pleonasms

[Baker, John]

        You must not have the pin/pen merger.  I've used "ink pen" as a
disambiguating phrase any number of times.  And "lead pencil" is not
tautologous, because there are non-lead pencils too.

John Baker


> -----Original Message-----
> From: Donald M Lance [SMTP:lancedm at MISSOURI.EDU]
> Sent: Wednesday, February 13, 2002 9:11 PM
> To:   ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
> Subject:      Re: pleonasms
>
> I don't buy the notion that "ink pen" developed as a disambiguating ploy.
> What is the likelihood that "(straight) pin" or "(safety) pin" or
> "(sticking) pin" would come to mind in a context in which someone asks for
> a(n ink) pen?  I'd say it's way, way under 1%.  In my mind it's more
> likely
> that the tautologous "ink pen" developed as a way of referring to a
> (fountain) pen or (dipped) pen as opposed, tautologously, to a lead
> pencil,
> which also occurs in speech.
>
> DMLance