Does the phrase “go more harm than good” still apply?
What is the formality of “Do more harm than good”?
Is it possible to use this in formal writing?
Mein teacher said that the majority of idioms are informal, so since it is an idiom, I wonder if there are any exceptions for phrases like this.
How’s your morning?
How can one improve over time? Also with “creative solutions”
I think your teacher was trying to be helpful by giving you a simple rule like “don’t use idioms in formal writing.’ How can I learn another language? How can I write a good formal essay using idioms?
I’m going to assume that you can, and it depends on the context. I’m going to assume that you can, but it depends on the context. How do we speak to people in English? Many idioms are not common even in the least. For example, some are the words that are included in a simple, frequent email. Other words are less common, or limited to a particular dialect, and so not appropriate in a formal essay as the meaning may not be obvious.
“More harm than good” is an example, an idiom so common that no one will take any special notice of its use — as long as you use it correctly. Patients with
life-threatening medical conditions often choose to accept the risk that any therapy to cure their condition may do more harm than good. For example, chemotherapy drugs work on the principle that cancerous cells are more susceptible to certain poisons than normal cells, but nevertheless (and not just in cancerous cells) damage to normal tissue may leave the body unable to fight off serious infectious disease.)
I use the idiom here, but I explain what is meant by “more harm than good.”
The idiom is a set of words established by usage as having a meaning nondeducible from those of the individual words (e.g. Over the Moon, there is a light (bearing on its surface the darkness behind the moon is not visible on Earth). What is the light? “To do more harm than good” has an obvious meaning deduced from the individual words, thus I would not call it an idiom. Typically the expression is found in formal writing, especially of a medical type, including when the balance of benefits and drawbacks of medication or other treatments are being discussed. Thus: (i.e. the absence of any specific medical treatment should remain unresolved through a qualified person) Is immunogenic nutrition good for more than just sepsis patients at this time of the year? Idiom
(Cambridge Dictionary) –
” / / 1 / 1 / 1 / 1 / 1 1/ 1 / 3 / 1 / 2 / Idiom, 1 / 1 / 1 / 4″ ” Idiom’: ” (Cambridge Dictionary.)
