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From Act 1 of Neil Simon's Last of the Red Hot Lovers:
Barney: As a matter of fact, it's my mother's apartment.
Elaine: You're not actively serious?
I've never heard 'actively' in this context. My instinct would be to say 'actually'. So, is this 60s-lingo, an
Americanism, a typo, or what? Any thoughts out there?
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Americanism, a typo, or what? Any thoughts out there?
Interesting usage. Not any Americanism this USn has ever heard. Seems a little odd for a typo. Simon giving a character a distinctive idiolect? I've known people whose use of the language was considerably different from the norm. Does this character have other odd speech habits?
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There used to be spellcheckers that would correct typo, and substitute wrong word.
For instance, a couple years ago I saw in Smithsonian magazine "forward" where
"foreword" was clearly meant. I wrote, and got reply that spellchecker had done it.
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spellcheckers that would correct typo, and substitute wrong word.
I had to spell it actielly for the Word2000 Spellchecker to correct it to actively.
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Talking of spellcheckers reminded me of the editorial in yesterday's The Australian newspaper [as reported in the Media Watch TV program] in which the writer had meant to use the term "self-deprecating humour" but had somehow written "self-defecating". There must be an appropriate response to this but it's a bit too late at night to think of one.
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"Self-defecating" humour: I was so funny I sh*t myself? 
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Simon giving a character a distinctive idiolect?
A good theory, Faldage, but other than this weird little 'actively', Elaine's speech is pretty ordinary. Oh well...
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Oh well...
One of the minor mysteries of life. Was this from some transcript or an authorized holograph or what?
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I'm playing Elaine, and it's in the script (Samuel French version). I might check another edition, just in case it was a poorly corrected typo. And if not, I'll just learn the line the way it is!
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to me, "actively" serious has a slightly different meaning than (the overworked) "actually" - it seems to be saying that you are not only serious, but *doing something about it.
google gets a few hits, one of which is from your script.
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