"hither to that point" (J. Travolta)

[Brenda Lester]

sports? mostly baseball and football--players, commentators, and writers.

  Did you see the headline in the NY TIMES following the Roger Clemens congressional hearing:  "A Day to Misremember"?  Some ADSL folks found "misremember," but how often do you hear it?

  Here's a song for your enjoyment:

  http://www.scoresreport.com/2008/02/19/the-roger-clemens-%E2%80%9Cmisremembers%E2%80%9D-song/

  bl


"Dennis R. Preston" <preston at MSU.EDU> wrote:
  ---------------------- Information from the mail header -----------------------
Sender: American Dialect Society
Poster: "Dennis R. Preston"

Subject: Re: "hither to that point" (J. Travolta)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Actors are not well known in the profession for their intellectual
prowess. But sports? Which sports?

dInIs

>---------------------- Information from the mail header
>-----------------------
>Sender: American Dialect Society
>Poster: Brenda Lester
>Subject: Re: "hither to that point" (J. Travolta)
>-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
>I caught it but didn't understand it. Most actors are like sports
>people--incomprehensible without a script.
>
> bl
>
>
>Laurence Horn wrote:
> ---------------------- Information from the mail header
>-----------------------
>Sender: American Dialect Society
>Poster: Laurence Horn
>Subject: "hither to that point" (J. Travolta)
>-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
>Anyone else watching the Oscars? If so, anyone else just hear John
>Travolta (in a segment on how academy members like him vote for their
>choices) say something to the effect of
>
>"hither to that point"
>
>with reduction to schwa on "to" ("hither tuh that point"), so it was
>clearly not "hitherto that point"? The point was a point in time,
>and the meaning was quite obviously "up to that point/moment". I've
>never heard this and don't see any gloss in the OED or AHD that
>really fit this use of "hither", although some of the archaic senses
>in the OED approximate it.
>
>LH
>
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--
It should be the chief aim of a university professor to exhibit
himself [sic] in his own true character - that is, as an ignorant man
thinking, actively utilizing his small share of knowledge. Alfred
North Whitehead

Dennis R. Preston
University Distinguished Professor
Department of English
Morrill Hall 15-C
Michigan State University
East Lansing, MI 48824-1036 USA
Office: (517) 353-4736
Fax: (517) 353-3755

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