[bksvol-discuss] Re: Thank You and I'm sort of Back

  • From: talmage@xxxxxxxxxx
  • To: bksvol-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
  • Date: Fri, 27 May 2005 08:41:38 -0400

It's not a new meaning, and I don't think we can blame this one on Rush Limbaugh. I agree with Jake here, and I too remember teachers handing out dittos 40 years ago.
For U.K. and U.S. definitions. . .

The Compact Oxford English Dictionary

ditto

? noun 1 the same thing again (used in lists and often indicated by a ditto mark). 2 (also ditto mark) a symbol consisting of two apostrophes (&ditto;)
representing a repetition.

? ORIGIN originally meaning in the aforesaid month: from Italian detto ?said?.

http://www.askoxford.com/

Merriam-Webster Online

Main Entry: 1dit·to

Pronunciation: 'di-(")tO
Function: noun
Inflected Form(s): plural dittos
Etymology: Italian ditto, detto, past participle of dire to say, from Latin dicere
1 : a thing mentioned previously or above -- used to avoid repeating a word; often symbolized by inverted commas or apostrophes
2 : a ditto mark

http://www.m-w.com/dictionary.htm

At 05:15 AM 5/27/2005, you wrote: 
Sue

I think we have Rush Limbaugh to thank for the new meaning of ditto as a
term of agreement.
At least, that's how    I now use the term even though, now that you
brought it up, its original meaning was "of little importance."
Funny how words begin taking a new life of their own thanks to a pop
culture icon.


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