No subject

[Arnold M. Zwicky]

On May 22, 2007, at 4:28 AM, Charlie Doyle wrote:

> This morning on NPR an Air Force spokesman said that airmen are
> being retrained to "aid out" the Army and Marines in ground
> fighting in Iraq. I had never heard (or noticed) that construction--
> evidently meaning "help out."

i heard it too.  i know jerry cohen is going to tell us this is a
blend, of "help out" and "aid", and it might indeed be an on-line
error.  it might also have been an extension of the pattern
    help the Army and Marines ~ help out the Army and Marines
(where the "out" adds a bit of meaning) to the verb "aid" -- in which
case the speaker should not disavow his wording.

arnold

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