Word List: Said
Said—to express in words; state
Alleged - asserted to be true or to exist
Argued - to give reasons for or against something
Articulated - to utter clear and understandable sounds
Asked - to seek information
Asserted - to state or declare positively and often forcefully or aggressively
Babbled - to talk enthusiastically or excessively
Bellowed - to shout in a deep voice
Bragged - to talk boastfully
Commented - to explain or interpret something by comment
Communicated - to convey knowledge of or information about
Complained - to make a formal accusation or charge
Cried - to utter loudly
Declined - to refuse especially courteously
Demanded - to call for something in an authoritative way
Denied - to declare (something) to be untrue
Encouraged - to attempt to persuade
Expressed - to represent in words
Giggled - to utter with a giggle
Growled - to utter angrily
Inquired - to ask about
Mentioned - to make mention of; refer to
Moaned - lament, complain
Nagged - to irritate by constant scolding or urging
Rebuked - to criticize sharply; reprimand
Rebutted - to contradict or oppose by formal legal argument, plea, or countervailing proof
Rejected - to refuse to accept, consider, submit to, take for some purpose, or use
Replied - to respond in words or writing
Retorted - to answer back usually sharply
Roared - to utter or proclaim with a roar
Scolded - to censure usually severely or angrily
Shrieked - to utter a sharp shrill sound
Shrugged - to raise or draw in the shoulders especially to express aloofness, indifference, or uncertainty
Stated - to express the particulars of especially in words; report
Taunted - to reproach or challenge in a mocking or insulting manner
Voiced - to express in words; utter
Vowed - to promise solemnly; swear
Warned - to give admonishing advice to
Whined - to complain with or as if with a whine
Whispered - to speak softly with little or no vibration of the vocal cords especially to avoid being overheard
Yelled - to utter or declare with or as if with a yell; shout
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i think honestly the ratfish reveal is more for the players than it is for us, the audience
undoubtedly there are a lot of people who know who that guy is and are excited to see him on dropout, but i think sam picked someone he knew his friends would be excited about
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said is NOT DEAD. our brains have seen it so much that when reading dialogue, it just glosses over it. if you don't want to detract from the dialogue, USE SAID. other words might ground the reader a little too much and lose a bit of immersion.
--this comes from my old tutor who now has a phd in literature
Said Is Not Dead
Of course not! "Said" should still be your go-to speech tag, the benefit being that it flows best. I find it nice to have a larger working vocabulary when it comes to expressing speech, though, and I think many writers would agree! It's one thing to use "said" because you know it's the best word choice and another to keep using it because you can think of no alternative.
Having said that:
". . . Don't tell me your character 'excaimed,' 'stated,' or 'replied.' When in doubt, just use 'said.' That's all. Maybe they 'answered.' They certainly did not 'retort.' You can use 'said' more often than you think . . . it's one of those words that takes a while before it starts sounding repetitive."
-- Ariel Gore, How to Become a Famous Writer Before You're Dead
"The best form of dialogue attribution is 'said,' as in 'he said, she said, Bill said, Monica said."
-- Stephen King, On Writing
"Mr. [Robert] Ludlum . . . hates the 'he said' locution and avoids it as much as possible. Characters in The Bourne Ultimatum seldom 'say' anything. Instead, they cry, interject, interrupt, muse, state, counter, conclude, mumble, whisper (Mr. Ludlum is great on whispers), intone, roar, exclaim, fume, explode, mutter. There is one especially unforgettable tautology: '"I repeat," repeated Alex.' The book may sell in the billions, but it's still junk."
-- Newgate Callender, in The New York Times Book Review
"Editors and critics often refer to melodramatic dialogue tags as 'said bookisms.' They know that these phrases give our story an amateurish look. Your readers might not know what the darn things are called, but chances are that they'll notice them, too . . . In most cases, the word 'said' would work just fine, and using said bookisms detracts from the dialogue."
-- Ann M. Marble, "'Stop Using Those Said Bookisms,' the Editor Shrieked."
"[Say is] just too simple and clear and straightforward for many people. Why say something when you can declare, assert, expostulate, whine, exclaim, groan, peal, breathe, cry, explain, or asseverate it? I'm all for variety and freshness of expression, but let's not go overboard."
-- Patricia T. O'Conner, Woe Is I
"In journalism circles, said is a virtue--simple, precise, and unadorned--and alternatives to it are considered frilly and silly. You don't have to agree, but be aware that lots of editors hold this view. Choose your alternatives to said with great care."
--June Casagrande, It Was the Best of Sentences, It Was the Worst of Sentences
"We're all in favor of choosing exactly the right verb for the action, but when you're writing speaker attributions the right verb is nearly always 'said.' The reason those well-intentioned attempts at variety don't work is that verbs other than 'said' tend to draw attention away from the dialogue."
--Renni Browne and Dave King, Self-Editing for Fiction Writers
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Matthew 17:20 (KJV) -
And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.
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In a skyless world, the earth becomes a chasm. And the poem is one of consolation’s gifts, a quality of the winds, from both south and north. Do not describe your wounds as the camera sees them.
Mahmoud Darwish, Homage to Edward Said, Counterpoint, Le Monde diplomatique, January 2005, translated from the French version of the original by Julie Stoker
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