On Tuesday 29 Apr 2014 16:05:04 walt wrote: > On 04/29/2014 05:49 AM, Peter Humphrey wrote: > > Regular readers* will know... > > > > * Off-topic note for American readers: as far as I'm concerned, "regular" > > does not mean "ordinary". That neologism is even polluting our high > > streets > > over here. > > I've used both of those words all my life but never looked them up in a > dictionary. > > Until today, of course: > > A thing is ordinary when it is apt to come round in the regular common order > or succession of events. > [1913 Webster]
Seems it goes back a lot further than I realised. > Can you give us an example of how we misuse the word "regular"? (a word I > don't ordinarily use ;) I don't suppose it's misuse, just different use, which is fine when separated by a few thousand miles :-) . It just annoys me when I'm offered a regular coffee, when I would have said standard, or medium (size). It's happened particularly since our high streets were flooded with Starbucks and the like. To me, "regular" is closely associated to "regularity", as one might think of in personal habits (sorry!). Or, "regular as clockwork" is a common phrase and gets my meaning across. -- Regards Peter
