Will I be struck by lightning? Interesting question, and many
interesting answers if you read all of the possible links. I guess
each of us must read the advice, make her/his own decision, and then
live with it. I have, since sailing on the Gulf of Mexico too many
decades ago, and haven't been struck by lightning yet.
Will you excuse an old man's warped sense of humor and cynicism? I
couldn't help but wonder if the author of the excellent article in
the link wasn't confusing reducing his gross tonnage with reducing
his chances of getting fried? I also once wondered if a local garage
was offering to increase miles per gallon by reducing the weight of
one's car with their "lightening lube."
Looking up "lightening" in my dictionary, I find: "a drop in the
level of the uterus during the last weeks of pregnancy as the head of
the fetus engages in the pelvis," or "make or become lighter in
weight, pressure, or severity", and the following discussion
clarifies the differences between lightening and lightning (the first
has three syllables, the second just two):
"USAGE Years ago, the phrase it is lightening (as in 'thundering and
lightening') was contracted to it is light'ning, which eventually
became further shortened to it is lightning. In modern use, the word
lightning stands on its own as a noun (: did you see that lightning?)
and a verb ( | it looks as if it's going to start lightning). Today,
in the context of electrical storms, lightening would likely be
considered a misspelling of lightning, rather than a variant spelling."
John R. Butler, #361, "Rejoyce!"
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