Ardith Hinton:

AH> What  I had in mind there was not FOWLER'S, but the work
AH> of an author from the US.   Because  I  don't  speak  US
AH> English  I saw little need for it until I became curious
AH> about why Americans do what they do with, e.g., "of" and
AH> thought I'd best consult a USAian expert....   :-)

Ah, that meow... I mean MEU.

AH> Recently  Dallas  &  I  watched  a  series  about  Queen
AH> Victoria in which the actress said (when HM  was  8  1/2
AH> months  pregnant  & was not allowed, by the standards of
AH> the day, to do as she wished) said "I'm bored of  this".
AH> At  a  similar  stage  I  was reminded of people who had
AH> built a ship in the basement & wondered how they'd  ever
AH> get  it out...  and when I asked Dallas to help with the
AH> vacuuming I got a new vacuum cleaner almost immediately.
AH> But  when  I exclaimed, "What... Queen Victoria wouldn't
AH> have said that!?" the 1998 edition of FOWLER'S confirmed
AH> my suspicion that "bored of" emerged well over a century
AH> later.  :-))

Then you might enjoy  "The  Witch"  (or  "The  VVitch") -- a
splendidly  depressing  horror  movie  where  the actors are
speaking the true English of the witch-hunting period in New
England.   Watching  it  from a Bluray via a projector, with
good Soviet loudspeakers was to me  a  shocking  experience!
Don't try it alone.

AH> Perhaps  I  should  refresh  my  memory  in that regard.
AH> Although some of us probably learned about it at school,
AH> North  Americans  in  general  don't  make a distinction
AH> between "will" and "shall".  I think much of the
power &
AH> sublety  of the language is lost when folks try too hard
AH> to simplify or naturalize it.  :-)

Well, it is not nearly as hard as conscious  care  of  one's
language.   Recall  the  second law of thermodymamics, which
says the chaos  increases  by  itself,  whereas  maintaining
order  takes  effort.   "The  only  thing  necessary for the
triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing," and it is!

AH> While I know very little about Anthony Hope, I  think  I
AH> know what you mean WRT Agatha Christie.  She could speak
AH> volumes about a man by saying he  was  wearing  spats  &
AH> riding  in  a first-class railway compartment... in much
AH> the same way as the photograph  I  saw  of  her  wearing
AH> pearls  while  eating  breakfast  on  the  patio  of her
AH> country estate spoke volumes.  When you  understand  the
AH> fine  points  of  grammar  &/or  the  upper-middle class
AH> customs of the day you'll understand far more  than  the
AH> kids  whose  chief  ambition is to fit in with their age
AH> mates.  :-Q

Count  me  with  the  kids,  then.    I   needed   extensive
annotations to understand Aldous Huxley's "Crome Yellow".

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