Wordsmithereens: To Have or Have Not

Wordsmithereens is a whenever-I-feel-like-it column where I blast the hell out of some nitpicky topic pertaining to diction, editing, self-editing, or writing. Why? Because I'm anal-retentive with a hyphen, that's why.

Over the past few years I've noticed the many uses of the verb have. It's a useful word, but often overused in prose. During editing mode, I've been substituting verbs that are more accurate or lend variety. For instance, "have" is often used to mean "need":

He had to go.

could b...