Roald Dahl, the first of England's brilliant writers of the mid-twentieth century to be scolded when he described people as fat when he meant fat. Now we are told, by these word police, that no, he did not mean fat. What he meant, oh dear, how could he have erred so, was: not thin, or some word they knew that was a better way of putting things, a word or phrase that showed concern for people's feelings, they said. What about the author's feelings? The author, who struggled day and night to write something we all read with the greatest enjoyment? Tameness ― who ever got anything done through tameness. 

It is books, now, that have attracted the attention of those who believe they know better. Next it will be film directors, painters and playwrights being told how to do things. Perhaps somebody knows: was Chaucer told what word he could use to describe somebody, was Shakespeare, was Defoe, was Byron or Lewis Carroll? Was P. G. Wodehouse? Yes, I think they have already started in on him. Almost bound to have done, but he is mid and early twentieth century, of course.