The plural of snipe is ...

Mon Sep 20 20:58:30 UTC 2010

At 9/20/2010 03:01 PM, Michael Quinion wrote:

>We have snipe in the UK, but the species is of marshland, not woodland,
>and so it would be improbable that a snipe hunt would be organised on
>foot.

Another s-less, de-individualized plural applied to a creature that
is hunted, eaten, or waterway-killed ... or all of the above.  One
never eats animals that one has been introduced to ... no, that one
knows more than one of and can distinguish individuals and uses a
plural with -s for.

Joel

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