baseball terms

[Peter Hirdt]

Should the noun "ground out" be spelled as one word or two? Should
"fly out" follow the same form? And on what basis would determine
this? Some dictionaries include "groundout" as an entry, always as a
single word. But none that I have seen includes "flyout" (or, for
that matter, "fly out"), somewhat reducing their credibility, to my
way of thinking, on "groundout".

Would the same rules apply to "fly ball" and "ground ball"?

And finally, what about "center field" and "center fielder"--two words
or one?

Answer via e-mail, if possible, in addition to posting to the group.
Thanks.

[db...@utdallas.edu]

Peter Hirdt (Pe...@esb.com) wrote:
: Should the noun "ground out" be spelled as one word or two?

Two words!

: Should

: "fly out" follow the same form?

Absolutely!

: And on what basis would determine
: this?

We never say "Gonzalez groundouted," but we always say "Gonzalez grounded out."

: Some dictionaries include "groundout" as an entry, always as a
: single word.

I protest those dictionary entries.

But none that I have seen includes "flyout" (or, for
: that matter, "fly out"), somewhat reducing their credibility, to my
: way of thinking, on "groundout".

Yes, you noticed.

: Would the same rules apply to "fly ball" and "ground ball"?

"fly ball" and "ground ball" are always written as two words in accounts of
baseball games. But not for the same reason as "fly out" and "ground out"
because those are verbs; these are nouns

: And finally, what about "center field" and "center fielder"--two words
: or one?

Two words! Although in everyday speech, people often smush them into one word.

: Answer via e-mail, if possible, in addition to posting to the group.
: Thanks.

Douglas Bass
db...@utdallas.edu

[Max Crittenden]

In article <DsJCM...@news2.new-york.net>, Pe...@esb.com (Peter Hirdt) wrote:

> Should the noun "ground out" be spelled as one word or two? Should
> "fly out" follow the same form? And on what basis would determine
> this?

I'd say "groundout" is acceptable as a noun, not as a verb. For some
reason "flyout" doesn't work for me, maybe because of the concatenation
of vowels. But since the stress is on the first syllable it's not
altogether unreasonable to make one word out of the two.

> Would the same rules apply to "fly ball" and "ground ball"?

I think that most people give approximately equal stress to the two
syllables in those terms (because the second syllable is a noun?),
so the noun shouldn't be subsumed into a single word.

> And finally, what about "center field" and "center fielder"--two words
> or one?

John Fogarty (formerly of Creedence Clearwater Revival) titled his
big comeback album _Centerfield_. To me, that's all wrong. It
subordinates the noun "field", which should carry at least equal
weight to "center".

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Max Crittenden STRIKE SLIP, Merit 25 Menlo Park, Calif.