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Discussion Groups / English Usage / August 2007"to we who honor him "
"Every year, most Americans spring forward and fall back so that the Sun God will send extra rays to we who honor him with the ceremony of the changing of the clocks." That's quoted from an op-ed article in the NY Times, written by the former editor of the editorial page of the Times, Gail Collins. A delightful article, too! http://select.nytimes.com/2007/08/23/opinion/23collins.html?hp  SignatureRemove letters in caps from email address before replying > "Every year, most Americans spring forward and fall back so that the > Sun God will send extra rays to we who honor him with the ceremony of [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > -- > Remove letters in caps from email address before replying I believe it. The old who/whom quandary has spread. Nobody understands grammar nowadays! People are even editing quotations: Let he who is without sin cast the first stone. [Whatever] comes to he who waits. Cece >> "Every year, most Americans spring forward and fall back so that the >> Sun God will send extra rays to we who honor him with the ceremony of [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] >> former editor of the editorial page of the Times, Gail Collins. A >> delightful article, too! > I believe it. The old who/whom quandary has spread. Nobody > understands grammar nowadays! > > People are even editing quotations: Let he who is without sin cast > the first stone. That isn't new. It first shows up on Google Books in 1872 (perhaps 1863) in Henry Kingsley's _Valentin_, although put in the mouth of a French speaker. Then it doesn't show up again until 1951. It shows up in a letter to _NY Times_ in 1967. It shows up in quoted speech (a Pennsylvania legislator) in 1972. I first see it in an author's words there in 1987. > [Whatever] comes to he who waits. That one I don't see before 1989. "... to we who ..." goes back further, though: Now, gentlemen, there are certain buyers and shippers here who own lots near and adjacent to the said stockyards, and they object to we who don't own lots so situated from using said yards. [1895] (although there are other grammatical problems there.) But it means much to we who tread the utter fringe of earth. [1908] SignatureEvan Kirshenbaum +------------------------------------ HP Laboratories |When you rewrite a compiler from 1501 Page Mill Road, 1U, MS 1141 |scratch, you sometimes fix things Palo Alto, CA 94304 |you didn't know were broken. | Larry Wall kirshenbaum@hpl.hp.com (650)857-7572 http://www.kirshenbaum.net/ > > "Every year, most Americans spring forward and fall back so that the > > Sun God will send extra rays to we who honor him with the ceremony of [quoted text clipped - 9 lines] > > I believe it. The old who/whom quandary has spread. I'm afraid that this isn't the who/whom problem. This is the "to us" problem, quite close to the "to my wife and me" problem. >Nobody > understands grammar nowadays! > > People are even editing quotations: Actually, changing quotations happens more often than not, as we've found when tracing quotations back to the source. The populace seems compelled to improve the rhythm of nearly any saying. There was a great article in the New Yorker a few months ago on this subject, I wish I had clipped it out. >Let he who is without sin cast the first stone. Your point about "let he"/"let him" is right, but do you realize how different the line in the King James version is? (And other versions don't consider it to be actual Gospel at all.) If this was merely a matter of a single word being altered, there might be a chance that more people would quote it correctly. What the KJV has is: John 8:7 So when they continued asking him, he lifted up himself, and said unto them, He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her. >[Whatever] comes to he who waits. It's a proverb, not a quotation, so quite a bit of variation is allowed. "Everything comes to those who wait" is a common form. SignatureBest wishes -- Donna Richoux >>> "Every year, most Americans spring forward and fall back so that the >>> Sun God will send extra rays to we who honor him with the ceremony of [quoted text clipped - 11 lines] > I'm afraid that this isn't the who/whom problem. This is the "to us" > problem, quite close to the "to my wife and me" problem. I read it as being the "to SWMBO" problem. SignaturePeter Moylan http://www.pmoylan.org For an e-mail address, see my web page. >> > "Every year, most Americans spring forward and fall back so that the >> > Sun God will send extra rays to we who honor him with the ceremony of [quoted text clipped - 40 lines] >It's a proverb, not a quotation, so quite a bit of variation is allowed. >"Everything comes to those who wait" is a common form. I think everyone who is bothered by these things should relax and put on some pleasant symphonic piece. Music has charms to soothe the savage beast. > <...> > Music has charms to soothe the > savage beast. "HATH charms." >> <...> >> Music has charms to soothe the >> savage beast. > >"HATH charms." Hey genius, that was an example of a misquote of a well-known line. It's telling indeed that you only picked up one of the errors in the quote. To put it in other terms, "Music hath charms to soothe the savage beast." is also a misquote. SignatureWater, water, everywhere, and not a drop to drink. Oleg Lego filted: >>> <...> >>> Music has charms to soothe the [quoted text clipped - 8 lines] >To put it in other terms, "Music hath charms to soothe the savage >beast." is also a misquote. I suspect you've been whooshed....r Signature"You got Schadenfreude on my Weltanschauung!" "You got Weltanschauung in my Schadenfreude!" > Oleg Lego filted: >> [quoted text clipped - 12 lines] > > I suspect you've been whooshed....r Ha ha! >Oleg Lego filted: >> [quoted text clipped - 12 lines] > >I suspect you've been whooshed....r I don't see it, but it doesn't matter. He didn't pick up on the other misquote either. >> Oleg Lego filted: >>> [quoted text clipped - 14 lines] > > He didn't pick up on the other misquote either. Let him who hath misquoted strike his savage breast. Cheers, Sage "Oleg Lego" <rat@atatatat.com> wrote > On 30 Aug 2007 00:13:47 -0700, R H Draney posted: >>I suspect you've been whooshed....r > > I don't see it, but it doesn't matter. > > He didn't pick up on the other misquote either. There wasn't any "picking up." It was a wisecrack. Do you see it yet? We'll wait. >"Oleg Lego" <rat@atatatat.com> wrote > On 30 Aug 2007 00:13:47 -0700, R H >Draney posted: [quoted text clipped - 8 lines] > >Do you see it yet? We'll wait. Not really, but in any case, the "didn't pick up on" was not related to the "music..." misquote. |
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