[lit-ideas] "Not much brains"
- From: Jlsperanza@xxxxxxx
- To: lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Fri, 17 Sep 2004 20:18:59 EDT
In a message dated 9/17/2004 8:10:51 PM Eastern Standard Time, Jlsperanza
writes:
'brainy' = "that has plenty of brains".
1526 TINDALE 1 Tim. vi. 4
He wastes his brains about questions.
1925 H. LEVERAGE in Flynn's 3 Jan. 693/1
Brains, the one who works out plans for a robbery.
----
FWIW, I notice that in the OED 'brains' has become uncountable (mass-noun),
like sugar:
"He hasn't got much brains"
rather than
"He hasn't got _many_ brains" -- just one.
Odd how the English language works. And this cannot be adjudicated to a
problem with Latin, since the Romans did not use 'cerebrum' in the plural (I've
just checked on the online Short/Lewis, Latin Dictionary).
Cheers,
JL
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