[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
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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"
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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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