Polling The Poll Of Polls, 2011

[koganbot]

Mark informs us, "This is the time of year when I require a POLL OF ALL THE POLLS, to diminish the absurdly extensive 'end of year' music commentary I am almost certainly never going to get round to reading."

[Poll #1813388]

Comments

[dubdobdee.livejournal.com]

yes eric; it's true he mainly lived as an adult and taught and studied in britain -- and his books, if his own introduction is to be trusted, were very successful in the US -- but i catch a certain brusque outsider-impatience from his tone, which i've chosen to interpret as antipodean affection-exasperation in respect of the crusty ways of the aged and decadent metropole (he calls fowler "olympian and austere", neither word one i'd use). Anyway, it's the sense that he comes at English English from a slight angle that's useful to me.

i thought i owned his dictionary of slang but if i do i can't find it -- maybe it's at my dad's house: his entry on slang in usage and abusage spends more time outlining how he defines slang versus argot versus cant, and so on... very faint impression perhaps that he worries his proclaimed expertise over there undermines his authority over here?