A brief introduction to typical phrases used in publications by research scholars
They write |
They mean |
| It has long been known that... | I haven't bothered to look up the reference |
| ...of great theoretical and practical importance | ...interesting to me |
| While it has not been possible to provide definite answers to these questions... | The experiments didn't work out, but I figured I could at least get a publication out of it... |
| The W-Pb system was chosen as especially suitable to show the predicted behavior... | The fellow in the next lab had some already made up |
| High purity... | Composition unknown except for exaggerated claims of the supplier |
| Very high purity... | |
| Extremely high purity... | |
| Super-purity... | |
| Spectroscopically pure... | |
| A fiducial reference line... | A scratch |
| Three of the samples were chosen for detailed study... | The results of the others didn't make sense and were ignored... |
| ...handled with extreme care during the experiments | ...not dropped on the floor |
| Typical results are shown... | The best results are shown... |
| Although some detail has been lost in reproduction, it is clear from the original micrograph | It is impossible to tell from the micrograph |
| Presumably at longer times... | I didn't take the time to find out |
| The agreement with the predicted curve is: | |
| excellent | fair |
| good | poor |
| satisfactory | doubtful |
| fair | imaginary |
| ...as good as could be expected | non-existent |
| These results will be reported at a later date | I might get around to this sometime |
| The most reliable values are those of Jones | He was a student of mine |
| It is suggested that... | I think... |
| It is believed that... | |
| It may be that... | |
| It is generally believed that... | I have such a good objection to this answer that I shall now raise it |
| It is clear that much additional work will be required before a complete understanding... | I don't understand it |
| Unfortunately, a quantitative theory to account for these effects has not been formulated | Neither does anybody else |
| Correct within an order of magnitude | Wrong |
| It is hoped that this work will stimulate further work in the field | This paper isn't very good but neither are any of the others on this miserable subject |
| Thanks are due to Joe Glotz for assistance with the experiments and to John Doe for valuable discussions | Glotz did the work and Doe explained what it meant |