someone/somebody, etc.

[Thomas Paikeday]

Although I wouldn't call myself an idiot (actual or potential) this is
meant to be an "offensive message."

I am shocked to hear that someone like Dr. Lynne Murphy would use the
style checkers that come with word processors. Has anyone tried putting
one of those Christmas messages from the Queen to a style test? Or a
stream of consciousness from James Joyce? I think we should be free to
write as we like. Remember "Style is the woman" (to be politically
correct), etc.?

Another crutch for writers that I find quite useless is the thesaurus.
No one is likely to have read the example that follows, so let me quote:
"Often Joe may know that DIFFERENCES (in the sense of "disagreements")
may be "settled," but wants to know what alternative words are
available. A thesaurus gives "conclude, confirm, decide, determine,
judge" as synonyms for SETTLE, but verbs that may be idiomatically used
with DIFFERENCES are "compose, reconcile, resolve, set aside, thrash
out."

Someone/somebody please tell me if I am abusing the thesaurus.

T.M.P.

THOMAS M. PAIKEDAY, lexicographer since 1964
Latest work: "The User's (tm) Webster," Lexicography, Inc., 2000
ISBN 0-920865-03-8 / From: utpbooks at utpress.utoronto.ca

Lynne Murphy wrote:
>
> But my word processor doesn't like "someday" at all, so I generally avoid it!
>
> Lynne
>
> (The Eudora moodwatcher thinks this is quite an offensive message.  I
> hope that you haven't been offended by me calling myself a potential
> idiot.)
> --
> M. Lynne Murphy
> Lecturer in Linguistics
> School of Cognitive and Computing Sciences
> University of Sussex
> Brighton BN1 3AN    UK
> phone:  +44(0)1273-678844
> fax:    +44(0)1273-671320