Postscript: "prom"--a bit of data . . .

[Charles Doyle]

Regarding "prom" as it's been discussed recently--an example
of what linguists refer to (technically speaking) as Words
That Used To Have "The" In Front Of Them But Don't Anymore:

My son and daughter-in-law both graduated from high school
in 1991 (from large, racially and economically diverse
public schools is different Georgia cities), and they are
both "the prom" speakers.  So the change seems to be even
more recent than I had supposed.

--Charlie

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