[Ads-l] Neither, nor, both

Dave Hause dwhause at CABLEMO.NET
Mon Mar 27 01:41:49 UTC 2017


I wonder if it is quixotic of me to want to pronounce that word "keehotik"?
Dave Hause
-----Original Message----- 
From: Laurence Horn
Sent: Sunday, March 26, 2017 7:10 PM
To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
Subject: Re: Neither, nor, both

> On Mar 26, 2017, at 6:01 PM, Jim Parish <jparish at SIUE.EDU> wrote:
>
> Sighted in an online conversation, apparently from a northern Englander:
>
> "Contrary to what Gerry Adams said, he was neither a terrorist nor a 
> freedom fighter - he was both."
>
> (The reference is to the late Martin McGuinness.)
>

As someone who has claimed in print (in a 1985 paper and a subsequent book) 
that it’s possible to say “Maggie isn’t EITHER patriotic OR quixotic—she’s 
both” but that it’s *not* possible to say “Maggie is neither patriotic nor 
quixotic—she’s both”, a claim that would, I fear, extend from feisty iron 
ladies to members of the IRA/Sinn Fein.  All I can say is ouch.  And, I 
guess, thanks for the datum.

LH

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

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



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