prolixity in space

Jonathan Lighter wuxxmupp2000 at GMAIL.COM
Fri Feb 15 13:35:34 UTC 2013


All morning CNN has been reporting a "meteor shower that resembled a
fireball" "raining down on Southern Russia."

What they mean is "a meteoric fireball" or even a "fireball meteor."

Possibly more interesting is the use of "meteor shower" to mean "a single
meteorite and its debris."

JL

--
"If the truth is half as bad as I think it is, you can't handle the truth."

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



More information about the Ads-l mailing list