_Pragmatics

Definition: Eschew Obfuscation

Eschew obfuscation, also stated as eschew obfuscation, espouse elucidation, is a common humorous saying of English teachers and professors when teaching about proper writing techniques.

The literal meaning is avoid ambiguity, adopt clarity, but the use of extremely uncommon words in the English language itself causes confusion, making the phrase a prime example of irony.

The linguist Paul Grice used the phrase in the Maxim of Manner, one of the Gricean maxims.

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