Why is this meaning of “snipped” not in dictionaries?
The word "snipped" can seemingly be used to mean "said in a snippy manner":
"No," she snipped, obviously annoyed
—http://rosemarinetheater.blogspot.com/2013/05/white-boy-can-rap-looking-at-benny-in.html
...the former president was emphatic. "No," he snipped.
—http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-partisan/wp/2016/02/03/no-bernie-sanders-is-not-barack-obama
"No," she snipped. "You're American, aren't you? You're not very popular here today."
—http://www.city-journal.org/html/london-peace-marchers-say-long-live-intifada-9989.html
Yet no dictionary (of the dozen or so I consulted) documents this usage. Not even the OED [paywall], which documents every obscure meaning every word has had over the past 500 years. Not even urbandictionary, in which anyone can add words and definitions with no editorial oversight.
Is this meaning too rare for dictionaries to document? It strikes me as a somewhat unusual but not obscure construction when I run across it. But of course it's difficult to google for a word used with a specific meaning when that word also has a vastly more widely used meaning. (You'll find a mix of hits and false positives searching for exact phrases such as "no she snipped," which is how I discovered the above citations.)
Is this meaning too new to have made it into any dictionaries? The oldest of the above citations is from 2003, and again, my sense is that it's been around longer than that (though again, without a way to effectively search, it's hard to say).
Is this usage actually an erroneous substitution for another word? "Sniped," for instance, can also be the verb in a dialogue tag, but it has a different meaning (one which could conceivably apply in the third citation above, but not the first two). I can't think what other word might be intended.
Has this meaning been collectively overlooked by all the major dictionary compilers? This seems extremely improbable, yet Sherlockianly correct.
Am I overlooking another possible explanation?
meaning word-usage dictionaries
add a comment |
The word "snipped" can seemingly be used to mean "said in a snippy manner":
"No," she snipped, obviously annoyed
—http://rosemarinetheater.blogspot.com/2013/05/white-boy-can-rap-looking-at-benny-in.html
...the former president was emphatic. "No," he snipped.
—http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-partisan/wp/2016/02/03/no-bernie-sanders-is-not-barack-obama
"No," she snipped. "You're American, aren't you? You're not very popular here today."
—http://www.city-journal.org/html/london-peace-marchers-say-long-live-intifada-9989.html
Yet no dictionary (of the dozen or so I consulted) documents this usage. Not even the OED [paywall], which documents every obscure meaning every word has had over the past 500 years. Not even urbandictionary, in which anyone can add words and definitions with no editorial oversight.
Is this meaning too rare for dictionaries to document? It strikes me as a somewhat unusual but not obscure construction when I run across it. But of course it's difficult to google for a word used with a specific meaning when that word also has a vastly more widely used meaning. (You'll find a mix of hits and false positives searching for exact phrases such as "no she snipped," which is how I discovered the above citations.)
Is this meaning too new to have made it into any dictionaries? The oldest of the above citations is from 2003, and again, my sense is that it's been around longer than that (though again, without a way to effectively search, it's hard to say).
Is this usage actually an erroneous substitution for another word? "Sniped," for instance, can also be the verb in a dialogue tag, but it has a different meaning (one which could conceivably apply in the third citation above, but not the first two). I can't think what other word might be intended.
Has this meaning been collectively overlooked by all the major dictionary compilers? This seems extremely improbable, yet Sherlockianly correct.
Am I overlooking another possible explanation?
meaning word-usage dictionaries
The latest generation of adults in the workplace happen to be very poorly educated - for the most part. I've run across too many with college degrees that can't put a sentence together. Short answer: They make stuff up that sounds right to them, and due to the advances in mass communication, it spreads. About 10 years ago, all the young corporate hot-shots got hooked on "verbage". One of my bosses said to me, "I refuse to continue this conversation until you adjust your verbage." I said, "Show me the word verbage in a dictionary, and I'll do it,"
– Oldbag
4 hours ago
"no she/he snipped" brings up about 40 results, and all of your examples are in there. A search for "he snipped at her" brings up 4 results from published fiction novels from 2007 onward. It's obviously used by some published writers, and used at least once by a Washington Post contributor. It seems it may not be popular enough either for lexicographers/editors to have noticed or for them to have considered it worthy of entry into their dictionary. Also, I don't think this is all too uncommon. Still, it is interesting.
– Zebrafish
4 hours ago
@Oldbag The AHD and M-W dictionaries give alternative pronunciations of verbiage where the end of the word sounds the same as the ending to carriage or marriage. Maybe that's just how they roll.
– Zebrafish
3 hours ago
add a comment |
The word "snipped" can seemingly be used to mean "said in a snippy manner":
"No," she snipped, obviously annoyed
—http://rosemarinetheater.blogspot.com/2013/05/white-boy-can-rap-looking-at-benny-in.html
...the former president was emphatic. "No," he snipped.
—http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-partisan/wp/2016/02/03/no-bernie-sanders-is-not-barack-obama
"No," she snipped. "You're American, aren't you? You're not very popular here today."
—http://www.city-journal.org/html/london-peace-marchers-say-long-live-intifada-9989.html
Yet no dictionary (of the dozen or so I consulted) documents this usage. Not even the OED [paywall], which documents every obscure meaning every word has had over the past 500 years. Not even urbandictionary, in which anyone can add words and definitions with no editorial oversight.
Is this meaning too rare for dictionaries to document? It strikes me as a somewhat unusual but not obscure construction when I run across it. But of course it's difficult to google for a word used with a specific meaning when that word also has a vastly more widely used meaning. (You'll find a mix of hits and false positives searching for exact phrases such as "no she snipped," which is how I discovered the above citations.)
Is this meaning too new to have made it into any dictionaries? The oldest of the above citations is from 2003, and again, my sense is that it's been around longer than that (though again, without a way to effectively search, it's hard to say).
Is this usage actually an erroneous substitution for another word? "Sniped," for instance, can also be the verb in a dialogue tag, but it has a different meaning (one which could conceivably apply in the third citation above, but not the first two). I can't think what other word might be intended.
Has this meaning been collectively overlooked by all the major dictionary compilers? This seems extremely improbable, yet Sherlockianly correct.
Am I overlooking another possible explanation?
meaning word-usage dictionaries
The word "snipped" can seemingly be used to mean "said in a snippy manner":
"No," she snipped, obviously annoyed
—http://rosemarinetheater.blogspot.com/2013/05/white-boy-can-rap-looking-at-benny-in.html
...the former president was emphatic. "No," he snipped.
—http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-partisan/wp/2016/02/03/no-bernie-sanders-is-not-barack-obama
"No," she snipped. "You're American, aren't you? You're not very popular here today."
—http://www.city-journal.org/html/london-peace-marchers-say-long-live-intifada-9989.html
Yet no dictionary (of the dozen or so I consulted) documents this usage. Not even the OED [paywall], which documents every obscure meaning every word has had over the past 500 years. Not even urbandictionary, in which anyone can add words and definitions with no editorial oversight.
Is this meaning too rare for dictionaries to document? It strikes me as a somewhat unusual but not obscure construction when I run across it. But of course it's difficult to google for a word used with a specific meaning when that word also has a vastly more widely used meaning. (You'll find a mix of hits and false positives searching for exact phrases such as "no she snipped," which is how I discovered the above citations.)
Is this meaning too new to have made it into any dictionaries? The oldest of the above citations is from 2003, and again, my sense is that it's been around longer than that (though again, without a way to effectively search, it's hard to say).
Is this usage actually an erroneous substitution for another word? "Sniped," for instance, can also be the verb in a dialogue tag, but it has a different meaning (one which could conceivably apply in the third citation above, but not the first two). I can't think what other word might be intended.
Has this meaning been collectively overlooked by all the major dictionary compilers? This seems extremely improbable, yet Sherlockianly correct.
Am I overlooking another possible explanation?
meaning word-usage dictionaries
meaning word-usage dictionaries
asked 5 hours ago
TargeloidTargeloid
855
855
The latest generation of adults in the workplace happen to be very poorly educated - for the most part. I've run across too many with college degrees that can't put a sentence together. Short answer: They make stuff up that sounds right to them, and due to the advances in mass communication, it spreads. About 10 years ago, all the young corporate hot-shots got hooked on "verbage". One of my bosses said to me, "I refuse to continue this conversation until you adjust your verbage." I said, "Show me the word verbage in a dictionary, and I'll do it,"
– Oldbag
4 hours ago
"no she/he snipped" brings up about 40 results, and all of your examples are in there. A search for "he snipped at her" brings up 4 results from published fiction novels from 2007 onward. It's obviously used by some published writers, and used at least once by a Washington Post contributor. It seems it may not be popular enough either for lexicographers/editors to have noticed or for them to have considered it worthy of entry into their dictionary. Also, I don't think this is all too uncommon. Still, it is interesting.
– Zebrafish
4 hours ago
@Oldbag The AHD and M-W dictionaries give alternative pronunciations of verbiage where the end of the word sounds the same as the ending to carriage or marriage. Maybe that's just how they roll.
– Zebrafish
3 hours ago
add a comment |
The latest generation of adults in the workplace happen to be very poorly educated - for the most part. I've run across too many with college degrees that can't put a sentence together. Short answer: They make stuff up that sounds right to them, and due to the advances in mass communication, it spreads. About 10 years ago, all the young corporate hot-shots got hooked on "verbage". One of my bosses said to me, "I refuse to continue this conversation until you adjust your verbage." I said, "Show me the word verbage in a dictionary, and I'll do it,"
– Oldbag
4 hours ago
"no she/he snipped" brings up about 40 results, and all of your examples are in there. A search for "he snipped at her" brings up 4 results from published fiction novels from 2007 onward. It's obviously used by some published writers, and used at least once by a Washington Post contributor. It seems it may not be popular enough either for lexicographers/editors to have noticed or for them to have considered it worthy of entry into their dictionary. Also, I don't think this is all too uncommon. Still, it is interesting.
– Zebrafish
4 hours ago
@Oldbag The AHD and M-W dictionaries give alternative pronunciations of verbiage where the end of the word sounds the same as the ending to carriage or marriage. Maybe that's just how they roll.
– Zebrafish
3 hours ago
The latest generation of adults in the workplace happen to be very poorly educated - for the most part. I've run across too many with college degrees that can't put a sentence together. Short answer: They make stuff up that sounds right to them, and due to the advances in mass communication, it spreads. About 10 years ago, all the young corporate hot-shots got hooked on "verbage". One of my bosses said to me, "I refuse to continue this conversation until you adjust your verbage." I said, "Show me the word verbage in a dictionary, and I'll do it,"
– Oldbag
4 hours ago
The latest generation of adults in the workplace happen to be very poorly educated - for the most part. I've run across too many with college degrees that can't put a sentence together. Short answer: They make stuff up that sounds right to them, and due to the advances in mass communication, it spreads. About 10 years ago, all the young corporate hot-shots got hooked on "verbage". One of my bosses said to me, "I refuse to continue this conversation until you adjust your verbage." I said, "Show me the word verbage in a dictionary, and I'll do it,"
– Oldbag
4 hours ago
"no she/he snipped" brings up about 40 results, and all of your examples are in there. A search for "he snipped at her" brings up 4 results from published fiction novels from 2007 onward. It's obviously used by some published writers, and used at least once by a Washington Post contributor. It seems it may not be popular enough either for lexicographers/editors to have noticed or for them to have considered it worthy of entry into their dictionary. Also, I don't think this is all too uncommon. Still, it is interesting.
– Zebrafish
4 hours ago
"no she/he snipped" brings up about 40 results, and all of your examples are in there. A search for "he snipped at her" brings up 4 results from published fiction novels from 2007 onward. It's obviously used by some published writers, and used at least once by a Washington Post contributor. It seems it may not be popular enough either for lexicographers/editors to have noticed or for them to have considered it worthy of entry into their dictionary. Also, I don't think this is all too uncommon. Still, it is interesting.
– Zebrafish
4 hours ago
@Oldbag The AHD and M-W dictionaries give alternative pronunciations of verbiage where the end of the word sounds the same as the ending to carriage or marriage. Maybe that's just how they roll.
– Zebrafish
3 hours ago
@Oldbag The AHD and M-W dictionaries give alternative pronunciations of verbiage where the end of the word sounds the same as the ending to carriage or marriage. Maybe that's just how they roll.
– Zebrafish
3 hours ago
add a comment |
2 Answers
2
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This is an interesting question, in the sense that it touches upon the matter of this site: what precisely allows some feature of language to count as ‘usage’.
You might start by asking a different question: ‘criteria for adding a word to a dictionary’. It’s not exactly your question, which is about new uses of old words, but it is a start.
Here is what Merriam Webster says:
Criteria for adding a word to the dictionary
To be included in a Merriam-Webster dictionary, a word must be used in a substantial number of citations that come from a wide range of publications over a considerable period of time. ... The number and range of citations needed to add a word to the dictionary varies.
That used by Oxford Dictionaries is broadly consistent with that. Of course, terms like ‘a substantial number’ and ‘wide range’ of publications and ‘considerable’ period of time. Infuriating as the vagueness may seem, it is inevitable: any boundary would be arbitrary and so possibly restrictive.
You should look carefully the idea of range of publications and period of time. The issue is more than the number of uses.
Nevertheless, OED, Merriam Webster and most major dictionaries are keen not to fall behind the natural development of the English language. So OED has a public site:
public.oed.com
It gives you detailed guidance how to engage and propose words/uses not currently cited.
add a comment |
It appears sniped and snipped are in many cases used interchangeably. Your reference American Dictionary:
snipe (snīp)
intr.v. sniped, snip·ing, snipes
1. To shoot at individuals from a concealed place.
2. To shoot snipe.
3. To make malicious, underhand remarks or attacks.
and the OED cites sniped
fig. To assault with harsh sly criticism; to rebuke or censure
sharply; to make a carping attack at (someone).
As in:
1979 A. Hailey Overload i. xiv. 79 The press representatives had
eaten and imbibed with gusto, then in published reports, some had
sniped at GSP & L for extravagant entertaining at a time of rising
utility bills.
add a comment |
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2 Answers
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2 Answers
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This is an interesting question, in the sense that it touches upon the matter of this site: what precisely allows some feature of language to count as ‘usage’.
You might start by asking a different question: ‘criteria for adding a word to a dictionary’. It’s not exactly your question, which is about new uses of old words, but it is a start.
Here is what Merriam Webster says:
Criteria for adding a word to the dictionary
To be included in a Merriam-Webster dictionary, a word must be used in a substantial number of citations that come from a wide range of publications over a considerable period of time. ... The number and range of citations needed to add a word to the dictionary varies.
That used by Oxford Dictionaries is broadly consistent with that. Of course, terms like ‘a substantial number’ and ‘wide range’ of publications and ‘considerable’ period of time. Infuriating as the vagueness may seem, it is inevitable: any boundary would be arbitrary and so possibly restrictive.
You should look carefully the idea of range of publications and period of time. The issue is more than the number of uses.
Nevertheless, OED, Merriam Webster and most major dictionaries are keen not to fall behind the natural development of the English language. So OED has a public site:
public.oed.com
It gives you detailed guidance how to engage and propose words/uses not currently cited.
add a comment |
This is an interesting question, in the sense that it touches upon the matter of this site: what precisely allows some feature of language to count as ‘usage’.
You might start by asking a different question: ‘criteria for adding a word to a dictionary’. It’s not exactly your question, which is about new uses of old words, but it is a start.
Here is what Merriam Webster says:
Criteria for adding a word to the dictionary
To be included in a Merriam-Webster dictionary, a word must be used in a substantial number of citations that come from a wide range of publications over a considerable period of time. ... The number and range of citations needed to add a word to the dictionary varies.
That used by Oxford Dictionaries is broadly consistent with that. Of course, terms like ‘a substantial number’ and ‘wide range’ of publications and ‘considerable’ period of time. Infuriating as the vagueness may seem, it is inevitable: any boundary would be arbitrary and so possibly restrictive.
You should look carefully the idea of range of publications and period of time. The issue is more than the number of uses.
Nevertheless, OED, Merriam Webster and most major dictionaries are keen not to fall behind the natural development of the English language. So OED has a public site:
public.oed.com
It gives you detailed guidance how to engage and propose words/uses not currently cited.
add a comment |
This is an interesting question, in the sense that it touches upon the matter of this site: what precisely allows some feature of language to count as ‘usage’.
You might start by asking a different question: ‘criteria for adding a word to a dictionary’. It’s not exactly your question, which is about new uses of old words, but it is a start.
Here is what Merriam Webster says:
Criteria for adding a word to the dictionary
To be included in a Merriam-Webster dictionary, a word must be used in a substantial number of citations that come from a wide range of publications over a considerable period of time. ... The number and range of citations needed to add a word to the dictionary varies.
That used by Oxford Dictionaries is broadly consistent with that. Of course, terms like ‘a substantial number’ and ‘wide range’ of publications and ‘considerable’ period of time. Infuriating as the vagueness may seem, it is inevitable: any boundary would be arbitrary and so possibly restrictive.
You should look carefully the idea of range of publications and period of time. The issue is more than the number of uses.
Nevertheless, OED, Merriam Webster and most major dictionaries are keen not to fall behind the natural development of the English language. So OED has a public site:
public.oed.com
It gives you detailed guidance how to engage and propose words/uses not currently cited.
This is an interesting question, in the sense that it touches upon the matter of this site: what precisely allows some feature of language to count as ‘usage’.
You might start by asking a different question: ‘criteria for adding a word to a dictionary’. It’s not exactly your question, which is about new uses of old words, but it is a start.
Here is what Merriam Webster says:
Criteria for adding a word to the dictionary
To be included in a Merriam-Webster dictionary, a word must be used in a substantial number of citations that come from a wide range of publications over a considerable period of time. ... The number and range of citations needed to add a word to the dictionary varies.
That used by Oxford Dictionaries is broadly consistent with that. Of course, terms like ‘a substantial number’ and ‘wide range’ of publications and ‘considerable’ period of time. Infuriating as the vagueness may seem, it is inevitable: any boundary would be arbitrary and so possibly restrictive.
You should look carefully the idea of range of publications and period of time. The issue is more than the number of uses.
Nevertheless, OED, Merriam Webster and most major dictionaries are keen not to fall behind the natural development of the English language. So OED has a public site:
public.oed.com
It gives you detailed guidance how to engage and propose words/uses not currently cited.
answered 4 hours ago
TuffyTuffy
3,5031619
3,5031619
add a comment |
add a comment |
It appears sniped and snipped are in many cases used interchangeably. Your reference American Dictionary:
snipe (snīp)
intr.v. sniped, snip·ing, snipes
1. To shoot at individuals from a concealed place.
2. To shoot snipe.
3. To make malicious, underhand remarks or attacks.
and the OED cites sniped
fig. To assault with harsh sly criticism; to rebuke or censure
sharply; to make a carping attack at (someone).
As in:
1979 A. Hailey Overload i. xiv. 79 The press representatives had
eaten and imbibed with gusto, then in published reports, some had
sniped at GSP & L for extravagant entertaining at a time of rising
utility bills.
add a comment |
It appears sniped and snipped are in many cases used interchangeably. Your reference American Dictionary:
snipe (snīp)
intr.v. sniped, snip·ing, snipes
1. To shoot at individuals from a concealed place.
2. To shoot snipe.
3. To make malicious, underhand remarks or attacks.
and the OED cites sniped
fig. To assault with harsh sly criticism; to rebuke or censure
sharply; to make a carping attack at (someone).
As in:
1979 A. Hailey Overload i. xiv. 79 The press representatives had
eaten and imbibed with gusto, then in published reports, some had
sniped at GSP & L for extravagant entertaining at a time of rising
utility bills.
add a comment |
It appears sniped and snipped are in many cases used interchangeably. Your reference American Dictionary:
snipe (snīp)
intr.v. sniped, snip·ing, snipes
1. To shoot at individuals from a concealed place.
2. To shoot snipe.
3. To make malicious, underhand remarks or attacks.
and the OED cites sniped
fig. To assault with harsh sly criticism; to rebuke or censure
sharply; to make a carping attack at (someone).
As in:
1979 A. Hailey Overload i. xiv. 79 The press representatives had
eaten and imbibed with gusto, then in published reports, some had
sniped at GSP & L for extravagant entertaining at a time of rising
utility bills.
It appears sniped and snipped are in many cases used interchangeably. Your reference American Dictionary:
snipe (snīp)
intr.v. sniped, snip·ing, snipes
1. To shoot at individuals from a concealed place.
2. To shoot snipe.
3. To make malicious, underhand remarks or attacks.
and the OED cites sniped
fig. To assault with harsh sly criticism; to rebuke or censure
sharply; to make a carping attack at (someone).
As in:
1979 A. Hailey Overload i. xiv. 79 The press representatives had
eaten and imbibed with gusto, then in published reports, some had
sniped at GSP & L for extravagant entertaining at a time of rising
utility bills.
answered 2 hours ago
![](https://i.stack.imgur.com/yKmjW.jpg?s=32&g=1)
![](https://i.stack.imgur.com/yKmjW.jpg?s=32&g=1)
lbflbf
20.3k22572
20.3k22572
add a comment |
add a comment |
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The latest generation of adults in the workplace happen to be very poorly educated - for the most part. I've run across too many with college degrees that can't put a sentence together. Short answer: They make stuff up that sounds right to them, and due to the advances in mass communication, it spreads. About 10 years ago, all the young corporate hot-shots got hooked on "verbage". One of my bosses said to me, "I refuse to continue this conversation until you adjust your verbage." I said, "Show me the word verbage in a dictionary, and I'll do it,"
– Oldbag
4 hours ago
"no she/he snipped" brings up about 40 results, and all of your examples are in there. A search for "he snipped at her" brings up 4 results from published fiction novels from 2007 onward. It's obviously used by some published writers, and used at least once by a Washington Post contributor. It seems it may not be popular enough either for lexicographers/editors to have noticed or for them to have considered it worthy of entry into their dictionary. Also, I don't think this is all too uncommon. Still, it is interesting.
– Zebrafish
4 hours ago
@Oldbag The AHD and M-W dictionaries give alternative pronunciations of verbiage where the end of the word sounds the same as the ending to carriage or marriage. Maybe that's just how they roll.
– Zebrafish
3 hours ago