Say what?

[Laurence Horn]

At 8:43 AM -0400 10/17/07, Charles Doyle wrote:
>Yes, Wilson, I rememeber a grade-school teacher's carefully
>explaining the referential distinction between the homonyms
>"lavatory" and "laboratory." Well, they weren't exactly homonyms,
>but confusion did occur.
>

For the science teachers' sake, I hope the confusion was caught in time...

LH

>_____________________________________________________________
>
>---- Original message ----
>>Date: Tue, 16 Oct 2007 17:06:53 -0400
>>From: Wilson Gray <hwgray at GMAIL.COM>
>>
>>Don't we Southrons usually say "labbatory," causing a certain
>>amountof confusion with "lavatory," Charlie? :-)
>>
>>-Wilson
>>
>>On 10/16/07, Charles Doyle <cdoyle at uga.edu> wrote:
>>>
>>>  Did the attack occur in a larvatory?
>>>
>>>  --Charlie
>>>  _____________________________________________________________
>>>
>>>  ---- Original message ----
>>>  >Date: Tue, 16 Oct 2007 15:00:56 -0400
>>>  >From: Wilson Gray <hwgray at GMAIL.COM>
>>>  >
>>>  >Heard on TLC, spoken by voice-over guy:
>>>  >
>>>  >"It's like you were being attacked by _lavra_!"
>>>  >
>>>  >This is the second time that I've heard "lavra," but it may have
>>>been the the same speaker, both times. I wasn't paying attention,
>>>the first time. IAC, he not only uses metathesis, but he also uses
>>>the singular like a non-count noun.
>>>  >
>>>  >-Wilson
>
>------------------------------------------------------------
>The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org

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The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org