anachronism watch

[Jonathan Lighter]

The *absence* of period idioms, correctly used, is often striking in such
pastiches.

JL

On Sat, May 5, 2012 at 9:54 AM, Amy West <medievalist at w-sts.com> wrote:

> ---------------------- Information from the mail header
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> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       Amy West <medievalist at W-STS.COM>
> Subject:      Re: anachronism watch
>
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> On 5/5/12 9:51 AM, Amy West wrote:
> > On 5/5/12 12:00 AM, Automatic digest processor wrote:
> >> Date:    Fri, 4 May 2012 20:39:40 -0400
> >> From:    Laurence Horn<laurence.horn at YALE.EDU>
> >> Subject: anachronism watch
> >>
> >> I am trying out an audiobook of_A Death at Pemberley_, a recent
> >> sequel to_Pride and Prejudice_  by that redoubtable dean of English
> >> mystery writers P. D. James.  The book is set in 1803, five years
> >> after Darcy has wed Elizabeth Bennet, and the narrative is clearly
> >> intended to be very much in the style of Austen. It succeeds to some
> >> extent, but it's always interesting to pick up on and then confirm
> >> apparent anachronisms of usage or style.
> > Ben Zimmer beat you to it: Boston Globe column and Visual Thesaurus
> > columns on it.
> I'm an idiot. I really should have Thunderbird delay my replies for an
> hour or so. I was thinking of his stuff on Downton Abbey. I *have* heard
> friends complain about A Death at Pemberley, but those complaints
> weren't published ('cept on FB).
>
> ---Amy West
>
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