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An American who is from Chicago and who is learning Chinese at a nearby college, might do well to have a go at learning English first. A conversation between him and one of my British colleagues went something like this. Chicagoan: I wish people would talk more in class. Brit: They are too reticent? Chicagoan: Reticent? What's that? It's not a real word. Brit: Of course it is. It means shy or diffident. Chicagoan: Diffident? You made that up too. They aren't real words. And he wasn't joking! "No man but a blockhead ever wrote except for money." Samuel Johnson. | ||
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Oh, dear. My son thinks the Brit made up the story, but I believe you. | |||
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I was there. I've just simplified a rather longer conversation. "No man but a blockhead ever wrote except for money." Samuel Johnson. | |||
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We have pointed him to Webster and to the AHD. "No man but a blockhead ever wrote except for money." Samuel Johnson. | |||
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It's embarrassing. | |||
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