fond about,fond on?

Thread view:

Enable EMail Alerts

Start New Thread

Thread rating:

jinhyun - 23 Jan 2007 13:55 GMT

Hi. I recently came across the usage 'fond about' meaning,of
course,foolishly infatuated with or silly about(quite different from
'fond of'). But to me, the 'about' rather jars in combination with
'fond'. Hadn't we better say 'fond on' which to me sounds better --
more folksy -- which is likely to be the tone you are trying to affect
when you are saying something such as this? Or is it not idiomatic?
Thanks in advance for any replies.

Reply to this Message

cybercypher - 23 Jan 2007 13:13 GMT

> Hi. I recently came across the usage 'fond about' meaning,of
> course,foolishly infatuated with or silly about(quite different
[quoted text clipped - 3 lines]
> trying to affect when you are saying something such as this? Or is
> it not idiomatic? Thanks in advance for any replies.

The standard idiom is "fond of". Another is "wild about". A third is
"mad about". The two you mention are not familiar to me.

Signature

Franke: EFL teacher & medical editor
Native speaker of American English; posting from Taiwan.
"If you are still not convinced of the a.s-brain connection, finish
this sentence: 'It is easier to think after I … (a) get a haircut
(b) take a dump'." Scott Adams, The Dilbert Blog, 12 Jan 2007;
http://dilbertblog.typepad.com/
teranews now charges a one-time US$3.95 setup fee

--
Posted via a free Usenet account from http://www.teranews.com

Reply to this Message

mike.j.harvey@gmail.com - 23 Jan 2007 14:43 GMT

> > Hi. I recently came across the usage 'fond about' meaning,of
> > course,foolishly infatuated with or silly about(quite different
> > from 'fond of').

I believe fond used that way is obsolete. It is only followed by "of"
in modern English. Where did you "recently come across" it?

Reply to this Message

Don Phillipson - 23 Jan 2007 19:11 GMT

> Hi. I recently came across the usage 'fond about' meaning,of
> course,foolishly infatuated with or silly about(quite different from
> 'fond of'). But to me, the 'about' rather jars in combination with
> 'fond'. Hadn't we better say 'fond on' which to me sounds better --

You are proposing a change that has already happened (or
something rather like it).
1. In contemporary English FOND OF means having an
affection for someone (e.g. a food) or a person. It can be
fairly neutral, e.g. "I was always more fond of my Grandmother
Smith than my Grandmother Jones."
2. In 19th century English and earlier FOND ABOUT meant
having a foolish or unjustified affection for something or
someone. Charles James Fox was fond about the
American rebels in 1776.

Signature

Don Phillipson
Carlsbad Springs
(Ottawa, Canada)

Reply to this Message

jinhyun - 24 Jan 2007 05:58 GMT

Hi. Thanks. Good to know that 'fond about' is archaic. Actually I'm
reading a book on Lincoln which is mostly a compendium of everything
written by and about Lincoln, mostly by people who knew him personally
or at least from his own time.The English from this period is mostly
very charming but occasionally,some of the expressions sound odd to the
modern ear.I looked up 'fond' in the dictionary and found among the
meanings 'foolishly infatuated or silly' and took this to be what 'fond
about' meant.Rightly so.But even if 'fond about' sounds a bit odd to
us,could'nt we say 'fond on' to mean what 'fond about' meant? It seems
that there is no good expression in modern English that quite covers
this ground,particularly one that is as homely.Can you just picture an
unwelcome avuncular figure sitting at the dinner table suddenly
breaking out -- quite out of hand -- 'So, our Jimmy is right fond on
that Miller girl,eh?' nudging the ribs of the gawky teenager sitting
beside him and winking sideways at him,largely and absurdly,much to
Jimmy's discomfort,he, as it is, wishing he were dead(presumably
because pretty Cathy Miller didn't even know he existed) while dad,at
the head of the table, resolutely hid his face behind the newspaper,
determined to avoid eye-contact or conversation with his unsavoury
brother-in-law, while mom, at the opposite end of the table looked
wistfully at uncle and nephew,divided between wishing -- fondly -- that
her brother wouldn't take it upon himself to be such a thorough a.s
from time to time and wishing her son weren't such a hopeless nerd,so
that this girl he doted on might be more disposed to return his
attentions.

But thanks anyway.

Reply to this Message

Discussion Groups / English Usage / January 2007

fond about,fond on?