The plural of "moose" is ...

[Neal Whitman]

Point taken. Also, months after I wrote that post, I found this one by Lynne Murphy, talking about BrE "scrambled egg" and "mashed potato," as well as non-food mass nouns: http://separatedbyacommonlanguage.blogspot.com/2006/07/countmass-nouns-potato-egg-tax-sport.html

Neal

On Aug 31, 2010, at 8:00 AM, Chris Waigl <chris at LASCRIBE.NET> wrote:

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> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       Chris Waigl <chris at LASCRIBE.NET>
> Subject:      Re: The plural of "moose" is ...
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> On 31 Aug 2010, at 02:35, Neal Whitman wrote:
>> On the blog:
>> "But when it comes to fruits and vegetables, even after a pass through the universal grinder (or a real-world food processor), not all of the count nouns turn into mass nouns. Some, like pears, remain count nouns."
>> http://literalminded.wordpress.com/2008/05/12/pears-and-pineapple/
>>
>
> But.
>
> ====
> Blood pudding - Traditional sausage made from pig's blood mixed with spices, onion, cereal, onion and salt. They are rich and dark in flavour and colour, although commercial black puddings are dyed black. They are ready cooked, but are intended to be eaten sliced and fried, and are often included as part of a mixed grill or a full English breakfast. They only keep a few days in the fridge, but they can be frozen. Try serving with some pan cooked apple or pear to accompany and soften the flavour.
> http://www.cookeryonline.com/Resource/GlossaryB.html
> ====
> I started giving DD weetbix at about 7 months - it's pretty thick, and I don't think she would have eaten it before then. I bought the kids weetbix. I mix it with water, and apple and pear that I've mashed. Pears are very watery, and I find that goes well with weetbix. [CW: Interesting one with pear/pears. I hear a lot of parents of newborns discuss when they start feeding their babies apple or pear. Also note singular "weetabix".]
> http://www.essentialbaby.com.au/forums/lofiversion/index.php/t799375.html
> ====
>
> I think it is usually a safe bet to think that any English noun can be used as a count AND mass noun, even if it's sometimes a stretch. Also, teaching kids (first, second or foreign language speakers) that being a mass or count noun is somehow inherent in the noun doesn't help them at all in the long run.
>
> Chris
>
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> Chris Waigl -- http://chryss.eu -- http://eggcorns.lascribe.net
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