This one from a recent referee report on an article:
This piece verges on the surreal and the merely sloppy … I just could not like the piece. It has erudition but does not wear it lightly, instead flashing it about like a magpie with a prized piece of glass.
Another to frame – and keep me honest.
1 December, 2011 at 6:16 am
Receiving a reader’s report like that one would make me very happy. I’d love to be accused of having erudition, whether worn lightly or not.
1 December, 2011 at 6:43 pm
I guess it’s a kind of backhanded compliment. But the whole refereeing system is a massive system of policing, to make sure we don’t ‘descend’ into that vile zone of journalism, unacceptable ideas and so on.