The 40 tells · Phrases · No. 30
"More than just": why it reads as machine-written
Flagged "More than just X"
"More than just a gym" and "more than a product" try to lift the thing above its category. The reader is left wondering what it is, then.
Usually there is a specific extra the writer had in mind. Name it.
Before
We're more than just a bakery.
After
A bakery that also runs a Saturday bread class, eight people at a time.
The fix
Say what it is, and what the extra is.
What the checker matches
A pattern match. In plain terms: "more than just x".
\bmore than (just )?(a |an )?[a-z]+(?: [a-z]+)?[.,]