[lit-ideas] English as she is spoke

 
 
In a message dated 8/30/2004 3:25:44 PM Eastern Standard Time,  
atlas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx writes:
The  roadside sign to the farm advertised her produce's
> versatility. -  "Rabbits: Pets - or Food".

I did see 'Roger and Me'.  And I  noticed the 'OR' in the lovely lady's sign.
'OR', as JL will be MORE than  happy to tell you, is not an exclusive 'or' in
English unless specified, or  unless the 'or' is a disjunctive conjunction of
opposites such as "life or  death" (see JL's brilliant monograph "Polar
Opposites Or English As She's  Spoken In Krakow",  available through the Yale
University Blog  Library). 

-----
 
Matter of fact, the correct quotation is:
 
      English as she is spoke 
 
-- not 'she's spoken' --- it's an allusion to
 
   José da Fonseca and Pedro Carolino, fl. 1855, "Idiotisms and  Proverbs" -- 
published in England by James Millington as _English as she is  spoke: or a 
Jest in sober earnest_ (1883).
 
Cheers,
 
JL

 

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