real English?

[bmdamare at UMICH.EDU]

I get 240 for "arm's throw", and from an eyeball estimate I'd say about 
85% of them are the expression we're discussing, most of them unique 
hits.  No idea if it's a regional thing - I heard it a lot on the Gulf 
Coast growing up, but most of the hits are more north-easterly.

Incidentally, one of them is from the New York Times: 
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9506EFD81639F934A25755C0A962948260&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=2

All in all, I second the advice that it's better to stick with the stone.



Quoting Wayles Browne <ewb2 at CORNELL.EDU>:

> David said 188 hits, but my Google search found only 6, of which 4 
> are in fact the same instance (from Proz, a site devoted to 
> discussing translations). The instance represented by the 4 hits was 
> written by an English speaker who has lived, studied, and worked in 
> Germany for a long time. I'd say that the expression is not just 
> rare, but so rare that we shouldn't advise anyone to use it.
>
>
> At 11:06 AM -0400 3/14/08, David Powelstock wrote:
>>  I've never heard it, either, but a google search turns up 188 hits, so
>> someone's using it. It would be interesting to know what its regional or
>> other distribution is.
>>
>> Cheers,
>> David
>>
>>
>> David Powelstock
>> Asst. Prof. of Russian & East European Literatures
>> Undergraduate Advising Head, Russian Language and Literature
>> Chair, Program in Russian & East European Studies
>> Brandeis University
>> GREA, MS 024
>> Waltham, MA  02454-9110
>> 781.736.3347 (Office)
>>
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: SEELANGS: Slavic & East European Languages and Literatures list
>> [mailto:SEELANGS at bama.ua.edu] On Behalf Of colkitto at rogers.com
>> Sent: Friday, March 14, 2008 10:59 AM
>> To: SEELANGS at bama.ua.edu
>> Subject: Re: [SEELANGS] real English?
>>
>> Original Message:
>> -----------------
>> From:  bmdamare at UMICH.EDU
>> Date: Fri, 14 Mar 2008 10:48:33 -0400
>> To: SEELANGS at bama.ua.edu
>> Subject: Re: [SEELANGS] real English?
>>
>>  > There is an English expression "at an arm's throw",
>>
>> There is??????????
>>
>>
>>>  although it's far
>> less common than "a stone's throw".
>>
>> To the point of non-existence?
>
> -- 
>
> Wayles Browne, Assoc. Prof. of Linguistics
> Department of Linguistics
> Morrill Hall 220, Cornell University
> Ithaca, New York 14853, U.S.A.
>
> tel. 607-255-0712 (o), 607-273-3009 (h)
> fax 607-255-2044 (write FOR W. BROWNE)
> e-mail ewb2 at cornell.edu
>
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