Wednesday, February 19, 2014

Quice?

A friend and I were discussing whether there is a word for "four times" in the fashion of "once," "twice," "trice," etc.  The conversation led us to this link (bottom line: no, there is not).  I liked this comment:

"There is a charming book by Alastair Reid, called Ounce, Dice, Trice in which (among many other kinds of wordplay) he creates novel numbering systems. From memory, one is 'ounce, dice, trice, quartz, quince, sago, serpent, oculist, novelist, dentist.'"

"How many times did she wallop him with a damp trout?  Oculist!"

Wednesday, February 5, 2014