In the book "Troublesome Words" by Bill Bryson, the author discusses how certain phrases can become overly complicated or verbose. He uses the example of a sentence that describes a series of seismic events in a region. Instead of saying 'a week of earthquake activity throughout the region', it can be simply stated as 'a week of earthquakes', which is clearer and more concise.

By highlighting this tendency toward wordiness, Bryson encourages writers to be mindful of their language, suggesting that simplicity can often convey meaning more effectively than convoluted expressions. This approach aims to improve communication by avoiding unnecessary complexity in descriptions.