OT: "It's _away_ better than fast food! It's Wendy's!" [NT}

[Joel S. Berson]

At 7/27/2009 02:49 AM, Victor wrote:
>A specific example that complicates things even more:
>"We're still _a ways away_ from our goal of providing equal educational
>opportunity both academically and athletically," said Bayh.
>http://talkradionews.com/2009/06/new-title-ix-legislation-requires-schools-to-make-student-athlete-data-public/
>
>Not "way". Not "away". Not "ways"--but "a ways". (Could, of course, just
>be the editor's parsing and it's really just "aways".) "A ways away" is
>just ironic (for this thread)!

Or did the writer mean "several ways away"?  :-)

Joel

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