Things Only Writers Say

[ADirtyPerv]

What phrases do you think only exist because writers are the worst?

"He's such a good dancer" - usually uttered by a woman, in regards to a better looking guy, in contrast to the shlubby MC. Or else it's in a LW story, and stuff is about to happen.

I've danced a lot the last few years. I've seen a wide range of masculine dancers, and it's a pretty similar. You have dudes who can't dance (bc they think they can't) and then you have guys who can just move with the beat. Sideways shuffle, a little shimmy. Whatever. The "good dancers" I've seen are just guys who move more, vibe with the music more. They do a twirl here and there if there's room, and they generally don't do that with a partner. If you're dancing with a partner, in a club perhaps, there's literally nothing to it. Just move with them.

IMO "he's such a good dancer" is a largely BS line written by writers who are self conscious about their own dancing ability.

What else do you hear and just think "we only say that because a fucking writer said it first"?

 

[VerbalAbuse]

why don't nobody write or say "I die inside when I watch him dance?"

 

[mildlyaroused]

"Her/his eyes danced"...

Have you ever uttered that one in ordinary conversation, or even thought that someone's eyes were dancing? To me, eyes in real life convey an emotion I simply can't put to words. They just "are", and I can read their emotion, but I sure as hell can't describe that emotion out of the contextual, very specific moment in my very unique consciousness.

I think lots of those cliches are things that don't make a whole lot of sense, or are gross generalisations/simplifications, and would not exist as understood sentences without generations of use in literature. But - I don't think that necessarily makes them bad things; literature informs spoken language, and spoken language informs literature. That kind of collaboration is the backbone of language. And I think that's cool!

Anyway, drinking makes me pretentious. Maybe a better one is:

"I just spent 5 hours writing 500 words and it was the most fun I've had all week!"

 

[Z_TheWriter]

If you're dancing with a partner, in a club perhaps, there's literally nothing to it. Just move with them.

Well that's because the people dancing in a club generally aren't particularly good dancers or aren't trying very hard. Nothing wrong with that. Dancing doesn't have to be serious, advanced or even good at all to be enjoyable. But if you do take it seriously, there's quite a bit more to it.

IMO "he's such a good dancer" is a largely BS line written by writers who are self conscious about their own dancing ability.

Having done stage shows which included dancers, I can tell you that this is in fact a real thing people say. You're probably correct that it's not often used by people looking at someone in a club, however.

 

[ADirtyPerv]

Well that's because the people dancing in a club generally aren't particularly good dancers or aren't trying very hard. Nothing wrong with that. Dancing doesn't have to be serious, advanced or even good at all to be enjoyable. But if you do take it seriously, there's quite a bit more to it.


Having done stage shows which included dancers, I can tell you that this is in fact a real thing people say. You're probably correct that it's not often used by people looking at someone in a club, however.

That's fair. I guess I just don't see it as something that should be as ubiquitous as it is. For the rarity of the "really good male dancers", the phrase should be equally rare.

 

[Five_Inch_Heels]

IMO "he's such a good dancer" is largely ...

... said of Donald O'Connor, Fred Astaire, Wayne Ward, et al.

 

[SimonDoom]

That's fair. I guess I just don't see it as something that should be as ubiquitous as it is. For the rarity of the "really good male dancers", the phrase should be equally rare.

Good male dancers might be a rarity as far as your taste is concerned, but it's not a rare thing for women to say in real life. I've heard women comment on a man on a dance floor being a good dancer. Hell, once or twice when I was young a woman told me that, and it's not true, so it can't be that rare a thing to say. I don't see why this is a problematic phrase at all, because it is one that real people DO actually use in real life.

 

[MelissaBaby]

Well that's because the people dancing in a club generally aren't particularly good dancers or aren't trying very hard. Nothing wrong with that. Dancing doesn't have to be serious, advanced or even good at all to be enjoyable. But if you do take it seriously, there's quite a bit more to it.


Having done stage shows which included dancers, I can tell you that this is in fact a real thing people say. You're probably correct that it's not often used by people looking at someone in a club, however.

Except as a euphemism.