I read an interesting Q and A over at Grammarphobia.
The question was: "It occurs to me that the clothes we wear above the waist are generally singular and those we wear below the waist are generally plural. Is there something interesting to say about this language peculiarity?"
A partial answer was: "The English words for leggy items of clothing are generally plural nouns -- “pants,” “jeans,” “shorts,” “trousers,” “breeches,” “overalls,” “long johns,” “drawers,” “briefs,” “panties,” “jodhpurs,” etc. -- and they’re accompanied by plural verbs.
"And the words for garments accommodating the arms are usually singular: “blouse,” “shirt,” “jacket,” “vest,” “coat,” “tank top,” “sweater,” “T-shirt,” “cardigan,” “pullover,” “blazer,” “parka,” “turtleneck,” “shell,” “camisole,” and so on. "
Read the entire piece HERE
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While shopping yesterday at Fry's Supermarket I espied a new product, at least it's a product that is new to me. It is a frozen dessert from Marie Callender's consisting of miniature pies supposedly having a home baked flavor, two little pies per box. I bought 2 boxes, one Chocolate, and the other Coconut Cream.
Chocolate
Coconut Cream
Okay . . . it's later now. Hours later. And I have thawed and opened the boxes containing the pies. Both of them. Below is a photo of the chocolate pie.
After thoroughly enjoying a lunch of a nice salad followed by two pieces of fried chicken, I ate the above pictured mini-pie for dessert.
"Yuuch!"
It was terrible. No kidding. Lots of overly-sweetened, pasty creme (not cream) over a cake-filling reminiscent of old crumbled-into-powder stale Oreo cookies.
And the other one, the Coconut Creme (not cream) pie was just as bad. Maybe worse. Cloying is the word that comes to mind.
Sure, I have now consumed all four of them. But that's because I am a true omnivore; I eat like a pig, at the command of my emotions. But the tongue-coated chemical after-taste stayed with me for a long time, way too long.
Need I say that I absolutely do not recommend that you buy these pies.
Not by any means.
(I would like to hear any opposing comments from readers, though)
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Where is it written that a cartoon must, by definition, be funny?
Can it not be serious and intelligently thought-provoking?
Check it out . . .
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WORD FOR TODAY
espy [ih-spy]
Verb:
Catch sight of.
Not to be confused with the word spy, which when used as a verb means: Work for an organization by secretly collecting information about enemies or competitors.
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Chubby Checker (born Ernest Evan) is an American singer-songwriter. He is widely known for popularizing the twist dance style, with his 1960 hit cover of Hank Ballard's R&B hit "The Twist". In September 2008 "The Twist" topped Billboard's list of the most popular singles to have appeared in the Hot 100 since its debut in 1958.
Eugene Luther Gore Vidal, (born Eugene Louis Vidal) was an American writer known for his essays, novels, screenplays, and Broadway plays. He was also known for his patrician manner, Transatlantic accent, and witty aphorisms. Vidal came from a distinguished political lineage; his grandfather was the U.S. Senator Thomas Gore of Oklahoma.
As well known for his essays as his novels, Vidal wrote for The Nation, the New Yorker, the New York Review of Books and Esquire. His most widely regarded social novel was Myra Breckinridge; his best known historical novels included Julian, Burr, and Lincoln. His third novel, The City and the Pillar (1948), outraged conservative critics as one of the first major American novels to feature unambiguous homosexuality.
Alfred Charles "Al" Sharpton, Jr. is an American Baptist minister, civil rights activist, and television/radio talk show host. In 2004, he was a candidate for the Democratic nomination for the U.S. presidential election. He hosts his own radio talk show, Keepin' It Real, and he makes regular guest appearances on Fox News (such as The O'Reilly Factor) CNN, and MSNBC. In 2011, he was named the host of MSNBC's PoliticsNation, a nightly talk show. His critics describe him as "a political radical who is to blame, in part, for the deterioration of race relations".
Kathryn Dwyer Sullivan is an American geologist and a former NASA astronaut. A crew member on three Space Shuttle missions, she is the first American woman to walk in space.
On May 4, 2011, Dr. Sullivan, was confirmed by unanimous consent of the U.S. Senate and appointed by President Obama to serve as assistant secretary of commerce for environmental observation and prediction and deputy administrator for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
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"If you don't know where you are going, any road will get you there."
--Lewis Carroll
