[Lexicog] Invariant Phases vs. " Kicked the proverbial bucket"

[Kenneth C. Hill]

Sometimes the lexicographer includes a humorous usage just to keep a language consultant happy. One of the consultants for the Hopi Dictionary, a prominent member of the community, insisted that the expression kutsi wutsi be included (kutsi 'lizard' + wutsi 'false') . He claimed it meant 'phoney baloney' and provided a thoroughly uninformative example sentence: Pay kutsi wútsiningwu. 'It's usually phoney baloney.' It didn´t seem to me that it should be included, but he kept asking time and again if it was there and even wanted to review our computer printouts to be sure, so there it is.

--Ken Hill

fieldworks_support at sil.org wrote:    I'm tempted to suggest that invariancy is a matter of degree.
 
 But also it can be a humorous use of language to vary an invariant phrase.
 Should a lexicographer include all possible humorous uses of words? In my
 opinion, not unless he was attempting something the scope of the OED.
 
 
 
 
 Steve White, Jaars language software support
 704-843-6337, 1-800-215-7813
 
 
            

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