This was my Google Home Page's Word of the Day:
jaunty | (adjective) Having a cheerful, lively, and self-confident air. |
Synonyms: | chipper, debonair |
Usage: | He moved very quickly, and there was an air of jaunty liveliness about him. |
If you use lively in the definition, is it really necessary to use it in the sentence as well? Perhaps a better option would have been: He moved very quickly, and there was a jaunty air about him.
Just a small pet peeve for your contemplation...
Actually, what grates on me more in that example is the passive voice in the second clause, which serves to deflate any liveliness in the sentence!
ReplyDeleteBetter would be "Quickly he moved, with a januty liveliness." Or, of course, "He moved quickly and jauntily."