The Penguin Guide to Plain English

The most amazing escape from the Nairobi carnage emerged yesterday
when an Israeli team rescued a mother and her son from an upper floor in
the 22-storey building.
No doubt the m other and her son em erged from the building, but to
describe the escape as emerging from the carnage is just careless usage.
equate / equation
Popularization o f the w ord equation has diluted its meaning. It is used
as an alternative not just to problem , but to situation. Ive nothing
new to add to the equation apparently just means Ive nothing to say
on the subject. Correspondingly the verb to equate is in fashion.
But sensual and sexy equate to two different things for me.
This simply means: are two different things.
factor
Properly used o f an element that contributes to some result, the w ord
factor suffers from the same loose treatment as aspect.
But the exact make-up of his [Schroders] government was unclear last
night because of the complicating factor of small parties which might not
gain the per cent needed for parliamentary representation.
Here the w ord factor is a dead counter and the w ord com plicating not
needed if the argum ent is simply presented: But the exact make-up o f
his Government was unclear last night because the small parties m ight
not gain the $ per cent needed for parliamentary representation.
focus
The focus in Latin is the hearth around w hich people gather. The w ord
has been usefully adopted in the mathematical and scientific worlds. N ow
that the business w orld has discovered its usefulness, that usefulness is
being destroyed.
Nigel Woods, accounts director for the UKs fastest growing motivations
group, MotivForce, says travel is often a more focused way of rewarding
staff.
In w hat sense is the present o f a holiday package m ore focused than the
present o f a cheque or o f private health care, or o f any other o f the perks