TechWhirl (TECHWR-L) is a resource for technical writing and technical communications professionals of all experience levels and in all industries to share their experiences and acquire information.
For two decades, technical communicators have turned to TechWhirl to ask and answer questions about the always-changing world of technical communications, such as tools, skills, career paths, methodologies, and emerging industries. The TechWhirl Archives and magazine, created for, by and about technical writers, offer a wealth of knowledge to everyone with an interest in any aspect of technical communications.
Subject:Re: More on Oxymorons From:John Renish <John -dot- Renish -at- CONNER -dot- COM> Date:Thu, 27 Apr 1995 18:08:21 PDT
mr. johnson errs here. I did not put cleave forward as an oxymoron. I used
it as an example of a word with two opposite meanings, like the word fast.
Both meanings of fast, incidentally, come from the same Old English word.
True, it is a homonym (the more common word on this side of the pond) with
different antecedents, but it is more like "row" (to paddle) and "row" (a
line of objects). Over here, we pronounce "row" (an altercation) to rhyme
with "cow." Only God and people born within two miles of him or her know how
any given Briton pronounces anything.
Oh, yes. Doesn't fast qualify?
John -dot- Renish -at- conner -dot- com
My statements are my own and do not represent Conner Peripherals, Inc.
-------------
Original Text