WB reacts to <bobsleigh>

[W Brewer]

AF:  <<Did you read the word on CNN or could you tell if it was an American
who said it?
>>​
WB:  Stepping outside my Bob Dole/E.R. Burroughs persona for the moment, I
saw <bobsleigh> twice fleetingly, written on CNN Olympics news blips. Never
pay much attention to sports in general. <Bobsleigh> simply struck me as
... (now experiencing Angst from my anti-prescriptivist persona) ...
downright pretentious, a sentiment also indicated in JB's <<bobsled,
Robertsleigh>> comment. I imagine <Robertsleigh> pronounced [row-BEAR
slay], with an elegantesian lisp. (Wonder if Colbert has picked up on this?)
AF: <<other sources suggest that bob-sleigh is a British variant. >>
WB: A British source considers it an Americanism. It's a hot potato.

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