They Write: It has long been known that...
They Mean: I haven't bothered to look up
the original reference
They Write: ...of great theoretical and practical
importance
They Mean: ...interesting to me
They Write: While it has not been possible to
provide definite answers to these
questions.
They Mean: The experiments didn't work
out, but I figured I could at
least get a publication out
of it.
They Write: The W-Pb system was chosen as
especially suitable to show the
predicted behavior...
They Mean: The fellow in the next lab had
some already made up
They Write: High purity...
Very high purity...
Extremely high purity...
Super-purity...
Spectroscopically pure...
They Mean: Composition unknown except
for the exaggerated claims of
the supplier
They Write: A fiducial reference line...
They Mean: A scratch
They Write: Three of the samples were
chosen for detailed study...
They Mean: The results of the others
didn't make sense and were
ignored..
They Write: ...handled with extreme care during
the experiments
They Mean: ...not dropped on the floor
They Write: Typical results are shown...
They Mean: The best results are shown...
They Write: Although some detail has been lost
in reproduction, it is clear from the
original micrograph that...
They Mean: It is impossible to tell from
the micrograph
They Write: Presumably at longer times...
They Mean: I didn't take the time to find out
They Write: The agreement with the predicted
curve is excellent
They Mean: fair
They Write: good
They Mean: poor
They Write: satisfactory
They Mean: doubtful
They Write: fair
They Mean: imaginary
They Write: ...as good as could be expected
They Mean: non-existent
They Write: These results will be reported at
a later date
They Mean: I might get around to this
sometime
They Write: The most reliable values are those
of Jones
They Mean: He was a student of mine
They Write: It is suggested that...
It is believed that...
It may be that...
They Mean: I think...
They Write: It is generally believed that....
They Mean: I have such a good objection
to this answer that I shall
now raise it.
They Write: It is clear that much additional
work will be required before a
complete understanding...
They Mean: I don't understand it
They Write: Unfortunately, a quantitative theory
to account for these effects has not
been formulated
They Mean: Neither does anybody else
They Write: Correct within an order of magnitude
They Mean: Wrong
They Write: It is to be hoped that this work
will stimulate further work in the field
They Mean: This paper isn't very good but
neither are any of the others
on this miserable subject
They Write: Thanks are due to Joe Glotz for
assistance with the experiments and
to John Doe for valuable discussions.
They Mean: Glotz did the work and Doe
explained what it meant.