(no subject)

I continue to learn more about the language I know best. Today Sleepy John faulted me for writing "cut the muster" instead of "cut the mustard." Like many before me, I thought that the former predated the latter, seeing as its literal meaning is more obscure. Instead, it appears to be an accidental mix of "cut the mustard" and "pass muster," a term with military origins.

More surprising to me is a recent long discussion on Cute Overload about the word "nauseous." Purists reserve it for the sense of "nauseating." Merriam-Webster also accepts it as a substitute for "nauseated," but since the same source grudgingly accepts "flaunt" for "flout," not everyone respects the decision.

The thing is, I have always seen or heard it to mean "nauseated," never "nauseating." Not that I can recall all that many instances of "nauseous" offhand, but still. It's not really a new thing either: The last line in Sleeper (1973) goes, "Sex and death -- two things that come once in a lifetime. But at least after death you're not nauseous." The traditional meaning sure wouldn't make sense in that context, and the filmmakers counted on audiences to understand.

As copy editors go, I think I'm not much of a fogy.