Donal wrote:
"Capt. Neal®" wrote in message
news:4jjEd.47654$F25.38534@okepread07...

It was a tidal wave.


No, it wasn't.

tid•al wave \"tïd-€l-\ n 1 : an unusually high sea wave that sometimes

follows an earthquake 2 : an unusual rise of water alongshore

due to strong winds

© 1995 Zane Publishing, Inc. The Merriam-Webster Dictionary © 1994 by

Merriam-Webster, Incorporated


Chambers says that the use of "tidal wave" to describe is common, but
improper. You should get yourself a proper dictionary.


That's odd, the online Chambers says:

tidal wave noun 1 non-technical a popular name for a tsunami. 2 loosely
an unusually large ocean wave.

Bowditch uses similar language, though in "Oceanography and Seamanship"
Van Dorn goes so far as to call the phrase the "more-common misnomer."

Misnomer or not, it is the common usage and thus it is pedantry to complain.