(no subject)
I learnt an Amazing Fact about the English language the other day. It concerns the expression "it's the exception that proves the rule," which has always seemed nonsensical to me. Surely it does the exact opposite: if the rule is "all swans are white" and you see a black swan, it definitely doesn't prove that all swans are white.
But apparently this is a misunderstanding caused by mis-pronounciation. The word in that phrase is not "proves" but "proves." Prove is spelt the same as prove but it's pronounced differently: the o is pronounced like the o in "bone" instead of like the oo in "soon." It's an archaic word whose meaning is similar to that of "probe" or "test." When you pronounce it that way the expression makes sense.
But the Fact is this: the English language contains two words that are spelt the same and can be used in the same context to mean the exact opposite of each other. Amazing!
But apparently this is a misunderstanding caused by mis-pronounciation. The word in that phrase is not "proves" but "proves." Prove is spelt the same as prove but it's pronounced differently: the o is pronounced like the o in "bone" instead of like the oo in "soon." It's an archaic word whose meaning is similar to that of "probe" or "test." When you pronounce it that way the expression makes sense.
But the Fact is this: the English language contains two words that are spelt the same and can be used in the same context to mean the exact opposite of each other. Amazing!