Smile When You Say That

“Yes,” he smiled.

Oh, did he really? He didn’t “say” or “reply” or even “mumble”? He just smiled and words came out, huh? Imagine that.

In case you couldn’t tell, this is another thing that drives me nuts. I’m smiling now, and no words are coming out, which leads me to think that “smiled” is not an actual dialogue tag. Neither is “laughed” or “chuckled.” I know this because I have personally tested it, in the presence of other editors (yes, this is the sort of thing we talk about), and we have definitively concluded that one cannot smile, laugh or chuckle words.

I know some people—quite a few people, in fact—think I’m being too strict. I’m seeing variations of “Yes,” he smiled more and more often. I’ve seen it in print quite a few times, so shouldn’t I just smile and let it go? Letting it go would certainly make my job easier.

This is the sort of bind editors get caught in sometimes. Is “Yes,” he smiled a perfectly fine construction simply because it is so common? Am I letting my personal preferences dictate how I edit someone else’s sentence? I like to think I am helping to delay the downfall of our civilization by changing “Yes,” he smiled to “Yes.” He smiled. or “Yes,” he said, smiling, but deep down I know I’m not having much of an impact. Even deeper down, I know that a certain segment of the English-speaking population might argue that in this case “said” is implied, understood, and unnecessary.

“Oh, bother,” I sigh, frowning.