REALLY, Now!

[Benjamin Zimmer]

On Fri, Feb 22, 2008 at 4:03 PM, Doug Harris <cats22 at frontiernet.net> wrote:
>
> from a NYT book review I just received:
>
> Steven Millhauser doesn't traffic in emotional upheaval or interpersonal
> conflict. He flattens his characters, giving his books the paradoxical
> effect of seeming realer than reality.
>
> Not that it's relevant, but the book is 'Dangerous Laughter'
> By STEVEN MILLHAUSER
> Reviewed by D.T. MAX
>
> I guess that, in context, 'realer' works, though a google reveals no
> evidence it's really a word. I consider the coinage, if that's what
> this is, as dumber than dumb.

You might want to start with Geoff Pullum's Language Log post on
rarely occurring comparatives like "wronger" and "realer" (with
references to the relevant section of CGEL):

http://itre.cis.upenn.edu/~myl/languagelog/archives/000448.html

There are various other LL posts on the topic, including mine here:

http://itre.cis.upenn.edu/~myl/languagelog/archives/003271.html


--Ben Zimmer

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