Recent e-mails from readers have included some pretty thoughtful questions, three of which I present to you here, along with what I hope are equally thoughtful answers ...
Andrew Allen sent in this: "I've heard of things being oldfangled and newfangled, but can something be just plain fangled?"
Answer: Absolutely, Andrew.
According to the Oxford English Dictionary, fangled is an adjective defined as "characterized by crotchets or fopperies."
If you're thinking, "Huh?," I should probably be a little less of a stinker and point out that the OED also tells us that the word is obsolete. The OED's most recent citation for it is from Shakespeare's "Cymbeline" ("Be not, as is our fangled world, a Garment, Nobler than that it covers"), written circa 1611.
It may no longer exist in standard use, but it is interesting to note that the word fangled had a derogatory or disapproving tone to it. The same can be said for both oldfangled and newfangled.
When people today say things like, "How long do we have to keep this oldfangled telephone?" or "I can't figure out that newfangled billing system," the inference is clearly one of displeasure or objection (although rarely as poetically put as by Shakespeare).
G. K. Jessop asked if I would settle an argument: "Is there any difference between everyday (one word) and every day (two words)?"
Answer: I don't know which side of this argument you're on, G. K., but the answer in brief is "Yes, there is most definitely a difference."
To explain more fully, we need to think about the grammatical distinction between the two forms.
As one word, everyday is an adjective, as in "Hannaford's everyday prices" and "it's an everyday occurrence." The adjective everyday is not uncommon, but we more often use the two-word form every day, not as an adjective, however, but as an adverbial phrase -- for example, "I eat fish every day" and "he stopped by every day this week."
An easy trick for remembering this difference is to think of every day as being equivalent to each day, and therefore interchangeable. So, if "it rained each day" makes sense, then "it rained every day" is also correct. But if "doing my each day chores" sounds wrong, then "doing my every day chores" is also wrong. The correct form would be "doing my everyday chores."
Another trick is to imagine the word single between "every" and "day." If it makes sense ("it rained every single day"), then every day is correct. If it doesn't make sense ("doing my every single day chores"), then it should have been the one-word adjective everyday.
Maria Johns came up with an interesting poser when she asked, "Is there a name for the sideways-8 symbol that stands for 'infinity'?"
Answer: Like most people, Maria, I know exactly the symbol you're referring to. But as your question illustrates so well, even when we're familiar with a symbol and what it stands for, we may not be aware that the symbol itself has a given name. I'm not even sure that all symbols do have given names distinct from what they stand for (I mean, I wouldn't know what to call "+" other than a "plus sign"), but many symbols do have such designations, including "&," which stands for "and" but which is also commonly known to be an ampersand.
So, does the infinity symbol have a name? Actually, it does--it's called a lemniscate (pronounce the —niscate to rhyme with biscuit), which in mathematics can also refer to other figure-8 curves, especially in algebraic geometry.
Thanks for your excellent questions!
Edmeston resident Christine A. Lindberg, senior U.S. lexicographer for Oxford University Press, is the principal content editor of Oxford's American English dictionaries and thesauruses. Opinions expressed by Lindberg in this column are done so independently, and do not necessarily reflect the policies and practices of Oxford University Press. Have a question or comment relating to the English language? E-mail: languagewithlindberg@gmail.com. Selected submissions will be answered here periodically.
Let's Look At The Language
Readers ask about fangled, every day/everyday and infinity symbol
- Let's Look At The Language
-
-
'We'll take a cup o' kindness yet, for auld lang syne'
By Christine A. Lindberg A song that "owns" a particular day of the year is rare.
-
Here comes Santa Claus ... where'd he get that snazzy red suit?
Years ago, I had a book of letters written to Santa Claus, and I remember that, among all the messages of "bring me this," "bring me that," and "I'll leave you a plate of cookies," one little boy had written, "Dear Santa, Where did you get your snazzy red suit?" I wouldn't be surprised if the author of that question grew up to be either a reporter or a fashion consultant, but in any event, I hope he got an answer to his question.
-
Where do I plug in these Electric Prunes?
Those of us who make the family feasts of Thanksgiving and Christmas magically appear on the table know there's nothing magic about it.
-
The sometimes-cryptic language of company names
Cream cheese originated in 1872 as the result of William Lawrence's failure to duplicate the French cheese Neufchatel. By 1880, he knew his "accidental cheese" was good enough for distribution, so he packaged it in foil wrappers and called it Philadelphia Cream Cheese.
-
Humorist Will Rogers: One of the crown jewels in American language
Defined as "a humorous writer, performer or artist," a humorist could technically be anyone who makes you laugh, but my concept of a humorist is not nearly so broad
-
Not quite an 'Ode to Pepé Le Pew' after gross, stinky encounter
My previous column ended with the words "sweet dreams," which are nice if you can get 'em, but sometimes the occasion of slumber time is a few degrees short of sweet.
-
What will my dream-doctor say about this orgledream in my head?
I just read a snippet of folklore that tells me "a dream of grasshoppers means that something is confusing you."
-
Names of hurricanes don't match reality
When the storm named Irene barreled up into Edmeston four weeks ago, I didn't think I'd still be looking down upon the vestiges of her destruction from my upstairs windows.
-
Sometimes an unremarkable day is the one we should cherish the most
Ten years ago today, it was a summery Sept. 10 here in Central New York. The temperature hovered in the 80s and there was an occasional drizzle here and there.
-
'Don't miss it, don't even be late' The Great New York State Fair is here
"Our state fair is a great state fair! Don't miss it, don't even be late. It's dollars to doughnuts that our state fair is the best state fair in our state!"
-
Some of it's all Greek to me, but mostly it's just herbaceously aromatic
For the past five years, I've been a container gardener (having given up the backyard to my dogs).
-
Like gods on the heptagram, so are the days of our week
-
'Where have you gone, Joe DiMaggio?' just not the same
When the Baltimore Orioles' third baseman took the field on May 30, 1982, not even Nostradamus could have foreseen that one of the most celebrated streaks in baseball was beginning at that very moment. The player was Cal Ripken Jr., whose 2,131st consecutive game on Sept. 6, 1995, surpassed Lou Gehrig's "unsurpassable" record.
-
A frabjous Fourth of July to everyone!
If there's one date in history that every American can cite, it's the day that the Continental Congress gave its nod to the Declaration of Independence: July 4, 1776.
-
I wonder if ancient Romans ever put sanctions on that two-faced Janus
Someone recently asked me if I could explain the meaning of the word "sanction.
-
June is bustin' out all over!
When "Carousel," the second stage musical by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II, opened on Broadway on April 19, 1945, the audience left the theater in buoyant spirits.
-
Go ahead and have a rat on a stick, but please don't call it a lollipop
I recent read that this Tuesday is National Escargot Day. I was unable to find any compelling evidence that this is an official national day for any nation in particular, but it does seem that throughout the U.K. and North America, French restaurants have happily adopted the day as a time to celebrate their garlicky little mollusks.
-
Onomatopoeic power of wheatgrass souffle
“The formation of a word from a sound associated with what is named” is the New Oxford American Dictionary’s definition of “onomatopoeia” (Ah-Nuh-mah-tuh-PEE-uh).
-
The language of Benjamin Franklin, in whatever name he used
When Benjamin Franklin died 221 years ago this month, the entire Western world mourned, yet his gravestone reads (in full), “Benjamin and Deborah Franklin 1790.”
-
There's nothing like a good spoonerism to tickle a bunny phone
The English economist Sir Roy Forbes Harrod (1900"1978) once said that, compared to all the scholars he had known at Oxford and Cambridge, the Reverend William Archibald Spooner (1844"1930) was the most exceptional in "scholarship, devotion to duty, and wisdom." There is no reason to question Harrod's assessment, but that's not exactly the imprint by which Spooner is best remembered.
-
'We'll take a cup o' kindness yet, for auld lang syne'
