[Ads-l] "separation with"

Peter Reitan pjreitan at HOTMAIL.COM
Sat Apr 18 21:24:14 UTC 2020


Seems some people just have "separation with" anxiety.
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From: American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU> on behalf of Cohen, Gerald Leonard <gcohen at MST.EDU>
Sent: Saturday, April 18, 2020 9:37:15 AM
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Subject: Re: "separation with"

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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 Stanto=
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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=3D210001671=
0067


(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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