creature vs. critter

[Laurence Horn]

At 10:19 PM -0400 5/23/05, James C Stalker wrote (also citing
"varmint" vs. "vermin"):
>Creatures and critters, whatever the OED says, are not the same now.
>Critters are small, generally harmless, even cuddly, animals, although they
>may be pests.  Creatures come from outer space and aren't friendly, for the
>most part.  They are also generic and include us humans and critters, as
>well as BEMs.  An (ante)dating?
>
>...
>I admit I'm being lazy and haven't checked the OED.  If the OED included
>both, without distinction, it would suggest to me that they were acceptable
>or recognized dialect variants.  The semantic distinction came later, either
>in England or America.
>
hey, it's "vace" vs. "vahz" all over again!  Two forms-->two meanings!

Larry