A D in Grammar

[fauxklore]

There are past tense verbs in the English language. Or, at least, there were. Some of them were used as adjectives. (I am sure there must be a grammatical term for this, but I can't think of it, nor have I found any helpful website on the subject.)

Hence, there used to be things like "whipped cream" and "iced tea." Apparently, this is a rather old-fashioned concept since I keep seeing menus offering things like "old-fashion ice tea."

This is sloppy English and will be cause for public humiliation when I rule the world.

Comments

[jeffurrynpl.livejournal.com]

I would love to go to Hawaii some day but the fact that "shave ice" is a statewide treat might bug me too much for me to enjoy my visit.

[slymongoose.livejournal.com]

You could consider it "Pidgin English" and just let it go. Or only patronize the shops calling it "Hawaiian Ice"

It's ok Hang Loose on Vacation, Brudda!

[ron_newman]

Didn't "ice cream" start out as "iced cream" ?

[fauxklore]

I don't know, but logically it should be "iced" not "ice." I get around that problem by sticking to gelato and sorbet!

[shmuel.livejournal.com]

iced tea. These words are usually pronounced as though written ice tea, but some people feel that it would be a mistake to write them that way. The form ice tea is as justifiable as the form ice cream, or skim milk, both of which are now standard.

--Evans and Evans, A Dictionary of Contemporary American Usage (1957)

In short, this usage is neither new nor sloppy. It is perfectly normal English.

As for "whip cream," this is much less common than "whipped cream" (Evans and Evans speculate as to why), but it's given as a variant form of "whipped cream" by Webster's New World College Dictionary (4th ed.) (2004). (None of the other dictionaries I have on hand bother to list "whipped cream" or "whip cream" at all.)

Trying to impose logic on idiomatic usages is sloppy English and... well, I'm not much for public humiliation. But it is relevant to note that Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of English Usage (1994) quotes 19th-century criticism of "ice-cream" and "ice-water" (on identical grounds) with horrified amusement, as a warning for those who might get carried away in the present.

[fauxklore]

Ah, Shmuel, this liberalism with respect to language can only lead to horrors like abuse of quotation marks and Yankees fandom.

[shmuel.livejournal.com]

[laugh]

A fair point. :)

[slymongoose.livejournal.com]

Here, here!

I also suggest we say "wing-ed" and not "winged." The latter makes the thing sound wounded. Plus, I have fun saying "Wing-ed Corkscrew." :D

[kaasirpent]

The word you're looking for is "anthimeria." Using one part of speech as another.

Best example ever: "Verbing weirds language." -- Calvin or Hobbes, I don't remember which.