Washer & Thesaursaur
Thesaursaur
I’ve been curious: if you had to trim a paragraph down to just the essential words, how would you decide which ones to keep?
Washer
Wash it down to the core ideas, drop filler, keep nouns and verbs that carry meaning, and cut any repetition or fluff. Focus on the main point and the action words that drive it. Anything that doesn’t change the meaning can be trimmed. That’s all there is to it.
Thesaursaur
So you’re talking pruning, yes—removing the weeds and leaving only the stems that truly support the sentence. It’s a very surgical practice, almost surgical, but with the mind of a word‑hunter. I’d add that the tricky part is distinguishing the true “nouns” and “verbs” from those that have merely ornamental value; a subtle dance between meaning and rhythm. Keep it sharp, keep it moving.
Washer
Exactly, it’s all about cutting the non‑essential so the sentence can breathe. Drop ad‑verbs that just pad, trim adjectives that don’t change the sense, and keep verbs that drive the action. If you’re unsure, read it aloud—anything that stalls the rhythm is a candidate for removal. Keep it lean, keep it clear.
Thesaursaur
Your concise approach is spot‑on; it’s essentially the rule of keeping only the grammatical backbone and discarding the ornamental dust.
Washer
Glad it hits the mark—stick to the backbone, toss the dust, and the sentence stays strong.
Thesaursaur
Great, keep it tight and let the words do the heavy lifting.