Earlywood: The Fancy Lad & Lasses

Publisher’s note: Good morning! Welcome to Earlywood, a free excerpt from one of the thousands of pieces I’ve written since 1996. Sometimes it’s from a magazine article. Or a book. Or (in this case) blog entries from 2017 and 2021. Each entry has been updated or annotated with some modern context or point of view. Enjoy!

I love to look at websites of woodworkers – amateurs and professionals – and see photos of their work. But when they describe their work using the following words, I think: This person is a pompous wee-wee head with a fake underbite and who walks like they are carrying a corncob without using their hands.

You might disagree – that’s what the comments are for. But here is my list of dumb words that are overused on the websites of furniture makers.

Atelier: It’s a fancy French word for “studio” or “workshop.” Don’t try to teach your …