tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13305228.post113041694630217762..comments2023-11-02T11:32:38.324+00:00Comments on The Joy of Curmudgeonry: An Instance of Linguistic NihilismDeogolwulfhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02197539477668018797noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13305228.post-1130748246174007682005-10-31T08:44:00.000+00:002005-10-31T08:44:00.000+00:00Mr Duff,Sorry to hear about your troubles with the...Mr Duff,<BR/>Sorry to hear about your troubles with the power-mad loony language-despoilers.<BR/><BR/>"Fewtrils" is a word from Lancashire meaning trifles or things of little value. In the dictionaries, it always appears as a plural noun, but I have taken the liberty of using it in the singular. <BR/><BR/>Thanks for the referral.Deogolwulfhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02197539477668018797noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13305228.post-1130595234781139002005-10-29T15:13:00.000+01:002005-10-29T15:13:00.000+01:00I could have done with you a week or two ago when ...I could have done with you a week or two ago when I was taken to task for using the word 'cripple' as a categorical description of some-one who has lost the use of their legs. As I pointed out to the complainant, I refuse to be bullied out of using straighforward English words because some-one tells me that they and their chums now decide on the meaning of words, thus, of course, giving themselves a power over the rest of us. A few four-letter words whose meaning is utterly clear occurred to me, but I try not to use them - too often, anyway!<BR/><BR/>By the way, sorry to show my ignorance, and that of the OED, but what is, and whence cometh, the word 'fewtril'?<BR/><BR/>Finally, I have taken the opportunity to refer my two and half readers to your excellent post on the poodle-fakery of the modern art racket. Couldn't have put it better myself, and that is literally true!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13305228.post-1130487296540202562005-10-28T09:14:00.000+01:002005-10-28T09:14:00.000+01:00True enough.True enough.Deogolwulfhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02197539477668018797noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13305228.post-1130449681979599702005-10-27T22:48:00.000+01:002005-10-27T22:48:00.000+01:00Given the sort of fool he is, I can form a pretty...Given the sort of fool he is, I can form a pretty good idea of whether he is "humorous or sombre", since being humorous calls for some sense of proportion and some ability to identify the incongruous.deariemehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06654632450454559188noreply@blogger.com