Every so often I wind up in a conversation in which someone says to me, "I hope you won't be offended...." Since it takes a very great deal to offend me (or at least it used to - think I am gradually becoming less tolerant, as I see more and more just plain bad behaviour around! - inconsideration, downright rudeness, thoughtlessness, arrogance etc)....I started telling people, "Don't worry, I'm very inoffensible."
I haven't seen this in the dictionary and haven't heard anyone else use it. Has it cropped up spontaneously elsewhere or do I get to claim it?!
and if I get to claim it, who wants to help me GET it in the dictionary?!
two things, mg..
1. although it is very rare (some bloke named Cotgrave stuck in- on the slightly less rare
offensible in 1611), it has been recorded in OED2
2.
who wants to help me GET it in the dictionary... no, I won't even pontificate on this, because it would be a self-yart:
http://wordsmith.org/board/showflat.pl?Cat=&Board=miscellany&Number=599http://home.mn.rr.com/wwftd/
But you
could publish your own one-word dictionary, of course!
But you could publish your own one-word dictionary
Which would have the considerable advantage of allowing one to find the entry even when one cannot spell it.
Whoops, I was assuming everyone would know what I meant - one danger of tapping out posts late at night when parts of brain have gone to sleep....
When I said, "Who wants to help GET it in the dictionary?!" I meant, will people who subscribe to AWAD or visit the board start using "my" word (I'm really bummed that it's been used before, I thought I'd had an original thought - is there such a thing anymore?!) - hence the usage would increase, and maybe eventually it WOULD creep into popular usage, and might eventually get into a dictionary.
I read the link about how long it took that poor journo to get "hizzoner" into MW. Wow. I have to confess, about that particular word, I thought, "Who the hell cares?!" - but that's because, despite all the citations he mentions having dredged up, I've NEVER come across that word - and I'm pretty well-read and well-, um, watched (movies etc).
But "inoffensible" - now there's a word we could USE! :o)
Although come to think of it, remembering my original post, maybe there would be less and less call for it.... :o(
But I do like the thought of a one-word dictionary and how easy it would be to look up the word....!
For publishing your own dictionary, see milum.
