"last stitch effort"

[Jonathan Lighter]

Capote claimed to have originated the term to characterize his book "In Cold Blood," a nonfiction account told with the stylistic mannerisms of a novel.

It sounded dumb then and it still does.  I doubt, though, that the usage in question, which is (as yet) restricted to less sophisticated readers, comes just from this.  I suspect that they simply haven't been told (or weren't listening when they were) that a novel is/was by definition fictional.

JL

Sam Clements <SClements at NEO.RR.COM> wrote:
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Sender: American Dialect Society
Poster: Sam Clements
Subject: Re: "last stitch effort"
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Using NewspaperArchive, and searching the 1966-70 period, it was EXTREMELY
common to read stories about Capote's book(In Cold Blood) being called a
"non-fiction novel." Whether Capote himself originate that term, I don't
know.

Just a short leap to "fiction novel" from there.

Sam Clements


----- Original Message -----
From: "Jonathan Lighter"
To:
Sent: Friday, September 24, 2004 7:52 PM
Subject: Re: "last stitch effort"


> OED offers a single quote, from an 1883 magazine. I rest my case.
>
> JL
>
> "Baker, John" wrote:
> ---------------------- Information from the mail
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> Sender: American Dialect Society
> Poster: "Baker, John"
> Subject: Re: "last stitch effort"
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------
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>
> In Webster's Collegiate, American Heritage, Century Dictionary . . . .
What's wrong with assumably?
>
> John Baker
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: American Dialect Society [mailto:ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU]On Behalf
> Of Jonathan Lighter
> Sent: Friday, September 24, 2004 5:26 PM
> To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
> Subject: Re: "last stitch effort"
>
>
> Brace yourself. Within the past year or so I've also seen "assumably."
> JL
>
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