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Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 3,290
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 3,290 |
can we expext a single rie from rice?
I'm sure it could happen, but that does not mean it must. The anomaly with dice is not that dice was a singular, but that it was unusually spelled plural.
Ceci n'est pas un seing.
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Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 7,210
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 7,210 |
it's not back-formed from postpone?
I wouldn't call it back-formation, but maybe others would. I see on the other words board (protocols be damned!), Faldo has asked after prepone. I think of classic back-formation as something like babysit from babysitter or burgle from burglar. Here, the post of postpone is being replaced by another Latinate preposition-particle thingie, i.e., pre-. makes sense, thanks. I'll go depone the cornpone. :¬ )
formerly known as etaoin...
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Joined: Apr 2010
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stranger
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stranger
Joined: Apr 2010
Posts: 1 |
Is there a word for unnecessary back-formations? It is all too common to hear "orientate" from "orientation" when there is the perfectly good word "orient".
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Joined: Apr 2010
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stranger
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stranger
Joined: Apr 2010
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When I was knee-high to a grass-hopper [60+ years ago], several of my aunts got married and they were given the 'calithumpian' treatment.
The only difference was that, in South Australia at least, it was called a "tin-kettling" - but it would have still been just as noisy, though.
These functions seemed to be observed more in rural districts rather than in urban areas.
Perhaps the neighbours didn't like the noise ??
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Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 3,290
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 3,290 |
Is there a word for unnecessary back-formations?
Not a single word. If I felt the way you do and needed to talk about them, I would probably call them unnecessary back-formations.
Ceci n'est pas un seing.
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Joined: Apr 2010
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stranger
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stranger
Joined: Apr 2010
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Accrete? What's wrong with accrue? This is getting out of hand. I walked into an office last week and the receptionist recepted me.
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Joined: Jan 2008
Posts: 132
member
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member
Joined: Jan 2008
Posts: 132 |
Accrete? What's wrong with accrue? This is getting out of hand. I walked into an office last week and the receptionist recepted me. According to the OED, accrete is not a backformation.
Last edited by goofy; 04/29/10 02:05 PM.
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Joined: Sep 2009
Posts: 95
journeyman
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journeyman
Joined: Sep 2009
Posts: 95 |
To calm down at the end of this busy week, I plan to cathect with the fresh salt air watching the sun slowly set in the west behind the Manhattan skyline neatly framed between the bridges where the Long Island Sound and East River meet. As I cerebrate on this lovely sight, far from the callithump of cases which each day sing their sassy song as they cross my desk, I may accrete a sense of profound sense of peace and say, Thank God it's Friday.
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