Word: websterisms
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...sides, ostensibly well-educated people in full command of the English language talk about the media in this singular fashion. "The media is to blame for all the trouble," "The media carries only bad news," or (on rare occasions) "The media is the first defense line of American liberties." Webster's, that horror of permissiveness, allows the usage. It is, of course, illiterate: "media" is the plural of "medium"; hence the media are. The point may seem merely pedantic. But how people speak suggests a great deal about how they think and feel; language shapes philosophy, culture and destiny...
...that first year. Slowly Carter began to build, stepping up his father's practice of buying local farmers' peanuts, then selling in bulk to the big processors. Today Carter Warehouse grosses $800,000 annually, and the Carter family owns, through various partnerships, 2,500 acres in Sumter and adjoining Webster County...
Cornell no longer has Mark Webster, the top scorer in the University's history, but attackman Al Rimmer, the Ivy scoring champion, is back, as are midfielder Bob Shaw and goalie Bob Rule. As usual, a good group of sophomores gives the Big Red appreciable depth...
...about "non-abrasive systems intervention" and "low structure-low consideration teaching style." Another profession guilty of non-defense is lexicography. With proud humility today's dictionary editor abdicates even as arbiter, refusing to recognize any standards but usage. If enough people misuse disinterested as a synonym for uninterested, Webster's will honor it as a synonym. If enough people say infer when they mean imply, then that becomes its meaning in the eyes of a dictionary editor...
...their first-round choice; a defensive back from Utah, Thompson is an aggressive ball hawk who intercepted seven passes last season. The New York Giants did likewise by plucking out another unsung Thompson, Ralph "Rocky" Thompson, a swift running back from West Texas State whom Giant Coach Alex Webster plans to turn into a wide receiver...