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Joined: Dec 2000
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 13,803 |
MWCD comments: [color:#339999]Since masterly had but one sense, the pundit opined that it would be tidy if masterful were likewise limited to one sense and he forthwith condemned use of masterful 2 as an error. Tidy?! Tidy?!?! We are not talking about "tidy" here, m'sieur! We are talking about language!
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Joined: Dec 2002
Posts: 87
journeyman
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journeyman
Joined: Dec 2002
Posts: 87 |
Indeed, "tidy" exists as a part of the language, but its attributes do not obtain to language.
What sane person could live in this world and not be crazy? -Ursula K. Le Guin, author (1929- )
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Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 13,803
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 13,803 |
Exactly. This is just the same reasoning that gave us that split infinitive monstrosity. There was never a prohibition against splitting infinitives in English, either in normal speech or in the writing of good writers. Then some guy came along and said he didn't think it was very tidy and he didn't like it and suddenly every rabid prescriptivist is saying anyone who splits infinitives is an ignorant lout who should be shunned by all right-thinking individuals. The good folk at Language Log refer to these things as "zombie rules" because of their ability to keep going no matter how many stakes are driven through their hearts.
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