diff --git a/applications/utilities/mesh/conversion/ccm/ccmToFoam/ccmToFoam.C b/applications/utilities/mesh/conversion/ccm/ccmToFoam/ccmToFoam.C
index a11603861f709ac648f3833a40fd3dbd021f305e..677da42c09022943a1afa471e727949e9598ebf0 100644
--- a/applications/utilities/mesh/conversion/ccm/ccmToFoam/ccmToFoam.C
+++ b/applications/utilities/mesh/conversion/ccm/ccmToFoam/ccmToFoam.C
@@ -60,8 +60,8 @@ Usage
         Use numbered patch/zone (not names) directly from ccm ids.
 
       - \par -remap \<name\>
-        Use specified remapping dictionary instead of
-        <tt>constant/remapping</tt>
+        Alternative remapping dictionary
+        (default: <tt>constant/remapping</tt>)
 
       - \par -scale \<factor\>
         Specify an alternative geometry scaling factor.
@@ -121,7 +121,7 @@ int main(int argc, char *argv[])
     (
         "remap",
         "name",
-        "Use specified remapping dictionary instead of <constant/remapping>"
+        "Alternative remapping dictionary (default: 'constant/remapping')"
     );
     argList::addOption
     (
diff --git a/applications/utilities/mesh/conversion/ccm/foamToCcm/foamToCcm.C b/applications/utilities/mesh/conversion/ccm/foamToCcm/foamToCcm.C
index 59905b162cc152f34fa5c89911ff1c5fc076cee0..88dd59676d40334921c04edd6fa21157c0b8a50e 100644
--- a/applications/utilities/mesh/conversion/ccm/foamToCcm/foamToCcm.C
+++ b/applications/utilities/mesh/conversion/ccm/foamToCcm/foamToCcm.C
@@ -46,8 +46,8 @@ Usage
         No backup of existing output files.
 
       - \par -remap \<name\>
-        Use specified remapping dictionary instead of
-        <tt>constant/remapping</tt>
+        Alternative remapping dictionary
+        (default: <tt>constant/remapping</tt>)
 
       - \par -results
         Convert results only to CCM format
@@ -110,7 +110,7 @@ int main(int argc, char *argv[])
     (
         "remap",
         "name",
-        "Use specified remapping dictionary instead of <constant/remapping>"
+        "Alternative remapping dictionary (default: 'constant/remapping')"
     );
     argList::addBoolOption
     (
diff --git a/applications/utilities/parallelProcessing/decomposePar/decomposePar.C b/applications/utilities/parallelProcessing/decomposePar/decomposePar.C
index 1758e484afa135d836ae81054d3e87285cfada45..b99311832144fd8e8b8db5d950383847daffe9e5 100644
--- a/applications/utilities/parallelProcessing/decomposePar/decomposePar.C
+++ b/applications/utilities/parallelProcessing/decomposePar/decomposePar.C
@@ -314,7 +314,7 @@ int main(int argc, char *argv[])
     (
         "decomposeParDict",
         "file",
-        "Use specified file for decomposePar dictionary"
+        "Alternative decomposePar dictionary file"
     );
 
     #include "addAllRegionOptions.H"
diff --git a/src/OpenFOAM/global/argList/argList.C b/src/OpenFOAM/global/argList/argList.C
index 18fc14f7b3c0900c9b88ceacdaac88479f2be304..19e739f569833df5b73da44f4615975fe13b52d5 100644
--- a/src/OpenFOAM/global/argList/argList.C
+++ b/src/OpenFOAM/global/argList/argList.C
@@ -76,14 +76,14 @@ Foam::argList::initValidTables::initValidTables()
     (
         "case",
         "dir",
-        "Specify case directory to use (instead of cwd)"
+        "Case directory (instead of current directory)"
     );
     argList::addOption
     (
         "lib",
         "name",
-        "Additional library or library list to load."
-        " (Can be used multiple times)",
+        "Additional library or library list to load.\n"
+        "[Can be used multiple times]",
         true  // advanced option
     );
     argList::addBoolOption
@@ -97,9 +97,8 @@ Foam::argList::initValidTables::initValidTables()
     (
         "debug-switch",
         "name=val",
-        "Specify the value of a registered debug switch."
-        " Default is 1 if the value is omitted."
-        " (Can be used multiple times)",
+        "Set named DebugSwitch (default value: 1).\n"
+        "[Can be used multiple times]",
         true  // advanced option
     );
 
@@ -107,9 +106,8 @@ Foam::argList::initValidTables::initValidTables()
     (
         "info-switch",
         "name=val",
-        "Specify the value of a registered info switch."
-        " Default is 1 if the value is omitted."
-        " (Can be used multiple times)",
+        "Set named InfoSwitch (default value: 1).\n"
+        "[Can be used multiple times]",
         true  // advanced option
     );
 
@@ -117,9 +115,8 @@ Foam::argList::initValidTables::initValidTables()
     (
         "opt-switch",
         "name=val",
-        "Specify the value of a registered optimisation switch."
-        " Default is 1 if the value is omitted."
-        " (Can be used multiple times)",
+        "Set named OptimisationSwitch (default value: 1).\n"
+        "[Can be used multiple times]",
         true  // advanced option
     );
 
@@ -142,7 +139,7 @@ Foam::argList::initValidTables::initValidTables()
     (
         "decomposeParDict",
         "file",
-        "Use specified file for decomposePar dictionary"
+        "Alternative decomposePar dictionary file"
     );
     argList::addOption
     (