That’s interesting. I read somewhere (I think in a college writing class) that people read over the word “said” and don’t really notice it and that beginning writers often work too hard to avoid it. But I agree with you I find it annoying if it’s used too often. Though I do think it’s possible to go too far the other way. I tend identify the speakers by having them do something (Mr. Darcy frowned, “What do you mean?”) but sometimes I look back over my work and realize I’ve made character’s twitchy and need to replace actions with some equivalent of “said”. So I try to keep a balance between overusing the word and noticeably avoiding it.
