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[donnaimmaculata]

I don't like epithets, as I'm sure I already mentioned a couple of times. But yesterday I came across one that made me laugh (and hit the back button, too, but laugh first of all): "his godfather's best friend". Apart from the fact that it was Harry's father and not Remus who was his godfather's best friend - how much more complicated can you get? His head of house's barmy superior? The red-haired headboy's younger brother? His aunt's meaty husband's dog-breeding sister?

I understand that one can use any of those epithets when actually talking about the interactions between the people mentioned in them, but not if they are used because the author wants to avoid using the name. Have no fear of names! Names aren't evil.

Comments

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[auctasinistra.livejournal.com]

What gets me is -- how much is too much?

It's too much when others notice it. I know that's not helpful. It's the truth. My own two cents as far as using a person's profession rather than his name is that it can be appropriate and indeed almost unnoticeable if you use it in a suitable context -- e.g., when Harry and Snape are fucking, "the potions professor" is a tad out of context. When he's teaching or buying supplies or grading homework, the phrase is usually fairly seamless. YMMV of course.
Beyond that, I'm in total agreement that epithets are to be used sparingly.