Is New York Times Standards Editor Philip B. Corbett trying to show off how educated the paper's writers are or simply trying to help readers get through some of the paper's tougher vocabulary choices?

Either way, he presents the top 50 words that apparently give Times' readers the most trouble. They range from 'inchoate' to 'jenjune.'

The list comes as part of a critique of the paper's writing that has been posted on its website. It was originally written for staffers, but Corbett says it can also aide readers.

“Times readers are literate and well educated,” Corbett writes. “But privately, away from the cocktail party, some of them may wonder: what exactly does 'jejune' mean, anyway? If someone put a gun to my head, could I give a precise definition of 'atavistic'? Fortunately, for our online readers, help is readily available.”

He later hints that perhaps Times writers should not avoid some of the words, but use them carefully: “But even the most studious readers are likely to stumble over at least some of these words. I don't suggest banning any of them -- in some cases they may be the perfect choice, and we refuse to talk down to readers or dumb down our prose.

”Still, we should remember that this is journalism, not philology. Our readers, smart as they are, are often in a hurry. They may be standing on the subway or skimming a story over breakfast. Let's not make them work any harder than necessary."