On Thu, Feb 19, 2015 at 04:29:51PM -0000, st...@thornet.co.uk wrote:
> Thanks very much for your fulsome response.
> I'll do some more checking
Note: :-)
fulsome: adjective
1 complimentary or flattering to an excessive degree: 'the press
are embarrassingly fulsome in their appreciation'.
2 of large size or quantity; generous or abundant: 'the fulsome
details of the later legend'.
DERIVATIVES
fulsomely adverb,
fulsomeness noun
ORIGIN Middle English (in the sense 'abundant'): from full + -some.
usage: Although the earliest use of fulsome (first recorded in
the 13th century) was 'generous or abundant', this meaning is
now regarded by some people as wrong. The correct meaning today
is held to be 'excessively complimentary or flattering'. However,
the word is still often used in its original sense of 'abundant',
especially in sentences such as 'she was fulsome in her praise
for the people who organized it', and this use can give rise
to ambiguity: for one speaker, 'fulsome praise' may be a genuine
compliment, whereas for others it will be interpreted as an
insult.
--
Viktor.
