Look at our foods: There’s no
“egg” in eggplant, nor “ham” in hamburger;
neither “apple nor “pine” in pineapple. English
muffins were invented in England; french fries didn’t
originate in France. Sweetmeats are candy while sweetbreads (which
aren’t sweet) are meat.
If we explore English’s paradoxes, we
find that quicksand can work slowly, boxing rings are square, and a
guinea pig is neither from Guinea nor is it a pig.
And why do writers write but fingers
don’t fing; grocers don’t groce, and hammers
don’t ham? How can a slim chance and a fat chance be the
same, while a wise man and a wise guy are opposites?
Consider plurals: The plural of tooth is
teeth, but the plural of booth isn’t beeth. One goose, two
geese; one moose, two meese. But what about the plural of mouse
– 2 meese also? No. They’re called “mice”.
Doesn’t it seem crazy that you can make amends but not one
amend? If you have a bunch of odds and ends and get rid of all but
one, what do you call it?
Present & past tenses: Teachers teach
& preachers preach. Teachers taught; but that doesn’t
apply to preachers – they didn’t
“praught”.
I’m sure everyone has run across these
phrases during their lifetime: Reciting ones lines in a play, yet
one plays at a recital. Where did that logic come from?
English was invented by people (not
computers) and it reflects the creativity of the human race –
(which, of course, is not a race at all). Rather than dwell on the
insanities of our language, it’s much easier to just wonder
what those folks were smokin’ – you know - the ones who
originally formulated this language we speak?
(P.S.: why doesn’t “Buick”
rhyme with “quick”?)
Way to go
geojaeger ... FTF !!