"Process continuum"

Charles Doyle cdoyle at UGA.EDU
Fri Sep 5 11:43:23 UTC 2008


I frequently specify "ink pen" for "ballpoint" (and, formerly, for "fountain pen") to disambiguate from "pin," which is sometimes "stick pin" or "straight pin" (when it isn't a "safety pin").

Speaking of Southerness (and perhaps Elsewhereness): Do any of y'all remember the old Sunday School joke, "What was the principal tool of the early Christians?"?

The answer is "the ax of the apostles."

--Charlie
_____________________________________________________________

---- Original message ----
>Date: Fri, 5 Sep 2008 00:49:05 -0400
>From: Wilson Gray <hwgray at GMAIL.COM>
>Subject: Re: "Process continuum"
>
>FWIW, from watching BET, it appears that, among some BE speakers, [eiNk pIn] is now used for what is otherwise known as a "ballpoint."
>
>-Wilson

------------------------------------------------------------
The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org



More information about the Ads-l mailing list