[Dixonary] OT sort of: I am curious (dealing)

[Dodi Schultz]

>> My recent deal of cooey with the misspelled "aborigines" attracted
>> Dave's vote.
>>
>> It wasn't "printed" in the dictionary (to my knowledge) but it
>> appears common to all online sources that draw from M-W 1913.

Ah, yes, Dan; I'd forgotten that one. Interesting. I wonder if it WAS
misspelled in the 1913 edition, or if the first person keying in an online
version goofed and the others all copied.

But WOULD they have keyed it in? Wouldn't that have been more
labor-intensive, hence a lot more expensive, than simply scanning? If they
did scan--then the goof WAS in the original printing.

--Dodi

[bonnyjars]

Dodi

I really had two different points in mind both of which cause me to tend toward caution

1. In our current plastic society where things change so fast what is regarded as 'correct' useage can change very radically - or
even whether it matters at all. For instance, something like what we call "the Oxford comma" is little used here in the UK except to
remove amiguitoes in paired-item lists but is, I understand, most usual in the USA, especially in journalism. For the hoi-polloi,
the Oxford comma is the one before the 'and' in a list. An example is "The Union flag is red, white, and blue". (Also called the
'serial' or 'Havard' comma and is, I think, unknown in languages apart from English.)
For myself, not being one of the 'wise clerkes of Oxenford' I find that example quaint and archaic if not actually incorrect. If I
am in edit mode then I would always correct it by removing it. Another difference between us is where the full-stop goes in that
example sentence. I could doubtless multiply occasions ad nauseam that demonstrate differences and disagreements on grammar both
between and within our cultures.

2. There are so many dictionaries. Last time I crossed your path, I looked up a word on your definition in several dictionaries
before deciding - wrongly as it turned out - what you had meant. In those first dictionaries, your word only existed as an
abbreviation. Further research on-line showed that the word existed in its own right. In the case of a word game like this, this
difficulty will be exaggerated because we are frequently deliberatley using unusual words. Again, I could doubtless multiply
examples that demonstrate differences and disagreements on spelling both between and within our cultures.


JohnnyB

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