[Ads-l] "separation with"

Cohen, Gerald Leonard gcohen at MST.EDU
Sat Apr 18 16:37:15 UTC 2020


It's true we don't normally say to separate with. But we do say to

break with. E.g. to break with the past;  or: She broke up with her

boyfriend. Maybe such usages played a role in creating the infrequent

item separation with.


Gerald Cohen

________________________________
From: American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU> on behalf of Stanton McCandlish <smccandlish at GMAIL.COM>
Sent: Friday, April 17, 2020 10:59:52 PM
To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
Subject: "separation with"

---------------------- Information from the mail header -----------------------
Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
Poster:       Stanton McCandlish <smccandlish at GMAIL.COM>
Subject:      "separation with"
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"Liam Hemsworth Is Opening Up About His Painful Separation With Miley
Cyrus": https://spiritedbliss.com/liam-hemsworth-confession/?as=2100016710067


(capitalized in all-words headline style).

Makes me wonder if that one's inevitable.  If it read "separation from", it
might be inferred to mean he's simply been lonely while she's away on
tour.  A married couple's legal separation is a jointly-signed instrument,
so "with" makes sense in a round-about way.  But it sure does sound/read
weird.  Would be better to rewrite: "Liam Hemsworth opens up about painful
Miley Cyrus separation agreement". That's actually slightly shorter, and
more traditional headline syntax, while also being more precise.

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