•March 29, 2023•
By Jim Baumann
NP Guest Writer

I once wrote about my overuse of the word “that” in response to a reader’s question about it. I’ve been more mindful about how I use the word, but I haven’t scrubbed it from my lexicon.
Reader Steve Bense’s recent letter made me wonder whether I’m using another favorite word too much.
“In your March 12 column, I noticed your use of a word which I have striven to stop using,” he wrote. “The word is ‘but.’ Furthermore, I noticed you started a sentence with it.
“I wish I could recall the source of this advice, however it has stuck with me for a long time. It was: ‘Any time you insert the word “but” into a sentence, you’re indicating everything prior to the “but” was a lie (at worst) or not worth remembering (at best).’     Login or Subscribe to read the rest of this story.