Can anyone give me a definition and example of “understated diction”? School project, help!?
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Example:
It wasn’t a complete lie. We had scanned the pages of the guidebook and learned that the East Ridge was rated a grade II, 5.8 climb. There was to be some glacier travel but the route was mostly a low, fifth-class rock climb along the exposed ridge. Truth be told, though, our usefulness with the guidebook ended with the first paragraph:”Forbidden Peak is impressive, standing high above Boston Basin, its three perfect ridges radiating outward from its jagged summit. Climbers frequently rate the routes on Forbidden Peak among the best they have done…”
If we had read the book a little more carefully, we may have picked up on the UNDERSTATED DICTION of the text. Subtle warnings were buried in phrases such as, “the somewhat unappealing northeast face,” and there was a whisper of fear in “the descent can be stressful.” Chances are good that we would have taken the advice of one vital sentence that we had missed entirely: “Bypass the towers on either side.”
Now, I’m not a fan of hyperbole, but gritty truth has its place in climbing. I appreciate it when guidebook authors include a skull and crossbones — big and dark — at the end of their route descriptions: One skull with crossbones gets your attention, three make you think hard before leaving the ground to challenge gravity. The word “unappealing” seems better suited to describing a bad club sandwich than imparting dread.
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