In the book "Troublesome Words," author Bill Bryson discusses how certain phrases can be unnecessarily verbose. He highlights the phrase 'the past' as an example that often adds extra words without contributing meaningful information. For instance, in the sentence 'She has been a teacher at the school for the past 20 years,' the reference to 'the past' can be omitted without altering the sentence's meaning.

This observation emphasizes the importance of concise language. Bryson advocates for clarity in writing, urging writers to streamline their sentences by removing redundant elements. By doing so, they can communicate their ideas more effectively and avoid cluttering their sentences with unnecessary words.