8d0361c5   
   XPost: alt.usage.english, rec.arts.books.tolkien   
   From: dadoctah@spamcop.net   
      
   JimboCat filted:   
   >   
   >On Aug 31, 12:55=A0pm, derek  wrote:   
   >>   
   >> I was watching the first DVD of "Sherlock" last night and was struck   
   >> by something that has been drilled into me for decades. =A0Sherlock   
   >> corrects a man who says that without Sherlock's help he'll be "hung".   
   >> Sherlock pretentiously points out that it's unlikely, though there's a   
   >> good chance of being "hanged". =A0Now, it's at least 45 years since I   
   >> first heard that joke, but it was only this time that it really   
   >> occurred to me that we have two participles of "to hang", both with   
   >> exactly the same meaning - except that one is applied to objects and   
   >> one to people. =A0No wonder it's such a hard language to learn... a   
   >> little smoothing would be a good thing.   
   >   
   >There are lots of such words, alas. My favorite example:   
   >   
   >"Though I pled guilty to the charges against me, I pleaded with the   
   >Judge to be lenient in my sentence."   
      
   "The batter flied out to center field"....r   
      
      
   --   
   Me?  Sarcastic?   
   Yeah, right.   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)