The Penguin Guide to Plain English

one can see why. Here is a sentence from the controversy about student
loans.
Nor is there much evidence that the least affluent will be adversely affected.
This claim was made when student loans were first introduced nearly a
decade ago: it did not materialize in practice.
The trouble here is that a claim is not something that m ight materialize.
A claim o f this kind may prove true or false, but if it is made about the
future it is probably better called a forecast: This was forecast w hen
student loans were first introduced nearly a decade ago: it did not happen.
optimistic
A descriptive term increasingly misused is the w ord optim istic.
The truth [about cancer] is far more optimistic: cancer is largely a prevent
able disease.
An optim istic person is one w ho expects the best. The philosophical
doctrine o f optim ism holds that good will ultimately trium ph over evil.
T ruth can be neither optimistic nor pessimistic. It appears that the w riter
means The truth is far m ore encouraging, that is, productive o f optim ism
rather than optim istic.
option
This w ord is being misused in the same way as alternative.
If you are one of the growing number of owners who are trying to give
their pets the healthier option . . .
W hat this means is: If you are one o f the growing num ber o f owners
w ho w ant to keep their pets healthy . . . Use o f the w ord option should
be restricted to contexts in w hich there are at least two possible courses
o f action from w hich one may be chosen. One cannot speak o f the
healthier option in a context w here no other option is m entioned.
potential
W hat is potential is possible but not yet actual, latent but not yet
realized.
We need to look at the present situation, where potential nannies need no
qualifications for training.