ink eraser

[Ronald Butters]

Sweet as remembered kisses after death--or not?

On Jan 29, 2012, at 12:00 AM, Victor Steinbok wrote:

> Someone will have to explain the discrepancy. The OED:
>
>> ink-eraser n. a piece of prepared caoutchouc, or similar substance,
>> used to erase writing in ink or blots.
>
> And this:
>
> gothamist.com/2012/01/24/grave.php
>> Have you ever walked around the cemeteries of New York reading the old
>> tombstone inscriptions? Well, if that's not your thing, we're here to
>> point you in the direction of George Spencer Millet's grave in
>> Woodlawn Cemetery, which tells a tragic and unusual story. His
>> headstone reads: "Lost life by stab in falling on ink eraser, evading
>> six young women trying to give him birthday kisses in office of
>> Metropolitan Life Building." This happened the day after Valentine's
>> day, on February 15th, 1909--which also happened to be his 15th
>> birthday. And to clarify, an ink eraser is not an eraser, it's more
>> like a knife.
>
> More at the link, but no real explanation on how a knife becomes an ink
> eraser. But it sounds a lot like Crocodile Hunter's death. Stab to the
> heart and all that...
>
>    VS-)
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org

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