[Ads-l] prom; lodge
Jonathan Lighter
wuxxmupp2000 at GMAIL.COM
Sat Jun 22 20:49:37 UTC 2024
In my day, when the earth's crust had recently cooled, we teens spoke of
going to "the prom." Years later, I heard a new crop of teens talk about
going to "prom," suddenly a mass noun.
In the July, 1960, issue of _Walt Disney's Comics and Stories_, one of
Donald Duck's nephews says "But tonight's Lodge Night at the Junior
Woodchucks!" And the next one says "We can't skip lodge!"
Another mass noun that even now strikes me as odd. (I'd say "We can't skip
Lodge Night!") Both "prom" and "lodge" designate familiar, recurring
events. Are there other exx. of this grammatical quirk?
JL
--
"If the truth is half as bad as I think it is, you can't handle the truth."
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The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
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