Endeavour: Difference between revisions

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-:“Well”, a drama tutor said to me once, “I cannot argue with you about that. You ''are'' trying. ''Very'' fucking trying.”
+{{a|plainenglish|}}{{quote|
+“Now look,” said I, flapping my arms: “I ''am'' trying”. <br>
+“Well, yes”, she replied, “I’ll give you that. You ''are'' trying.”  <br>
+I smiled, flushed with the endorphins of an unexpected compliment.<br>
+“''Very'' trying indeed.”<br>
+“Oh, right.”}}
-To [[endeavour]] is a [[verb]] that illustrates the practical problem being a plain English fanatic. It is a silly word. It is long, archaic, and its alternative — to [[try]] — is better in every way that a Plain Englishman cares about: Shorter, more idiomatic, plainer, less fussy. But therein lies the problem: [[try]] slices cleanly through the semantic murk that [[endeavour]] so skillfully stirs up, and makes plain something the draftsman rather hoped to cover up: That his client’s convenant is barely worth the paper it is written on.
+“[[Endeavour]]”  neatly illustrates the practical problem with [[plain English]]. It is a silly word: long; archaic; it conjures images of Captain Spaulding, in a pith helmet, slashing through jungle on the hunt for a pajama-wearing elephant. Its alternative — “[[try]]” — is better in every way that a plain speaker cares about: shorter, more idiomatic, clearer, less ''fussy''.
-:“The vendor shall [[endeavour]] to notify the purchaser of its intention within a reasonable period, but shall not have any liability for failing to do so.
+But there lies the problem: “[[try]]” slices cleanly through the semantic murk that “[[endeavour]]” so skilfully stirs up. It makes clear something the [[legal eagle]] rather hoped to obscure: namely, that to promise to ''try'' to do something is a ''feeble'' [[covenant]], hardly worth the paper it is written on.
-”
-Which sounds qualified, sure, but at least carrying some meat on its bones. But the plain English alternative reveals how thin that gruel really is:
-:“The vendor must try to tell the purchaser, but isn't responsible if it doesn’t.”
+Consider:
+:''“The vendor shall [[endeavour]] to notify the purchaser of its intention within a reasonable period, but shall not have any liability for failing to do so.”''
+Which sounds qualified — sure — but at least carrying some meat on its bones.
-{{plainenglish}}
+But the [[plain English]] alternative reveals how thin that old hogget really is:
+:''“The vendor must [[try]] to tell the purchaser, but isn't responsible if it doesn’t.”''
+{{sa}}
+* [[Best reasonable efforts]]
+*[[BAU]]