Purity of style consists in using words which are reputable, national and present, which means that the words are in current use by the best authorities, that they are used throughout the nation and not confined to one particular part, and that they are words in constant use at the present time.
There are two guiding principles in the choice of words,—good use and good taste. Good use tells us whether a word is right or wrong? good taste, whether it is adapted to our purpose or not.
A word that is obsolete or too new to have gained a place in the language, or that is a provincialism, should not be used.
Here are the Ten Commandments of English style:
1.Do not use foreign words.
2.Do not use a long word when a short one will serve your purpose. Fire is much better than conflagration.
3.Do not use technical words, or those understood only by specialists in their respective lines, except when you are writing especially for such people.
4.Do not use slang.
5.Do not use provincialisms, as "I guess" for "I think"? "I reckon" for "I know," etc.
6.Do not in writing prose, use poetical or antiquated words: as "lore, e'er, morn, yea, nay, verily, peradventure."
7.Do not use trite and hackneyed words and expressions? as, "on the job," "up and in"? "down and out."
8.Do not use newspaper words which have not established a place in the language as "to bugle"? "to suicide," etc.
9.Do not use ungrammatical words and forms? as, "I ain't?" "he don't."
10.Do not use ambiguous words or phrases? as—"He showed me all about the house."
Trite words, similes and metaphors which have become hackneyed and worn out should be allowed to rest in the oblivion of past usage. Such expressions and phrases as "Sweet sixteen" "the Almighty dollar," "Uncle Sam," "On the fence," "The Glorious Fourth," "Young America," "The lords of creation," "The rising generation," "The weaker sex," "The weaker vessel," "Sweetness long drawn out" and "chief cook and bottle washer," should be put on the shelf as they are utterly worn out from too much usage.