ADS-L Digest - 13 May 2008 to 14 May 2008 (#2008-136)

[Your Name]

<< Ron Butters writes: For me, "to daub" is 'to apply some amount of  a
liquid or gelatinous substance to a small spot'. Whether (or not) this is  makeup,
iodine to a wound, or cleaning fluid to a stain does not make any  difference.
>>

"Daub" includes dealing with liquids that way; but consider the bird called
a mud-dauber; it daubs a solid (tho somewhat moist) substance.  I've  also
heard of daubing paste onto paper, daubing sauce onto pasta, etc.   FWIW, I've
spent my whole life in upstate NYS, nowhere near Texas.

I can't think of any context in which "daubing" could not be replaced with
"dabbing."  I've always thot they were synonyms.



**************Wondering what's for Dinner Tonight? Get new twists on family
favorites at AOL Food.
(http://food.aol.com/dinner-tonight?NCID=aolfod00030000000001)

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