The Syntaxis Blog
“Look,...”
In this election season, politicians and pundits have been holding forth on issues ranging from health care and national security to the turmoil on Wall Street. Regardless of topic, they often begin their comments with “Look,…”
Look, every American deserves affordable healthcare.
Look, we need to protect our national interests.
Look, the fundamentals of the economy are strong.
I even heard yesterday, “Lookit,…”
“Look” has a perfectly legitimate place in our language, but it’s overused and misused. If you intend to establish a confrontational or condescending tone, express frustration, or have someone’s eyes turn in a particular direction, “look” may be just the word you need to start your sentence. However, if “look” is just filling space, consider a pause instead.