My daughter sent me this:

From a letter Scalia sent to Blackmun about the word "viable" while they were both on the Supreme Court:

"You have not 'lost the battle' on that one; those with taste never use it, except in its literal medical context. I would sooner be caught watching a rock video than referring to a 'viable option.'"

[He sounds a bit like Richard, to me. ]

Do you agree with him? I have to admit that I have used that phrase, but perhaps I shouldn't? I don't see what's wrong with it, but I am sure some of you will let me know.

I wouldn't think twice about it. I'd use it without a moment's hesitation.

"Viable" has two main meanings: the original, "capable of life or normal growth and development"; and the extended meaning, "capable of being done with means at hand and circumstances as they are".

It is this second meaning that is used in viable option so I cannot see anything wrong with it although some might feel it is rather a cliché.

In a country where proper beer isn't brewed, Guinness is a viable option. It is a reasonable drink and will serve if there's no real beer. It would not be a viable option to drink Dudweiser.

A cliche the term might might be but ungrammatical it is not.

According to the The Columbia Guide to Standard American English

quote:

is Standard both in its literal sense, “capable of living,” as in These seedlings look viable, and in the more recent generalization meaning “practical, workable,” as in We don’t yet have a viable plan, but the latter use is much criticized today as a vogue word and cliché. Try useful, workable, practical, sensible, and the like, instead, and especially avoid viable alternative and viable option as threadbare and worn.

I don't agree - why is viable option "threadbare and worn" and words like "the", "a", "although", "because" are not?

quote:

Originally posted by gooofy:
According to the The Columbia Guide to Standard American English

quote:

is Standard both in its literal sense, “capable of living,” as in These seedlings look viable, and in the more recent generalization meaning “practical, workable,” as in We don’t yet have a viable plan, but the latter use is much criticized today as a vogue word and cliché. Try useful, workable, practical, sensible, and the like, instead, and especially avoid viable alternative and viable option as threadbare and worn.

I don't agree - why is viable option "threadbare and worn" and words like "the", "a", "although", "because" are not?

Because all those other words you quote are "structural" words when we form a sentence, the scaffolding that makes the building called "meaning" stand up.

"Viable option" is an overused phrase. It certainly isn't ungrammatical but it does sound a little lazy, as if the speaker can't be bothered to think of something that fits better.

Listen to almost any politician and count the cliches and ask yourself if their speech would be better for a touch more originality.

I don't get it, Bob. Aren't you contradicting your previous post?

A lot of phrases are overused. Goofy, I agree with you; I just don't understand why that particular phase is considered "threadbare and worn."

Viable option is a cliche best avoided. It is a tautology, for if it is not an option it can not be viable. I agree with Bob who says it does sound a little lazy, as if the speaker can't be bothered to think of something that fits better. Another example of what I have noted elsewhere as a redundant word.

quote:

Originally posted by Kalleh:
I don't get it, Bob. Aren't you contradicting your previous post?

A lot of phrases are overused. Goofy, I agree with you; I just don't understand why that particular phase is considered "threadbare and worn."

Not really. My previous post was specifically about whether or not it's good grammar (it is). I do use it in speaking because speaking is faster and less considered. I would try to avoid it in writing because it's a cliche.

quote:

Viable option is a cliche best avoided. It is a tautology, for if it is not an option it can not be viable.

A cliche it may be; tautology it is not.

An option is an alternative. Alternatives can be good or bad; easy or difficult; expensive or cheap - or viable and non-viable.

You two options - use viable or don't use viable - either option is viable.

Viable vs. morbid option? Suicide is a "viable option" if you want to die, isn't it?

quote:

I wouldn't think twice about it. I'd use it without a moment's hesitation.

That's what you had said, Bob...you'd use it without a moment's hesitation. I'd not take that as meaning you'd only use it in casual conversation, but never in writing.

I agree with Richard that it is not a tautology. Whether it is a cliche or not, I don't know. I imagine that depends on where one is. I don't hear "viable option" all that often, but I do hear it from time to time. I hear many other phrases a lot more. How does one tell if a phrase is a cliche or not? I think it is a matter of opinion. Dictionary.com cites sadder but wiser and strong as an ox as cliches. I don't hear either of them that much, so does that mean they are cliches to some, but not to others?

Clichés get a bad press simple because they are clichés and common. In many cases a construction that is now considered a cliché is quite inventive and, when new, would have been considered clever word use. For example:

"Defied the prophets"; "At the end of his tether"; "Like manna from heaven" are all clichés but are only decried because they are now common and often overused. My old English master hated clichés and considered their use lazy. He would insist that we thought of an original construction that would convey the meaning. And it wasn't always easy. Try it.

Hey...even Shakespeare used a few cliches.

But in Shakespeare's case, most of them were brand new when he wrote them.

Arnie, that was the reason for the wink. Obviously they weren't cliches then.

I wonder how one identifies an cliche. Once you've heard the phrase 10 times, 20 times, 100 times? I know, I am being far too literal, but it's easy to see that a cliche really isn't all that easy to identify.

quote:

Originally posted by Kalleh:
Arnie, that was the reason for the wink. Obviously they weren't cliches then.

I wonder how one identifies an cliche. Once you've heard the phrase 10 times, 20 times, 100 times? I know, I am being far too literal, but it's easy to see that a cliche really isn't all that easy to identify.

Easy to identify or recognise. Much more difficult to define accurately.

quote:

Originally posted by Richard English:

quote:

Viable option is a cliche best avoided. It is a tautology, for if it is not an option it can not be viable.

A cliche it may be; tautology it is not.

An option is an alternative. Alternatives can be good or bad; easy or difficult; expensive or cheap - or viable and non-viable.

Touché. Strictly speaking, you are right of course. But in terms of commonsensical, plain English, if an option is not viable, it's not an option. So we would say 'it's not an option'.

if an option is not viable, it's not an option. So we would say 'it's not an option'.

I don't see it. People make bad choices all the time, sometimes without even thinking. A viable option is not synonymous with option, and that's why people use it.

OTOH, cliché is the past participle of the French verb clicher 'to stereotype'. It was originally a printing term. A stereotype is "a metal pritning plate cast from a matrix molded from a raised printing surface, such as type." (A-H) It is said to be onomatopoeic in origin.

A cliché is one of the stages which a metaphor goes through before becoming a part of everyday language. I'd say that viable option isn't a metaphor or a cliché anymore, just another term in the language.

In fact, the more common, non-printing-jargon, meaning of stereotype has gone through the same process.

To follow on from zmj's mention of cliché as a printing term, the old printers had frequently-used words and phrases set up in type permanently, to save time when setting up a page. These phrases became known as clichés.

quote:

Originally posted by zmjezhd:
I don't see it. People make bad choices all the time, sometimes without even thinking. A viable option is not synonymous with option, and that's why people use it...

I don't think I mentioned the word cliché. If an option is not viable, then it dies and is no longer an option.

If an option is not viable, then it dies and is no longer an option.

Ah, now, I finally see what your objection is. But viable does not only mean 'capable of surviving or living' (its biological meaning), but also 'capable of working successfully, feasable' (its primary, non-technical meaning).

My point about cliché was that a metaphor when it is first minted is new and vibrant, then it becomes a cliché, and finally it just becomes part of the language (if it survives). Stereotype and viable option are examples of that linguistic journey.

See, for example, Compact Oxford and A-H.