[Lexicog] Re: Synonymy

[Rudolph C Troike]

A couple of other responses to John Robert's excellent posts:

	1. On fiddle vs violin, there was a lengthy exchange on the
American Dialect Society list several years ago (accessible on LINGUIST
list, searching the archive) about these two terms, and someone much more
technically knowlegeable than I am about such matters said that while the
basic instrument was the same, there is a difference in the bridge,
resulting in different sounds, or sound quality. I am sure that someone
who paid several million dollars for a Stradivarius would be upset if
someone told him that he had just bought a fiddle.
	Not directly relevant to the core issue, but 'fiddle' has been
verbified, so that one can 'fiddle' with a radio dial (mark me archaic),
but not 'violin' it.

	2. Perhaps we have a different meaning for 'big mouth' in the
South, but my interpretation of 'having a big mouth' has never been 'to
boast', but rather to give out information about someone that was supposed
to be secret, or to spread falsehoods about someone, the phrase usually
being used as an indirect way of denying or refuting the information when
reported. (This gets away from the issue of synonymy, but is lexico-
graphicaly relevant, since it suggests that there may be regional
differences for this term/expression).

	Rudy Troike




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