pit in one's stomach

[Ben Zimmer]

On Wed, Feb 8, 2012 at 3:55 PM, Dan Goncharoff wrote:
>
> I think most editors working on non-fiction pieces are
> prescriptivists, working from style manuals etc.
>
> That's not to say that writers can't push for new language, but push
> is the verb I choose  purposefully. It is the job of editors to
> question the use of unprecedented and barely precedented language, to
> make sure the writer intended it.

Based on the observations linked to upthread (Paul Brians, Jan
Freeman, Mark Liberman), I don't think "pit in one's stomach" would
fit in the category of "unprecedented and barely precedented
language." Even in the pages of the Times, it's easy to find further
examples of "pit in my/your stomach" (though many are from quoted
speech):

http://query.nytimes.com/search/alternate/query?query=%22pit+in+my+stomach%22&st=fromcse
http://query.nytimes.com/search/alternate/query?query=%22pit+in+your+stomach%22&st=fromcse

Also, fwiw, the NYT's editing process for regular op-ed columnists is
a bit more laissez-faire than it is for news articles in the paper.
(This may be especially true for "star" columnists like Friedman and
Dowd.)

--bgz

--
Ben Zimmer
http://benzimmer.com/

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