pundojournalist

[Jonathan Lighter]

Reputable? What's reputable got to do with it?

JL

On Thu, Jul 1, 2010 at 6:32 PM, Joel S. Berson <Berson at att.net> wrote:

> ---------------------- Information from the mail header
> -----------------------
> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       "Joel S. Berson" <Berson at ATT.NET>
> Subject:      Re: pundojournalist
>
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> 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."
> >
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>
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> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
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--
"If the truth is half as bad as I think it is, you can't handle the truth."

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