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Tuesday, October 23, 2018

Misreading

In a language as idiomatically stressed as English, opportunities for misreading are bound to arise. By a mere backward movement of stress, a verb can become a noun, an act a thing. To refuse, to insist on saying no to what you believe is wrong, becomes at a stroke refuse, an insurmountable pile of garbage.
~ Ian McEwan
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I read a post by a friend the other day that said he was being "erratic" it was because it was a busy time of year and he was drinking a lot of coffee. At first I read it as "erotic" and thought it odd. 

Of course, I also read the above quote and thought it was said by Sir Ian McKellan, too.

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