At some point, nearly every journalist has been guilty of having used the oft-dreaded, always-loathed jargon in his or her copy. When you read this list, try saying some of them out loud—they'll probably sound weird. That’s because nobody (outside of police and spokespeople, maybe) actually says this stuff in real life.

At some point, nearly every journalist has been guilty of having used the oft-dreaded, always-loathed jargon in his or her copy. When you read this list, try saying some of them out loud—they'll probably sound weird. That’s because nobody (outside of police and spokespeople, maybe) actually says this stuff in real life.

Bob Ingrassia has compiled a neat little list of jargony terms and has put some of them to use in conversation with his children. Among them are “largely,” “critics contend,” “altercation,” and “probe.” They sound just as ridiculous as you might imagine.

Check out his full list—which includes more natural ways to write common jargony phrases—here.

(I only read over this short blurb about four or five times to make sure I didn’t include any blatant jargon myself.)