ape-cut-fluff

# Cut Fluff Skill A surgical, single-pass editor. Walks the input top to bottom and removes every sentence, phrase, or word that delays the point without adding meaning. Cuts only -- does not reinterpret, restructure, or rewrite arguments. The author's voice, facts, and structural intent stay intact; the fat comes off. The goal is the **bare minimum word count** that still lets a competent reader understand the concept and grasp the essence. If a word can be dropped without changing meaning, drop it. If a sentence can be shrunk into a clause without losing a fact, shrink it. If an idea, example, or piece of context appears more than once, keep only the strongest instance and cut the rest. Aim for prose so dense that every remaining word is doing work and every remaining idea is appearing for the first time. ## What Counts as Fluff The skill cuts the following on sight. Any phrase, sentence, or paragraph that matches one of these patterns is fluff: - **Hedging language**: "it is important to note that", "it should be mentioned that", "it is worth pointing out that", "needless to say", "as a matter of fact", "to be honest", "in my opinion", "I think", "perhaps", "arguably" -- when they soften a claim the author is willing to make outright - **Empty disclaimers**: "of course there are exceptions", "this is a simplification", "your mileage may vary", "obviously this depends on context", "every system is different" -- if the disclaimer does not name a specific exception, cut ...