Do not be taken in by 'insiderisms.' Fledgling columnists, eager to impress readers with their grasp of journalistic jargon, are drawn to such arcane spellings as 'lede.' Where they lede, do not follow.

When I need to know the meaning of a word, I look it up in a dictionary.

English is a stretch language; one size fits all.

We are all environmentalists now, but we are not all planetists. An environmentalist realizes that nature has its pleasures and deserves respect. A planetist puts the earth ahead of the earthlings.

[Senators John Kerry & John Edwards] have risen high in Democratic polls with a brand of class resentment and soak-the-rich rhetoric rooted in the old-fashioned liberalism of Ted Kennedy.

Why use a modifier to set straight a not-quite-right noun when the right noun is available?

It behooves us to avoid archaisms. Never use a long word when a diminutive one will do.