Lest he tear it

[99bottles]

I just read somewhere that the word lest is literary. Does that mean it is not suitable for the kind of stories I write? I have used it a few times. Should I go back and change it? For example, in the sentence below...

He opened the old, worn letter, slowly and carefully, lest he tear it.

 

[jutfrank]

Yes and yes.

 

[Tdol]

Given that you use the adjective worn to describe a letter, I am not so against your use of lest.

 

[99bottles]

Given that you use the adjective worn to describe a letter, I am not so against your use of lest.

Is worn old-fashioned too?

 

[Tarheel]

The "slowly and carefully" part strongly implies that the person wants to avoid tearing the letter. Also, I might use a different sentence to say it was old and fragile.

 

[99bottles]

The "slowly and carefully" part strongly implies that the person wants to avoid tearing the letter. Also, I might use a different sentence to say it was old and fragile.

Thanks, but I'm still wondering: Is worn literary/old-fashioned?

 

[Tarheel]

I don't think so. But it seems that Tdol has a different opinion.

 

[Tdol]

I think that a worn shoe is not literary, but we rarely re-read letters so much nowadays that they get worn, so it seems a bit old-fashioned. I'm middle aged and cannot remember the last time I sent a letter.