verse = compete vs. (1984)

[Arnold M. Zwicky]

On Oct 1, 2005, at 10:38 AM, I wrote:

> ... but the pronunciation stops where the abbreviation does, with
> the /s/ (and "s.").

should read: where the abbreviation does ("s."), with the first /s/.

oh dear, now i'm worried about whether the "s." represents the first
or the second /s/.  not that that would make any real difference to
my proposal that it's the abbreviation that's being pronounced, not
the word that's abbreviated.

for what it's worth, NSOED has the abbreviation as "vs.", with a
period at the end, which in british style usually means that letters
following the final letter of the abbreviation have been omitted (cf.
british "Mr" and "Dr").

arnold