(urth) A silly digression on nits and how to pick them.

[Dan'l Danehy-Oakes]

Kieran,

Since you asked,

"Anal retentive" should be hyphenated when used as a compound adjective --
"Oh, that's
just my anal-retentive tendencies" -- but not when used as a noun phrase --
"He is SUCH
an anal retentive."

--Dan'l "is it okay to shout Movie in a crowded firehouse?" Danehy-Oakes

On Wed, Aug 13, 2008 at 9:08 PM, Kieran Mullen <kieran at ou.edu> wrote:

>
> On Wednesday night I read:
>
>
> Message: 5
> Date: Wed, 13 Aug 2008 15:18:57 -0400 (EDT)
> From: brunians at brunians.org
> Subject: Re: (urth) A second dream team: Mucor, Oreb, and Pike
>
>
> Why is it important to you that other people should conform to your
> standards of correctness, Mark? If you understand what they are saying, is
> it really necessary that you point out to them that they are wrong? Why do
> you do this, if it is not necessary?
>
>
> And  I immediately thought:
>    "Eye suppoze  ewer rite.  If  ewe can sea watt peephole are saying itz
>  knot raleigh kneaded two poynt out tooth em that they are rung."
>
>    Mr. Millman may have been a bit exasperated in his corrections, but they
> were short and to the point.  I learned something from them.  We should
> aspire to use these unfamiliar words correctly.
>
> Kieran "Should anal-retentive be hyphenated?"  Mullen
>
>
>
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-- 
Dan'l Danehy-Oakes, writer, trainer, bon vivant
-----
http://www.livejournal.com/users/sturgeonslawyer
http://www.danehyoakes.com

I once absend-mindedly ordered Three Mile Island dressing in a restaurant
and, with great presence of mind, they brought Thousand Island Dressing and
a bottle of chili sauce. -- T. Pratchett
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