The Broncks', the borough of my childhood, fades away

[James Harbeck]

I wonder whether the loss of formerly traditional "the" from some
other place names, such as Ukraine and Yukon (the latter of which
still gets the article with a certain frequency), might have had any
subtle influence on this -- perhaps a little nagging idea that "the"
for a place name is improper. I wouldn't stand behind this
speculation without lots of further evidence, but such prescriptive
extensions from abductions aren't unknown, ISTM.

But think how the loss of the article would have changed Ogden Nash's
disapprobation into acceptance by forcing the deletion of "no" to fit
the meter:

Bronx?
Thonx!

James Harbeck.

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