Rearing their ugly heads

From Calvin Beam:

  • far from” The game was far from over (why not
    “not”?).
  • a pair of” A pair of singles (usually “two”)
  • straight” instead of consecutive (think of the
    potential for confusion in “Joe Montana was the third straight
    San Francisco player to win the award.”)
  • reared” instead of raised (“Miss America
    Heather Whitestone was well-reared.”)
  • 2 thoughts on “Rearing their ugly heads

    1. Rearing children is an old fashioned term that most Americans have abandoned. “You raise cotton, but you rear children” is what the old folks would say.

      “Reared” (Webster’s 1913) 4. To bring up to maturity, as young; to educate; to instruct; to foster; as, to rear offspring.

      “Raise” (Webster’s 1913) 6. To cause to grow; to procure to be produced, bred, or propagated; to grow; as, to raise corn, barley, hops, etc.; to raise cattle. (no other example given with regards to children.)

      “I was raised, as they say in Virginia, among the mountains of the North.”
      – Paulding

      “Raised” (Webster’s 1913) a. 1. Lifted up; showing above the surroundings; as, raised or embossed metal work.
      2. Leavened; made with leaven, or yeast; – used of bread, cake, etc., as distinguished from that made with cream of tartar, soda, etc. (full defintion and no mention of children being “raised”)

      “Reared” may sound a little odd, but its defintion specifically refers to to nurturing and uh… “raising” of children. (chuckle)

      Best,

      S.L.D. Cowen

    2. Saying a game is “not over” is less descriptive than saying it is “far from over” or “almost over”. These two phrases would have very different meanings. Grammatically, however, “far from over” may be questionable. Of course, this has nothing to do with the staleness of such a phrase.