Bogged down in s. Ohio heat and the minutia of life, haply I read your column and smile. Not exactly Shakespeare's lark at heaven's gate, but trending that direction. Thank you.
“Sloe-eyed” may well connect to the blackthorn fruit after all. A wander through the hedgerows and down the rabbit hole leads to “slew-eyed, 1. : having soft dark bluish or purplish black eyes. 2. : having slanted eyes.” Said fruit is indeed dark blue to purplish black.
"wrack" is also a lovely noun, deployed by Samuel Beckett at least once (in Rockaby) in this beautiful phrase, evoking broken clouds and here describing the translucency of a dress: "watch her pass before the candelabrum, how its flames, their light... like moon through passing wrack."
Re. “continuously” vs. “continually”: Perhaps the adjectival form is more intuitive than the adverbial? “Continuous” to me suggests phrases like “a continuous line” or a “continuous movement” (as of a gymnast executing a unified set of actions); “continual” to me suggests phrases like “continual reminders” or “continual interruptions.” Come to think of it, “continual” has in my head an overall negative vibe: In the realm of sound, I would think of a “continuous tone” (neutral) but a “continual racket” (that is actually sporadic). Dunno if any of that helps!
I’ve read your wise analysis twice, and I find it, besides wise, absolutely not getting through to me, so I think that we are currently in the realm of my mental limitations.
And that’s OK too, as Jack’s mother says in Into the Woods.
I’m always hopeful about these things. I’ve struggled all my life with how to spell “corollary,” and just last week I articulated that it’s because I want it to be cognate to “corelated,” and now that I’ve said that out loud, I think I know how to spell it. I think. Wait. Oh heck.
In her autobiography Shelly: Also Known As Shirley, Shelly Winters describes an amusing double date she and Yvonne De Carlo had with Clark Gable and Errol Flynn.
Re: “continually” vs. “continuously.” I had no idea there was argument about this, but then I tend to glide past usage that’s different from my own without even noticing it, unless it involves “literally” or “could care less.” That’s just me. But do people commonly use the adjective form “continual” to mean “continuous” as in “the continuous thumping of that subwoofer next door drives me up the wall?”
My own mnemonic, in case it helps, is to hiss the ‘s’ of continuous: continuousssssssss. That provides the image in my mind of a lot of esses. Esses without end, so more oppresssssssive than continual.
I love this newsletter! Not only are you funny but you know so much about words that you know to look them up and find out more. Now, I will be haunted wondering how many times I have misunderstood what was meant when someone said "career" and "founder." Who knew they were verbs as well as nouns?
If you were to ask me before reading this to give an example of a "sloe-eyed" vamp, I'd've gone with Pola Negri, Theda Bara*, or Ms. DeCarlo herself. Now I'm not so sure.
I’m a little late to this party. Partly because I have been swept along by the happy events of our UK election over the last day; partly because of wondering about the rearrangement on bookshelves to welcome a copy of Thesiger’s Adventures in Embroidery after you mentioned its existence (in a sort of Whitmanesque multitude moment, I even imagined [because I haven’t actually, you know, even bought it and stipulated the bookseller wrap it in the plainest brown paper lest] placing it next to two successive editions of Larry Townsend’s The Leatherman’s Handbook - a juxtaposition too far, I decided) were I ever to come across it.
So, I have always been cool with continuously and continually. It’s almost an instinct sometimes, no? You just get some right for no reason, and others always elude you (going back to your Ernest tribute post, I always have to work out ‘gild the lily’ - which, come to think about it, may be the case with two editions of The Leatherman’s Handbook).
Bogged down in s. Ohio heat and the minutia of life, haply I read your column and smile. Not exactly Shakespeare's lark at heaven's gate, but trending that direction. Thank you.
Someone has to be merely distracting, and I’m happy for it to be me.
“Sloe-eyed” may well connect to the blackthorn fruit after all. A wander through the hedgerows and down the rabbit hole leads to “slew-eyed, 1. : having soft dark bluish or purplish black eyes. 2. : having slanted eyes.” Said fruit is indeed dark blue to purplish black.
Good gosh a’mighty!
"wrack" is also a lovely noun, deployed by Samuel Beckett at least once (in Rockaby) in this beautiful phrase, evoking broken clouds and here describing the translucency of a dress: "watch her pass before the candelabrum, how its flames, their light... like moon through passing wrack."
Wrack is also kelp. Do we think that that’s what the great Sam means here?
I think Sam chose wisely based on the vowel sequence in the run-up... kelp would have been a real show-stopper!
Re. “continuously” vs. “continually”: Perhaps the adjectival form is more intuitive than the adverbial? “Continuous” to me suggests phrases like “a continuous line” or a “continuous movement” (as of a gymnast executing a unified set of actions); “continual” to me suggests phrases like “continual reminders” or “continual interruptions.” Come to think of it, “continual” has in my head an overall negative vibe: In the realm of sound, I would think of a “continuous tone” (neutral) but a “continual racket” (that is actually sporadic). Dunno if any of that helps!
I’ve read your wise analysis twice, and I find it, besides wise, absolutely not getting through to me, so I think that we are currently in the realm of my mental limitations.
And that’s OK too, as Jack’s mother says in Into the Woods.
laughing so hard right now!
I’m always hopeful about these things. I’ve struggled all my life with how to spell “corollary,” and just last week I articulated that it’s because I want it to be cognate to “corelated,” and now that I’ve said that out loud, I think I know how to spell it. I think. Wait. Oh heck.
Don't ever ask me to spell "perennially" unassisted.
Also, I'm realizing how punchy/tired I am, so basically nothing else will sink in today.
In her autobiography Shelly: Also Known As Shirley, Shelly Winters describes an amusing double date she and Yvonne De Carlo had with Clark Gable and Errol Flynn.
Please don’t leave us, or at least me, hanging. What happened?
It’s not only you.
It’s us.
I definitely want to know.
Re: “continually” vs. “continuously.” I had no idea there was argument about this, but then I tend to glide past usage that’s different from my own without even noticing it, unless it involves “literally” or “could care less.” That’s just me. But do people commonly use the adjective form “continual” to mean “continuous” as in “the continuous thumping of that subwoofer next door drives me up the wall?”
I couldn’t, I guess, say, so averse am I to noticing the two words at all. So we’re both gliding here.
You would not say "less continual" but you might say "less continuous."
Less for non discrete, fewer for discrete, as in less rain, fewer raindrops.
Therefore "continuous" is not discrete while "continual" is.
There's your mnemonic!
Of, um, er, looks right, looks left, course!
My own mnemonic, in case it helps, is to hiss the ‘s’ of continuous: continuousssssssss. That provides the image in my mind of a lot of esses. Esses without end, so more oppresssssssive than continual.
Contiguous.
No no no! I didn't mention that!
I love this newsletter! Not only are you funny but you know so much about words that you know to look them up and find out more. Now, I will be haunted wondering how many times I have misunderstood what was meant when someone said "career" and "founder." Who knew they were verbs as well as nouns?
Thank you, Sharon! I’m so pleased that you’re so pleased!
(And as to whatever little past sins may exist, we can just let them go and move forward!)
“Ladles and germsicles…” Oh, Benjamin, you do make me giggle.
If you were to ask me before reading this to give an example of a "sloe-eyed" vamp, I'd've gone with Pola Negri, Theda Bara*, or Ms. DeCarlo herself. Now I'm not so sure.
*Etc.
You continually amaze me. :-)
Happy July 4th!
I’m a little late to this party. Partly because I have been swept along by the happy events of our UK election over the last day; partly because of wondering about the rearrangement on bookshelves to welcome a copy of Thesiger’s Adventures in Embroidery after you mentioned its existence (in a sort of Whitmanesque multitude moment, I even imagined [because I haven’t actually, you know, even bought it and stipulated the bookseller wrap it in the plainest brown paper lest] placing it next to two successive editions of Larry Townsend’s The Leatherman’s Handbook - a juxtaposition too far, I decided) were I ever to come across it.
So, I have always been cool with continuously and continually. It’s almost an instinct sometimes, no? You just get some right for no reason, and others always elude you (going back to your Ernest tribute post, I always have to work out ‘gild the lily’ - which, come to think about it, may be the case with two editions of The Leatherman’s Handbook).