Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

said-bookism

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 0.00 in modern English

Syllables: said--book-ism
IPA

20

Scrabble Score

11

Letters

4

Syllables

8

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

A verb (such as "explained", "shouted", or "uttered") used to indicate dialogue when writing fiction, chosen so as to avoid using the word "said".

noun

The studious avoidance, in writing dialogue, of the word "said".

Uncountable

Example Sentences

"Jim Blish once dedicated a book to me. He introduced me to the music of Charles Ives, to the taste of Vander Flip, to the urgency of avoiding the said-bookism, to the concept of the watershed, to the pleasures of Indo-Ceylonese food."

Etymology

From The Said Book + -ism; coined by James Blish, writing under the pen name William Atheling Jr., after The Said Book, the title of a booklet for aspiring writers listing countless alternatives to the word “said” in writing dialogue.

Usage

Uncountable

Inflected Forms

said-bookisms (plural)

Synonyms

bookism

Questions

What does said-bookism mean?: A verb (such as "explained", "shouted", or "uttered") used to indicate dialogue when writing fiction, chosen so as to avoid using the word "said".
Where does said-bookism come from?: From The Said Book + -ism; coined by James Blish, writing under the pen name William Atheling Jr., after The Said Book, the title of a booklet for aspiring writers listing countless alternatives to the word “said” in writing dialogue.

How to pronounce said-bookism

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