Pedants' Paradise

[vinteuil]

Capitalising of nouns arrived with the Hanoverians and took a while to subside.

... interesting, I didn't know it was a Hanoverian Thing.

I see that my copy of Swift's A Tale of a Tub uses Capitals for all Nouns. It is a reprint of the fifth edition [1710] (Basil Blackwell, Oxford 1965). I also have to hand a facsimile of a page of Clarendon's History of the Rebellion [1702/1704] (Art of the Printed Book, Bodley Head 1974) which also capitalizes all Nouns. And my reprint of the Poems of William Cartwright [1651] and Dryden's Translation of Virgil's Georgics [1697], as well as George Savile Marquess of Halifax's Miscellanies [1700] all have Capitalized Nouns...

These would seem to antedate the reign of George I (r. 1714-1727).

.

.

[Serial_Apologist]

So you're not a fundamentalist capitalist, then?...

No, I'm a socialist apologist (small "s", small "a").

[Serial_Apologist]

Interesting.

Yes, he's clearly a Mal content.

[french frank]

Found this quotation from the Cambridge Encyclopedia of the English Language:

By the 17th century, the practice had extended to titles (Sir, Lady), forms of address (Father, Mistris), and personified nouns (Nature). Emphasized words and phrases would also attract a capital. By the beginning of the 18th century, the influence of Continental books had caused this practice to be extended still further (e.g. to the names of the branches of knowledge), and it was not long before some writers began using a capital for any noun that they felt to be important. Books appeared in which all or most nouns were given an initial capital (as is done systematically in modern German) - perhaps for aesthetic reasons, or perhaps because printers were uncertain about which nouns to capitalize, and so capitalized them all.

The fashion was at its height in the later 17th century, and continued into the 18th. The manuscripts of Butler, Traherne, Swift, and Pope are full of initial capitals. However, the later 18th-century grammarians were not amused by this apparent lack of discipline in the written language. In their view, the proliferation of capitals was unnecessary, and causing the loss of a useful potential distinction. Their rules brought a dramatic reduction in the types of noun permitted to take a capital letter.

[verismissimo]

... interesting, I didn't know it was a Hanoverian Thing.

I see that my copy of Swift's A Tale of a Tub uses Capitals for all Nouns. It is a reprint of the fifth edition [1710] (Basil Blackwell, Oxford 1965). I also have to hand a facsimile of a page of Clarendon's History of the Rebellion [1702/1704] (Art of the Printed Book, Bodley Head 1974) which also capitalizes all Nouns. And my reprint of the Poems of William Cartwright [1651] and Dryden's Translation of Virgil's Georgics [1697], as well as George Savile Marquess of Halifax's Miscellanies [1700] all have Capitalized Nouns...

These would seem to antedate the reign of George I (r. 1714-1727).

.

.

Actually, I made it up, vints. Seemed plausible. Isn't that what we do around here?

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

Actually, I made it up, vints. Seemed plausible. Isn't that what we do around here?

Merely corroborative detail intended to give artistic verismissimo to an otherwise bald and unconvincing narrative, then?

[vinteuil]

Actually, I made it up, vints. Seemed plausible. Isn't that what we do around here?

.. o, 'Plausible' is my middle name!



.

[Sir Velo]

Merely corroborative detail intended to give artistic verismissimo to an otherwise bald and unconvincing narrative, then?

Are you taking the Mik?

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

Are you taking the Mik?

... with further ado ...

[ahinton]

No, I'm a socialist apologist (small "s", small "a").

!!!

"You cain't be Serial!"

"Oh, yes I can!"

[jean]

Interesting Book of the Week at the moment.

Unfortunately, the author (or the reader) thinks the singular of species must be specie.

Perhaps he's thinking sub specie aeternitatis.

[Lat-Literal]

Blimp

The origin of the word "blimp" has been the subject of some confusion. ... Over the years several explanations have been advanced about the origin of this word. The most common explanation is that in the military vernacular the Type B was referred to as 'limp bag', which was simply abbreviated to 'blimp'. An alternative explanation is that on 5 December 1915 A. D. Cunningham, R.N., commander of the Capel-Le-Ferne Air Ship Station, flipped the envelope of the SS.12 with his fingers during an inspection, which produced a sound that he pronounced as 'blimp'; and that the word then caught on as the nickname for all small non-rigid airships.The onomatopoeic derivation, as the sound the airship makes when one taps the envelope (balloon) with a finger, has been recorded in the British Aeronautical Journal. A 1943 etymology published in the New York Times supports the British origin during the First World War when the British were experimenting with lighter-than-air craft. The initial non-rigid aircraft was called the A-limp; and a second, the B-limp, was deemed more satisfactory.

A third derivation is given by Barnes & James in Shorts Aircraft since 1900: In February 1915 the need for anti-submarine patrol airships became urgent, and the Submarine Scout type was quickly improvised by hanging an obsolete B.E.2c fuselage from a spare Willows envelope; this was done by R.N.A.S., Kingsnorth, and on seeing the result, Horace Short, already noted for his very apt and original vocabulary, named it "Blimp", adding, "What else would you call it?". Dr. A.D. Topping researched the origins of the word and concluded that the British had never had a "Type B, limp" designation, and that Cunningham's coinage appeared to be the correct explanation.. The OED notes its use in print in 1916 "Visited the Blimps..this afternoon at Capel." and in 1918 (Illustrated London News) "an onomatopœic name invented by that genius for apposite nomenclature, the late Horace Short." The B-limp.

Memories of the original inflatable blimp above London: Whether it was an epic publicity stunt or a genuine mishap remains a topic of debate in some circles. Either way, the cover shoot for their 1977 album Animals became one of Pink Floyd's signature moments. Roger Waters and artist Aubrey Powell, co-founder of the art group Hipgnosis, came up with the concept of an inflatable pig floating over Britain's iconic Battersea Power Station. But things didn't go as planned at the December 1976 photo shoot, as the 40-foot balloon broke from its moorings on one of Battersea's southern chimneys, rising directly into the path of planes landing at Heathrow Airport. All flights were immediately grounded, and Powell was arrested, even as the police's helicopters and the Royal Air Force arrived to chase the pig. It eventually fell to the ground many miles away in Kent - http://ultimateclassicrock.com/pink-...g-breaks-free/

[LMcD]

'Tour de France', with 'France' being pronounced in the English style.
I know it shouldn't irritate me, but it does - blame the heat!

[Serial_Apologist]

'Tour de France', with 'France' being pronounced in the English style.
I know it shouldn't irritate me, but it does - blame the heat!

You need a decent uvula to pronounce France the french way - eg !

[subcontrabass]

'Tour de France', with 'France' being pronounced in the English style.
I know it shouldn't irritate me, but it does - blame the heat!

And with the plural as "Tour de Frances" (as heard on BBC World Service last night).