War Lord, Lord of War; Blood Bath, Bath of Blood, etc.

Question

Which option of the pairs is correct? And why?

BarbaraPA · Accepted Answer

You've used them with capital letters, which says they are proper names. So the correct version is whatever the proper name is.

In the general sense, pairings like that can be used either way: Secretary of Defense Mickey Mouse or Defense Secretary Mickey Mouse would both appear.

The phrase "a blood bath" is used idiomatically to mean a terrible battle in which there was much blood shed - you would not use it to say Gettysburgh was a terrible bath of blood for both sides, because the idiom is blood bath.

EyeSeeYou · Answer

Thanks for replying. I meant to use them in the general sense. When would you know when it's an idiom? And what about these:

* the door of the house; the house door

* the keyboard of the computer; the computer keyboard

Clive · Answer

Hi,

If you'll permit me to be a little cheeky, is this how Pennsylvanians spell Gettysburg?

Clive (also occasionally creative with spelling)

Matress · Answer

Clive
Hi,

If you'll permit me to be a little cheeky, is this how Pennsylvanians spell Gettysburg?

Clive (also occasionally creative with spelling)

THE GETTYSBURGH ADDRESS

President Abraham Lincoln delivered the Gettysburgh Address on November 19, 1863. Lincoln had gone to Gettysburgh, Pennsylvania, the site of one of the bloodiest battles of the Civil War, to dedicate a military cemetery to the Union dead. President Lincoln was not the featured speaker. This was not to be a federal ceremony, but rather a state run affair. In 1863, even in the North, states rights were still jealously guarded, and the invitation to speak given to Lincoln was a courtesy that need not have been extended.

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Library of Congress to Display Gettysburgh Address National Archives to Display Emancipation Proclamation In Joint Exhibition of Two Milestone Lincoln Documents

For the first time since 1973, the Library of Congress will display one of its two original copies of the Gettysburg Address. Known as the Nicolay copy, one of the first drafts, the two-page document will be on view in Madison Memorial Hall, Madison Building, 101 Independence Avenue S.E. The original will be on view for three days only: January 13, 14, and 16, Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday holiday, and will be replaced with a high- quality facsimile on January 17 through 19. Due to the original document's fragility, the Library's conservators have determined that it can be displayed safely for a maximum of only three days every other year.

http://www.loc.gov/today/pr/1994/94-190.html

Gettysburgh or Gettysburg ? I think the first one is old-fashioned!

BarbaraPA · Answer

That extra H always befuddles me.

MrPedantic · Answer

For general use, I'd say war lord, blood bath, front door, computer keyboard.

"Lord of War" and "Bath of Blood" would make fine titles for a little light reading, though.

MrP

War Lord, Lord of War; Blood Bath, Bath of Blood, etc.

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