On: Show HN: Using stylometry to find HN users with alternate accounts

[sillysaurusx]

Thank you! I was trying to find the original essay I learned it from. I’m now pretty sure it was by Poe, but all I can remember is the main advice: avoid common metaphors.

I vaguely remember one of the metaphors in the essay was about a chicken coop melting, or something like that. It was vivid enough to leave a big impression.

[ewilden → sillysaurusx]

I remember this being from Politics and the English Language (https://www.orwellfoundation.com/the-orwell-foundation/orwel...):

“ Dying metaphors. A newly invented metaphor assists thought by evoking a visual image, while on the other hand a metaphor which is technically ‘dead’ (e. g. iron resolution) has in effect reverted to being an ordinary word and can generally be used without loss of vividness. But in between these two classes there is a huge dump of worn-out metaphors which have lost all evocative power and are merely used because they save people the trouble of inventing phrases for themselves.”

[sillysaurusx → ewilden]

Thank you so much! That’s the one.

(It’s remarkable how often a vague description can yield an HN comment with an answer from a clever sleuth like yourself. Much appreciated.)