"urgency" as a count noun

James A. Landau <JJJRLandau@netscape.com> JJJRLandau at NETSCAPE.COM
Sat May 26 17:41:09 UTC 2012


Near my home is a billboard that is currently advertising an outpatient clinic.  The ad shows a boy holding an ice pack to his head and the text reads "This is an urgency" (as opposed, one supposes, to "emergency".)

I know "an urgency" can be used in a context like "there was an urgency to his speeches..." but I would not think of that as a count noun, since one could have said "there was urgency in his speeches".

Has "urgency" been used elsewhere as a count noun?

   - James A. Landau

_____________________________________________________________
Netscape.  Just the Net You Need.

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



More information about the Ads-l mailing list