Similarly, it has turned out that “to beclown oneself”, “to unfriend”, and “to be defriended” were all perfectly good English of the most venerable sort. 🙂
Good to hear from you, Maureen! Or read from you, that is.
“Oaves” just makes me want to giggle. It sounds to me like one of those incorrect hypercorrections (like the non-nominative use of “I”) with a dash of snobbery. And though I did recognize that it was very likely the plural at some point, at least potentially, it just sounds so silly to my ear that I couldn’t let it pass.
Now everyone knows how childish my mind really is!
Actually, that used to be the plural.
Similarly, it has turned out that “to beclown oneself”, “to unfriend”, and “to be defriended” were all perfectly good English of the most venerable sort. 🙂
Well, as they say: “What’s old is new again!”
Good to hear from you, Maureen! Or read from you, that is.
“Oaves” just makes me want to giggle. It sounds to me like one of those incorrect hypercorrections (like the non-nominative use of “I”) with a dash of snobbery. And though I did recognize that it was very likely the plural at some point, at least potentially, it just sounds so silly to my ear that I couldn’t let it pass.
Now everyone knows how childish my mind really is!