MIRIAM WEB-STER

020901 2251 MIRIAM WEB-STER PLAYING WITH WORDS, I SUPPOSE.

2302 HOW ABOUT: Netnaught niknak (something decorating a computer).

030901 0024 here are a few words you should have (know): racon, defenestrate, vicarious, shrewd,mellifluous, diction, canny, uncanny, arcane, intrinsic, esoteric, confidence, flout, flaunt, figurative, composition, cannibal, carrion. more anon (more later).

150901 1812 I WOULD ALSO LIKE TO INTRODUCE SOME WORDS FROM THE NORWEGIAN LANGUAGE, THAT I BELIEVE COULD BE HELPFUL IN THE AMERICAN LANGUAGE ALSO.

180901 1931 We should say the dog´s master, never (with reference to e g owner) the dog´s mistress.

180901 2148 feral, complex, 280901 1654 diurnal 1655 bring with; take away (think of them like that to avoid confusion). 061001 2128 word: flinch

2131 I am very annoyed when Brits break pronunciation of a word into two parts just before a “T” (as in pain tings). It is so awful. Imagine someone walking gracefully into a room, turning and sitting down --- now imagine a clod who chooses to not do that, and instead abruptly stops and changes direction like some primitive robot: THAT is what they sound like who refuse to turn on the letter “T”. And all the worse when it is done as a matter of social conformity, rejecting healthy awareness of the natural musicality of the language. It is just as bad as the execrable dropping of consonants, especially when that too is a matter of social conformity (and all the worse when actors have learned to do it and producers afflict us tv viewers --- at least in e g Norway one can usually turn off the sound and read sub-titles, if one cares enough to watch such an evil show as would stoop to such bastardizing of the language).

071001 1457 Look up Poglizza in e g 1950 Encyclopedia Britannica.

1502 “Oops!” means pne has already dropped something --- but the Scandinavian “OBS!” means watch out, don`t drop it (you get the idea).

1505 “pne” (cf 1502 above) means “one”, and is a typo.

onsdag 24. oktober 2001 21:00 Within two days I see/hear on tv two Hillarys (Clinton and the journalist Anderson) using “concerning” to mean makes us concerned. I do not yet know if i like it. 21:06 But several years ago i used the word “censure” and it was understood as “censor” by the local bureaucrats --- and shortly thereafter Hillary Clinton made a point of clarifying that. I love coincidences. I assume they are more than mere. lørdag 27. oktober 2001 17:45 I detest use of “fraught” by itself, without “with ...”. 17:46 I am these weeks thrilledly enjoying the book “The King´s English” by H W Fowler and F G Fowler (brothers?), third edition(1931), originally 1906, reprint 1951. (Oxford) Joy!!!!! I do not agree with everything, of course. And, indeed, usage has developed in the meantime, especially re USA/Britain. But the penetrating dissections and psychological insights presented in the marvellous Fowlerian style I know from “Fowler´s Modern English Usage” --- WOW!!!!!!!!!!! 21:22 In yesterday´s Guardian I see “rivalrous” --- ghastly. 21:24 I suppose the word “sanction” is used exactly opposite in London v v New York: in yesterday´s Guardian: sanction means forbid. but in USA it means to allow. 21:27 In yesterday´s guardian exemplified British use of “for” where Americans use “in”: “Largest fall in crime for twenty years”. 21:30 I wince at misuse of decimate, which means (or should) to chop off one tenth (not to leave one tenth standing)(or similar implication). I guess it is because of its childish musicality. 21:33 I am horrified at use of “incredible” to mean anything except “not believable”. I try to enjoy sardonically its missuse by journalists etc, who cannot be believed anyway. onsdag 7. november 2001 03:01 Brits say wee kend instead of weekend. and can´t we get rid of sax often ist? (say saxophone player, dammit) And why does BBC say “an hour´s time” instead of “an hour”. No question mark because not a question --- note absurdity of word “because”: I will later discuss that at length. 03:05 The expression “I couldn´t care less” has perhaps died out because it fell into “I could care less” anyway, I hope so. onsdag 14. november 2001 04:10 Have I mentioned the worst?: “El Swear” (for “elsewhere”. Constantly used --- awful).

lørdag 17. november 2001 04:35 Use of “decimate”: can be used as lots of destruction, but not elegant, as it comes from “to kill every tenth man” --- it has snuk in badly , with suggestion that it means to kill 90%. søndag 18. november 2001 01:07 Annoying the uses of the word “artist” in Europe v v USA: in Europe it means often, a theater performer. And of course one cannot say simply “painter”, as that ... 01:13 “also” is a vexed word, as to where to put it. 01:14 A helpful concept designation in grammar is “sentence modifier” (cf Merriam re “hopefully” controversy). 02:51 In writing etc, we constantly get sentences like , “Oh let´s go to the zoo” said Edna. But wouldn´t it be helpful if we were told first that it is Edna who speaks?! 03:10 I do not believe a period is necessary after etc 07:18 A BBC guy said: “ee chuthr”. YECH! 08:57 “Concerning” which I do not recall ever before being so used, now by a reporter on tv, previously by Senator Clinton, to mean it makes one concerned. I don´t know if I like that. 09:09 To say “Jesus” or “Shit” is now common among scandinavians, speaking their mother tongues, using those words as foreign interjections --- rather, i suppose like some Americans a few decades ago saying (ala French) “Merd!”; I mean not foul language. And now, what with Sept 11, people ejaculating like that upon major events... but, of course, natural as can be. Of course five decades ago it would not have got on the airwaves. We see now the wisdom of freeing up the language --- preparing us media creatures for real communication in real major shock.

mandag 24. desember 2001 18:50 MIRIAM WEBSTER

There perhaps seems to have been in Norwegian a shift in use of commas from early part of 20th century, lots then, to few now. I much prefer lots.

I am pleased that a major British hotel manager on tv said “cater to” instead of the usual awful British “cater for “.

Is the barbarism “co-ed” still i use?!

Consider the difference in sound of the Swedish “åren” and the norwegian “årene” (meaning “the years”) --- (the letter å sounds like American o in on).

English classical scholar Edwyn Bevan uses in edition of 1937 “till” for “until”. And “the Scotch” where we today say the Scottish or the Scots. He writes (unless typographical error) depreciate where we would use deprecate (does he merely err?). He is I hope correct in telling us that the word barbarian is from the barbarbar burbling heard from them by the ancient Greeks (but maybe a beard is thought to cause the burbling?). I will get the book title for you.

I prefer “further” over “farther” , the meaning as to verb or not is almost always clear (odd exception could be “to further it further”.

My 11 month old grand-daughter has an individual voice.

miriam webster søndag 13. januar 2002 19:36 I use what I call “running comma” : to make meaning clear as the reader progresses thru the text , and to minimize the need to re-read a passage (which is one of the dirty little secrets of style; the need to go back to find out what the writer is saying).

News crawl on Fox News yesterday: a USA airliner with transponder problem is escorted back by fighter planes --- new meaning of “to escort”. heh heh.