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Usenet Posted 23 years ago
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[p][f]ernickety

The word, I thought, was "pernickety". Yourdictionary.com thinks it's really "persnickety" (huh? never heard of it). However, I often hear people say "fernickety". When did this happen? The transmogrification, I mean.
And while we're about it, what about rumbustious/rambunctious? I prefer the former, but how did they get bifurcated?

Edward

The reading group's reading group:
http://www.bookgroup.org.uk
  

Top answer

[nq:1]The word, I thought, was "pernickety". com thinks it's really "persnickety" (huh? [/nq] According to Burchfield, the variant "persnickety" has been around since the beginning of the 20th century, but it's restricted to AmEng.

— Usenet

  • [nq:1]The word, I thought, was "pernickety".
  • com thinks it's really "persnickety" (huh?
  • [/nq] According to Burchfield, the variant "persnickety" has been around since the beginning of the 20th century, but it's restricted to AmEng.
  • [nq:1]However, I often hear people say "fernickety".
  • When did this happen?
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2 Answers
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[nq:1]The word, I thought, was "pernickety". Yourdictionary.com thinks it's really "persnickety" (huh? never heard of it).[/nq]
According to Burchfield, the variant "persnickety" has been around since the beginning of the 20th century, but it's restricted to AmEng.
[nq:1]However, I often hear people say "fernickety". When did this happen? The transmogrification, I mean.[/nq]
That's one
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[nq:1]On 19 Nov 2003, Edward wrote[/nq]
Personally I put it down to ignorance, like burglery and nucular. But what do I know? Please don't trouble to answer that.

Edward

The reading group's reading group:
http://www.bookgroup.org.uk
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