pundojournalist

[Joel S. Berson]

Is there a hierarchy -- a pundojournalist is more reputable than a
commentator, a commentator than a commenter?

Joel

At 6/30/2010 08:24 AM, Jonathan Lighter wrote:
>A pundojournalist on NPR yesterday characterized Harry Byrd's position on
>government as the insistence that the three federal branches must be
>"co-equal."  Somebody wrote in to whine that "co-equal" was, essentially, a
>stuipidism for "equal."
>
>The PJ replied confidently that "equal" correctly applies only to pairs.
>Since there are more than two involved, "co-equal" is the correct in this
>context.  (You know, as in "all men are created  co-equal.")
>
>In fact, "co-equal" goes back to the 15th C. The OED entry provides no
>support for the claim that its correct application is exclusively to groups
>of three or more. It is, essentially, merely an emphatic kind of "equal."
>What is "co-equal" is absolutely equal in all relevant characteristics, even
>if one might claim theoretically that it is not or should not be. (At least
>that's my rationalization. Personally, I prefer "equal.")
>
>A quick scan of the longer entry on "equal" reveals no support for
>the restriction of the word to pairs.
>
>Q: Which position, the listener's or the PJ's, is the sillier? (It's a trick
>question: NPR's decision to air the dispute is the winner here.)
>
>JL
>
>--
>"If the truth is half as bad as I think it is, you can't handle the truth."
>
>------------------------------------------------------------
>The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org

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