I think being colloquial doesn’t in and of itself make something wrong, but a colloquialism is often a very set expression, so it runs the risk also of seeming stale. “She’s sitting pretty.” “He’s a nut case.” “That pisses me off.” All those strike me as things I would say quite readily and easily, but might think twice about in writing.
They do have the effect of seeming relaxed and colorful and spontaneous and down-to-earth. Maybe “down-to-earth” was colloquial at one time.
Do you want to seem like Mark Twain or would you prefer William Buckley? Twain is colloquial; Buckley painstakingly avoids it.
Craig
From: Assembly for the Teaching of English Grammar [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Carol Morrison
Sent: Monday, September 12, 2011 6:31 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Colloquialisms/Slang/Dialect
Thank you, Bill! I looked up a few definitions of "colloquialism," but your explanation was much better. Carol
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