e)y wholly wil(l)ful wily wintry withhold wondrous wool(l)en worsted yacht yield yog(h)urt yoke yolk zany zigzag