Tunborough wrote:
benhall.1 wrote:
I've started to read a collection of stories by Algernon Blackwood. Unfortunately, it is in an American edition. In this particular edition, there are an amazing number of pointless footnotes, including quite a few that "explain" things that really don't feel like they should need explaining. These include, in just the first two pages, an explanation of where Hampshire is, what Trinity Hall, Cambridge is and the meaning of the (very commonly used) word "ramshackle".
I would agree that in Canada none of those would need explaining. In particular, we have a long history of "ramshackle". I don't know exactly where Hampshire is, but I know enough to look at a map of England to find out.
Don't make the mistake, Ben, of concluding that your edition must be an example of what is broadly to be deemed "American". True, it is aimed at the US reader, but I'm entirely sure that the edition was intended for schoolreading; I can't imagine any other reason for such a ridiculous degree of micromanaging. It might surprise some people, but even in the US we presume that the average adult reader is not going to be a total boob who needs their hand held at every turn; in the normal run of things, if the reader doesn't know where Hampshire is, they can look it up on their own steam. The penny-kisser would also point out that fewer footnotes means less cost, so your copy would clearly be scholastic material, or at least for the youth market (although I can't imagine what would inspire an average youngster to electively read Algernon Blackwood). Let me reassure you that "ramshackle" is still current yet among Yanks whose lives extend beyond our animal interests, and this reinforces my conviction about the edition's purpose. True, some grownups might not know the word - such are the times - but it's hardly to be put on the same dusty shelf as "
poltophagy". So I would suggest, Ben, that you take the edition for what it evidently is: not a representative example of American publishing, but a sourcebook geared toward our educational system. What level I couldn't hope to guess, but that knowledge might be revealing. What is the date of the edition?
Tunborough wrote:
Torches, on the other hand, are as much a fire hazard here as in the U.S.
Good to know. So the rule of thumb is that on Left Pond shores, where there's a torch, there's fire.
Login
Register
FAQ
Search
, I use "headlights" (often reduced to "lights") in a general sense, especially when they're on - "Those headlights are off-kilter," for example - but I say "headlamp" when I need to buy one, or am differentiating one from the other.