A Word, Please: ‘Like’ can mean ‘such as,’ but why use either?

It was January 2022, and I was frustrated by a trend I was seeing — that I kept seeing — in articles I edited: writers obsessively using “such as” when they could have opted for the shorter, simpler “like.” So I did what every American did with their frustration in 2022: I posted it on social media.

“Someday I will edit a writer who understands you can, in fact, use ‘like’ to mean ‘such as’ ...” I wrote, and below those words I posted an image of Aragorn from “Lord of the Rings” shouting “but it is not this day!”

Discussion ensued.

“Writers? I thought only editors upheld this empty fetish,” replied John McIntyre, longtime copy editor and author of “Bad Advice: The Most Unreliable Counsel Available on Grammar, Usage, and Writing.” “Someone somewhere has been propagating this rubbish.”

Writers who hadn’t worked as editors were surprised to hear it.

“Oh thank goodness,” one replied.

“Wait … you can?” replied another.

Yes, for the record: You can use “like” as a synonym of “such as” if you want to. Though 2½ years later, if my own editing work is any indication, writers still haven’t gotten the memo.

In a recent two-week period, I edited about 25 articles that used “such as” before a list of examples. Only five used “like.”

“The restaurant serves elevated pub food and satisfying eats such as hand-tossed pizzas and specialty burgers.”

Opinion

A Word, Please: Whether you use ‘if’ or ‘whether’ depends on the context

A nonsensical grammar “rule” has developed around “if” and “whether,” but as June Casagrande explains, you can use either as long as it makes sense.

June 11, 2024

“Some studies suggest that eating chili peppers such as jalapenos can relax inflammation.”

“Wear protective clothing such as wide-brimmed hats and long-sleeved shirts.”

“He became an illustrator for major magazines such as Life and National Geographic.”

“… to demonstrate qualities such as cooperation.”

None of these is wrong. But it’s a problem that the writers all seem to think they have no alternative.

A lot of grammar myths have easy-to-trace histories. This isn’t one of them. Yes, if you go back to the 1950s or so, you’ll find certain language cops telling people that “like” means “similar to.” And when something is similar to something else, they’re not one and the same. Thus, these people said, “chili peppers like jalapenos,” by definition, excludes jalapenos. It means only peppers similar to jalapenos and not jalapenos themselves. If that were true, you would be required to use “such as” anytime you wanted include jalapenos in the examples.

But it’s not true. Dictionaries define “like” as a synonym of “such as,” meaning you can use either one to set up a list of examples. If you want my opinion, “like” is better. It sounds more natural, more conversational, which makes your message more accessible to readers. In fact, in that same two-week span of editing projects, I noticed that “like” was far more popular in quotations. It rolled off the tongues of the speakers talking to the writers, but the writers themselves avoided “like.”

But if you really want to engage your reader, both “such as” and “like” can be a problem. Why? Because both these terms upstage the details that readers find most interesting.

“Wear wide-brimmed hats, long-sleeved shirts and long pants” puts the emphasis on tangible, visual things. “Clothing such as” is far less sensory.

“He became an illustrator for Life, National Geographic and other major magazines” immediately makes me think of the oversized, visually stunning Life magazine covers I used to see in the grocery store checkout lane near those gold-bordered National Geographics. “Major magazines such as …” just doesn’t make the same connection to my world. “Eating jalapenos and other chili peppers” immediately conjures an image of medium-sized green peppers, more so than “chili peppers such as” does.

So don’t hesitate to use “like” in place of “such as.” Instead, hesitate to use both. If you can lead with a specific, tangible, sensory noun, you’ll keep your reader interested.

June Casagrande is the author of “The Joy of Syntax: A Simple Guide to All the Grammar You Know You Should Know.” She can be reached at [email protected].