"Jeff Morris" wrote in message
...
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.

I'm very surprised. I've got the 1993 edition of the Chambers Dictionary.

It clearly states that using Tidal Wave to describe a tsunami is "improper".

Can dictionary definitions change so quickly???



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.

I'm not a pedant. Furthermore, I didn't "complain" - I "corrected". I
don't believe that it is pedantic to correct a genuine error.

Have you always agreed with Neal's dictionary definitions?




Regards


Donal
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