[Ads-l] dihydrogen monoxide (UNCLASSIFIED)

Michael Quinion michael.quinion at WORLDWIDEWORDS.ORG
Fri Mar 25 09:07:42 UTC 2016


On a not wholly unrelated topic, the /Guardian/ this morning apologised 
for mentioning /oxygenated water/ in a report on the Brussels bombers. 
This might have suggested that the bombers subscribed to a current 
health fad for drinking water infused with oxygen under pressure. It was 
actually a direct translation of the French /eau oxygénée/, which in 
English is hydrogen peroxide. (Strictly, an aqueous solution of hydrogen 
peroxide: the neat stuff is /peroxyde d'hydrogène/.)

-- 
Michael Quinion, World Wide Words
http://www.worldwidewords.org


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