Inner Prescriptivism

[Laurence Horn]

>For the historical record, I heard that one in NYC in 1964-65. At
>that time, though, Ernest was not dead.

Ah, I just figured out that Jon was referring above to a *Tom
Swiftie* of the form "...only half in E(a)rnest", as opposed to one
of the form "only half in dead E(a)rnest", not to *Ernest*
[Hemingway] being not dead at that time, which he (as previously
noted) was.  A veil lifts.  And we can banish those gay necrophiliac
Tom Swifties I adduced earlier as immaterial to the purpose (charming
though they may have been).

L

>
>Michael McKernan <mckernan at LOCALNET.COM> wrote:
>   ---------------------- Information from the mail header
>-----------------------
>Sender: American Dialect Society
>Poster: Michael McKernan
>Subject: Re: Inner Prescriptivism
>-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
>Dennis R. Preston wrote
>
>>the discovery of a closet preference for dead
>>white European male authors
>
>Can't help but be reminded of the infamous 'Tom Swiftie' which ends:
>
>'....said Tom, only half in dead Earnest.'
>
>Michael McKernan
>
>
>
>
>---------------------------------
>  Yahoo! Personals
>  Single? There's someone we'd like you to meet.
>  Lots of someones, actually. Yahoo! Personals