penmanship = "authorial skill"

[Joel S. Berson]

At 12/10/2009 12:44 PM, Jonathan Lighter wrote:
>Another "it had to happen."

Or is it merely re-happening?  What about the OED's

2. The action, process, or style of composing a document or other
written work; literary composition, authorship. Now rare.
1793 J. BENTHAM Mem. & Corr. in Wks. (1843) X. 292 The penmanship of
the statutes..has, every now and then, become the subject of a
dissatisfaction. 1818 J. BENTHAM Church-of-Englandism 329 The men of
law..by whom a part was taken in the penmanship of this Act. 1844
DICKENS Let. 27 Jan. (1977) IV. 32, I..have been so much engaged in
another kind of Penmanship, that I have not answered a letter this
fortnight. 1978 P. LOVESEY Waxwork 231 A report..would be polished
into a model of penmanship, rational and cogent.

Of course, everyone is entitled to his distastes.

Joel

>A Barnes & Noble reviewer:
>
>2009
>http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Where-Men-Win-Glory/Jon-Krakauer/e/9780385522267/?itm=5&tabname=custreview#TABS&usri=war+year
>:
>Without any discredit to Krakauer's penmanship and regardless of the
>reader's political stance, this book is an obvious political attack and
>all-out assault on the United States military....
>JL
>
>--
>"There You Go Again...Using Reason on the Planet of the Duck-Billed
>Platypus"
>
>------------------------------------------------------------
>The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org

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