As Such
should neither dangle nor connect
I see the phrase as such misused so often that I wonder whether it belongs on the Endangered Bits of English list.
The such in as such is a pronoun and as such requires an antecedent.
In other words, the placeholder such has to refer clearly to a noun or phrase that’s actually present in the text. And that antecedent should be close by, still within the reader’s short-term memory, so there’s no hesitation or confusion over what the writer means by that such.
The as such construction seems to have a better chance of being used correctly when it occurs later in the sentence. Here’s a good example from an article by Jessica Testa about wrap dresses:
They were ideal for working women, hailed as both office-appropriate and “flattering.” After the initial 1970s boom — think Cybill Shepherd in “Taxi Driver” (1976) — the wrap dress enjoyed a resurgence from the mid 2000s to mid 2010s, when workplace empowerment again became a cultural focal point. …
And now? Wrap dresses occupy a more curious category, like skinny jeans or ankle booties or long cardigans: once a closet staple, now a staple of closet clean-outs. … Sometimes the stores miscategorize them … as robes instead of dresses. In 2020, during the early months of the pandemic, Vogue suggested wearing them as such.
That is, Vogue suggested wearing wrap dresses as robes. The antecedent for such is clear and within easy reach, near the end of the previous sentence.
Writers evidently have a lot more trouble with as such at the beginning of a sentence, where it risks becoming a dangling modifier.
A Gentleman in Moscow, by Amor Towles, contains 10 occurrences of the phrase as such. Of these, I would argue that only one is an example of correct usage:
“A Barolo,” the Count explained as helpfully as he could, “is a full-bodied red from northern Italy. As such, it is the perfect accompaniment to the osso buco of Milan.”1
This passage fulfills both requirements of an as such. First, the antecedent of such must be clear and present, and there it is: a full-bodied red.
Second, it must be clear what the phrase as such is modifying. What or who is being described as whatever such is standing in for? In this case, the as such modifies it (the subject of the sentence), and the antecedent for it is also clear and close by: As a full-bodied red, a Barolo is the perfect accompaniment.…
Without a clear antecedent, however, the phrase as such adds nothing but potential confusion. Here’s one of the nine misuses of the phrase in the same novel:
Given the prevailing sobriety of her expression, it was unclear what she thought of this music from another era. As such, many a veteran would have counseled the young man to proceed with caution—to wait and hear what associations the music held for her. (96)
For as such to mean something here, the such would have to refer to something “many a veteran” could be. But there’s no antecedent in sight. In this case, as such is both dangling and meaningless.
In fact, rather than pointing to an antecedent at all, the phrase seems intended to serve merely as a transition.
Here’s what the American Heritage Dictionary says about this usage:
Sometimes as such occurs at the beginning of a sentence and is used as a connector to the previous sentence when there is no noun in that sentence serving as an antecedent for the word such: Rousseau articulated what he called the general will, which supposedly reflects the true will of all the people. As such, Rousseau is a great defender of democracy. The Usage Panel has little enthusiasm for this construction.
Well put, Usage Panel!
Unfortunately, this empty connector usage is so common that as such is at risk of becoming a bit of meaningless filler, like a Styrofoam packing peanut.
I often disagree with linguist and New York Times columnist
, so it was kind of a kick to find a perfect example of this misuse of as such in his piece arguing that we don’t really need apostrophes:Their deployment is governed by some rather fine rules — is it “my uncle’s book” or “my uncles’ book”? “It’s” or “its”? — that take a bit of effort to master. As such, their proper use conveys precision but also something else, something harder to put one’s finger on. I admit that seeing anyone over the age of 15 use its instead of it’s, or your instead of you’re, makes me wince a little. But it shouldn’t.
Oh, yes, it should. And here he is again, this time on the subject of standing ovations:
But once many people around you are standing, it can feel as though if you don’t do it too you are offering a sour critique. Even then there would have been some holdouts. (For example, me.) But the mundane problem is that if everybody around you stands up, then 1) you can’t see the curtain call and 2) you are facing a wall of butts. As such, one probably knuckles under.
That’s a dangling modifier disguised as a connector.
Let’s just say I have little enthusiasm for this construction.
Amor Towles, A Gentleman in Moscow (New York: Viking, 2016), 140.