I loved the second quote;
'Along the same literalist lines, you should think
twice before describing an important work by a woman
scholar as `seminal'.

Surprise! I was thinking of suggesting that if "seminal" was a compliment to be used only
for male authors who create something new and valuable, would not a feminine author
similarly creative, have her creation regarded as "ovarian". Imagine my dismay to find my
ten buck CD distionary say there ain't no such word. Solecism or not, I demand its creation!
(Alas, one very dear to me died of an ovarian tumor. The word was all too real then.)

describing an important work by a woman
scholar as `seminal'

Guess it depends on what you mean by seed.

Old spiritual: "Nobody knows the trouble I've seed".

Nobody knows the trouble I've seed

Suggesting it is more the province of women than of men.

"Ovarian" not a word? It is very common for dictionaries to omit some of the more obscure medical terms but I am surprised that ovarian was not found. It is certainly a word.

Dear Alex: Ever hear the little ditty: According to rumor, my ovarian tumor
Has changed me beyond recognition - All the boys that I know
Say my voice is too low......

wwh: No I haven't. What's the final line? (Or is it too dirty to post? MIght need to send via IM to avoid the Gutter Police.)

>"Ovarian" not a word?

OneLook.com finds it in eleven(11) on-line dictionaries, including MWCD and AHD. get a better dictionary.

my ten buck CD dictionary says there ain't no such word

AHD4's got it [innocent blinking-e]

get a better dictionary

I tole him an I tole him, get a better dictionary, that's what I tole him.

My ten buck CD dictionary has its faults. But the price goes up much faster than the
improvements of the other dictionaries on CD. It is invaluable to me as an instantly
available spell checker. I can use Yahoo search for anything I can't find on it. I still love it,
even when it disappoints me.

I use m-w.com for spell checking. Ninety-nine times out of ten it gives me the word I'm looking for in the first couple of choices. You've got to get perty ugly to fool it.

wwh,

type in onelook.com

You'll have access to over 700 dictionaries. Extremely rare is the word I've typed in for a search that Onelook.com couldn't find.

Ovarian not included? Yes, get a better dictionary; get over 700.

The Yahoo Search box is the best dictionary. I find things there not in dictionaries.And it keeps
leading me to new dictionaries. But my little CD is so useful and handy I usually start with it.
I have it minimized all the time. That could be a nuisance with the online dictionaries. If I thought
I were going to live long enough to get my money's worth, I would buy the latest OED.

Dr. Bill, M-W's CD is pretty good for $30US. That was about the limit of my budget, but turned out to be a pretty good buy for the price

Dear sjm: I have no doubt that if I had seen your thirty buck one before I bought my ten
buck one, and had had a chance to compare, I might well have chosen the thirty buck one.
So seldom I have cause for complaint with the one I have, I plan to keep using it, because
I can usually tell when I need to appeal to a higher authority. I'm glad to leave room for
others to surpass me, since that makes for more posts and more fun. My ego is not unduly
delicate, thank goodness. I have heard that it is lonely at the top. Bill

describing an important work by a woman
scholar as `seminal'

Guess it depends on what you mean by seed.

The Bible refers to the seed of the woman in one place:

"And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head and thou shalt bruise his heel."
Genesis 3:15

(the first Messianic prophecy)

I ain't seed a Bible for a long time. In a way it's puzzling that God punished Adam and Eve
for acquiring modesty. And of course the woman's seed were her children. And the Bible
is stupid in having Eve made as an afterthought. A god with any brain would have made
her first.

it's puzzling that God punished Adam and Eve for acquiring modesty

They were punished for their disobedience.

And of course the woman's seed were her children.

Yes, the woman's seed refers to her natural children, but also to Christ who would be born of a woman, supernaturally.

And the Bible is stupid in having Eve made as an afterthought. A god with any brain would have made her first.

Well, my friend, it is interesting to note that, in the Genesis account, after God made each thing, He pronounced it "good" except after He created man. Then He said "it is not good that man should be alone; I will make a suitable helper for him." And after woman was created, God declared that everything was "very good."

We don't know all the answers (and I certainly don't pretend to either) but we can read between the lines here and there. It seems to me that God did that this way in order for Adam to realize that he was not complete without woman.

I respect your opinion, Dr. Bill, and I hope I am not violating any rules of the board by bringing up a topic of religion.

yes, this sort of discussion is verboten. you both will, no doubt, spend an extra eon in verbid purgatory.

verbum sat

Wasn't it Julius Caesar who once said, "I came, I seed, I conquered"? I seen what you're thinkin' here, Faldo