[Ads-l] "VERB at straws"

[Laurence Horn]

> On Sep 21, 2016, at 8:02 PM, Robin Hamilton <robin.hamilton3 at VIRGINMEDIA.COM> wrote:
> 
> Shouldn't those pearls be clasped rather than clutched before they're cast
> before swine like us?


Maybe they should be, but they rarely are:

"clutching her pearls"  4200 raw g-hits
"clasping her pearls"         9 raw g-hits

"clutched her pearls"   3270 raw g-hits
"clasped her pearls"          4 raw g-hits


LH
> 
> [Not pearls, but close, a related "I say, I say, I say" folk-motif:
> 
>     Why did they call Dick Turpin a Dunghill Cock?
> 
>     Because he spurned the Jasp.
> 
> RH.]
> 
>> 
>>    On 22 September 2016 at 00:50 Laurence Horn <laurence.horn at YALE.EDU>
>> wrote:
>> 
>> 
>>> On Sep 21, 2016, at 6:09 PM, Wilson Gray <hwgray at gmail.com> wrote:
>>> 
>>> Though Robin may _grasp after_ straws and Joel may _reach at_ straws, I
>>> prefer to _grasp at_ straws.
>>> 
>>> Are there other prefs?
>>> 
>>> --
>> 
>>    I clutch at straws when I can't reach my pearls.
>> 
>>    LH
>> 
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>> 
> 
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> The American Dialect Society - https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__www.americandialect.org&d=CwICaQ&c=-dg2m7zWuuDZ0MUcV7Sdqw&r=wFp3X4Mu39hB2bf13gtz0ZpW1TsSxPIWYiZRsMFFaLQ&m=iFS_rp0ks2-8iDeNN9OOnLIsYagrX---TfS4UEFF6VE&s=OY_WV7D-JQkOkWXqouXcMTgUCEnF1NuaOiDqhlD4Ylc&e= 

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