Meanings
plural said-bookisms
- rareauthorshipA verb (such as "explained", "shouted", or "uttered") used to indicate dialogue when writing fiction, chosen so as to avoid using the word "said".
Jim Blish once dedicated a book to me. He introduced me to the music of Charles Ives, to the taste of Vander Flip, to the urgency of avoiding the said-bookism, to the concept of the watershed, to the pleasures of Indo-Ceylonese food.
1980, Harlan Ellison, Shatterday, Houghton Mifflin, Dedication - uncountableauthorshipThe studious avoidance, in writing dialogue, of the word "said".
Synonyms: bookism
Synonyms & antonyms
nounThe studious avoidance, in writing dialogue, of the word "said".
Origin
From The Said Book + -ism; coined by James Blish, writing under the pen name William Atheling Jr., after The Said Book, the title of a booklet for aspiring writers listing countless alternatives to the word “said” in writing dialogue.
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
said-bookism. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/said-bookism
“said-bookism.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/said-bookism. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “said-bookism,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/said-bookism.
Source: said-bookism on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.