Fire! Let’s egress the hell out of here!!
posted by Rob on 2009.07.02, under Writing/Grammar
07.02
Scene: Rob and a friend wait for the molasses-powered elevator at the Sheraton San Diego. The emergency exit floor-plan is posted nearby.
Rob: “Egress?”
Jim: “Yeah. It’s the opposite of ‘ingress.’”
Jim was right. “Egress” is the opposite of “ingress.” I was impressed by the demonstration of verbal aptitude. But he’d also failed to see my point.
Jim, realizing why I’d pointed it out: “Oh, yeah…I don’t know why they didn’t just say ‘Exit.’”
This sign reminds me of at least three thoughts to keep in mind for those of us tasked with choosing the right words.
- Know your audience. If we’d been at the headquarters for Mensa, it might’ve made sense to replace “Exit” with “Egress” (it would actually be kind of funny if they replaced all the words with trickier synonyms…until someone sued them, at least). At the Sheraton, I think “Exit” will do.
- Consider context. By context, I mean not only where it will be read, but when, and under what circumstances. I don’t know about you, but if I’m trying to find my way out of the building during an emergency, I’m scanning for “Exit.” (Similar: I saw a billboard next to the highway the other day with so much copy on it that I would’ve gotten into an accident trying to read the whole thing.)
- Err on the side of simplicity. I’m not suggesting more interesting words never be used, but I think a good rule of thumb—especially when writing for instructional or explanatory purposes (most business writing)—is to go with the simplest option that works. Every industry has its own jargon—not to mention MBA-speak and marketing clichés—so it’s an easy trap to fall into.
All that from an emergency exit floor-plan. Then again, maybe everyone uses “egress” these days, and I’m just behind the curve.
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Under emotionally-charged emergency situations, I’ve found that an online Thesaurus is very handy.
Why, just the other day during a shootout here in Atlanta, I was crumpled up on the floor of the bank as hooded gunmen threatened customers while they robbed the place; I reached down to my Blackberry to log on and decipher what one of the gunmen yelled at us:
“Any extemperaneous elocution or dynamism and I’ll disjoin your limbic systems from your cerebrums!”
Maybe we branders have been dumbing things down too long and there’s a rebellion afoot.