Comments on: Plural Marriage: Bite 3

By: Kent Larsen

Kent Larsen — Tue, 18 Sep 2012 11:58:42 +0000

Well, if it is any consolation, the OED is descriptive — recording how people DO use the language — and not prescriptiive — i.e., not telling us how the language SHOULD be used.

By: Ardis E. Parshall

Ardis E. Parshall — Tue, 18 Sep 2012 11:23:35 +0000

I hate to read that, Kent. Bad grammar always stings.

By: Kent Larsen

Kent Larsen — Tue, 18 Sep 2012 06:05:32 +0000

I hate to say it Ardis, but according to the OED, “Polygamist” has been used as an adjective since 1855.

Their references include the following:

1886 Pall Mall Gaz. 5 Oct. 3/2 It was a greater evil to dissolve bonâ fide marriages..than to refuse baptism to polygamist husbands and their wives.

By: IDIAT

IDIAT — Wed, 12 Sep 2012 14:00:30 +0000

Don’t worry Sister Parshall — I never regret clicking on your posts. Your point is well taken. It is interesting to note that in most the old talks, the brethern used the phrase “plural marriage” as opposed to “polygamous marriage.”

By: Lonn L

Lonn L — Wed, 12 Sep 2012 04:18:11 +0000

“I was the type who looked at discussions of What Is Truth only with a view toward correcting the manuscript. If you were to quote “I am that I am,” for example, I thought that the fundamental problem was where to put the comma, inside the quotation marks or outside.”
― Umberto Eco, Foucault’s Pendulum

By: Lonn L

Lonn L — Wed, 12 Sep 2012 04:16:26 +0000

I think I’m okay with “polygamist Brigham Young.” The noun adjunct describes the noun. But I agree a church can’t be a polygamist, so it should be “polygamous FLDS church.” My brief and infallible research on dictionary.com seems to support this.

And according to Merriam-Webster, “communist” is both the noun and adjective form.

By: Chocolate on my Cranium

Chocolate on my Cranium — Tue, 11 Sep 2012 20:36:50 +0000

Yikes! I’ve probably been using the wrong words all this time. Oh well, now I know.

By: The Other Clark

The Other Clark — Tue, 11 Sep 2012 19:48:58 +0000

i wuz robd

By: Amy T

Amy T — Tue, 11 Sep 2012 18:54:25 +0000

Botherations. Why doesn’t WordPress have a “like” button? I’d have used it liberally here — a rant about the intersection of polygamy and grammar, a quote from “Up,” a joke about a foal, etc., etc. : )

By: Mark B.

Mark B. — Tue, 11 Sep 2012 18:02:12 +0000

I’ve heard of them stable unions. Last one I heard about produced a foal.