Is the phrase used properly?

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The usage of the phrase "steered clear of"

Context:

Giving the seriousness of the document, it is a mistake that should be carefully steered clear of.

The writer intends to express the meaning: To keep the seriousness of the document, a mistake like this should be carefully avoided.

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Type: Question • Score: 2 • Views: 900 • Replies: 6

[+3] - contrex - 06/19/2012You have the correct idea about "steering clear of" meaning "avoiding" (although "avoiding" is shorter and more formal) but I wouldn't say that "given* the...

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You have the correct idea about "steering clear of" meaning "avoiding" (although "avoiding" is shorter and more formal) but I wouldn't say that "given* the seriousness" means "keeping the seriousness".

"Given the seriousness..." in this context means "It is the case that because of the seriousness..."

*GIven, not "giving".

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@contrex,

contrex wrote:

You have the correct idea about "steering clear of" meaning "avoiding" (although "avoiding" is shorter and more formal) but I wouldn't say that "given* the seriousness" means "keeping the seriousness".

"Given the seriousness..." in this context means "It is the case that because of the seriousness..."

*GIven, not "giving".

Thank you Contrex.

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@oristarA,

Giving the seriousness of the document, it is a mistake that should be carefully steered clear of.

It sounds odd in the passive, Ori.

Given the seriousness of the document, it is a mistake that one should carefully steer clear of.

Given the seriousness of the document, it is a mistake that one should studiously avoid.

Giving the seriousness of the document, it is a mistake that a body should carefully steer clear of.

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@JTT,

JTT wrote:

Giving the seriousness of the document, it is a mistake that should be carefully steered clear of.

It sounds odd in the passive, Ori.

Given the seriousness of the document, it is a mistake that one should carefully steer clear of.

Given the seriousness of the document, it is a mistake that one should studiously avoid.

Giving the seriousness of the document, it is a mistake that a body should carefully steer clear of.

Excellent!
But I failed to understand "a body." What does it mean?

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a body is a person, and the last one is a decidedly informal way of expressing it, I kind of have the mental picture of anybody who says something like "a body should......" as being a 95 year old backwoods Southerner with a really thick drawl. It's very rarely used in modern discourse, and I think of it as being a Southernism and I mainly use Northernisms (except for "y'all", thanks to years spent in Georgia, which I find very handy).

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@MontereyJack,

Thank you Jack.

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Is the phrase used properly?

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