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Bely?
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Peter Young
Apr 11, 2012, 12:43:15 PM4/11/12
to
This phrase from "The Lost Kingdoms of Africa" by Gus Casely-Hayford,
brought me up short: " ... the niceness of the garden that surrounds
the site bely the reality of what happened here". I've never seen that
spelling before, and would have used "belie". Of the dictionaries I
have, Samuel Johnson is the only one that recognises the word, as
"Bely: see belie", though Chambers 20th Century, 1983 edition, gives
"belying" as past tense of belie. I don't have the full OED, but the
Shorter OED certainly doesn't recognise it.
In view of Johnson, I wonder if it could be an older usage which has
maybe persisted in AmE. However, the author, though of Ghanaian
ancestry, is at least as British as I am.
Any ideas?
Peter.
--
Peter Young, (BrE, RP), Consultant Anaesthetist, 1975-2004.
(US equivalent: Certified Anesthesiologist)
Cheltenham and Gloucester, UK. Now happily retired.
http://pnyoung.orpheusweb.co.uk
brought me up short: " ... the niceness of the garden that surrounds
the site bely the reality of what happened here". I've never seen that
spelling before, and would have used "belie". Of the dictionaries I
have, Samuel Johnson is the only one that recognises the word, as
"Bely: see belie", though Chambers 20th Century, 1983 edition, gives
"belying" as past tense of belie. I don't have the full OED, but the
Shorter OED certainly doesn't recognise it.
In view of Johnson, I wonder if it could be an older usage which has
maybe persisted in AmE. However, the author, though of Ghanaian
ancestry, is at least as British as I am.
Any ideas?
Peter.
--
Peter Young, (BrE, RP), Consultant Anaesthetist, 1975-2004.
(US equivalent: Certified Anesthesiologist)
Cheltenham and Gloucester, UK. Now happily retired.
http://pnyoung.orpheusweb.co.uk
Don Phillipson
Apr 11, 2012, 1:38:20 PM4/11/12
to
"Peter Young" <pny...@ormail.co.uk> wrote in message
news:faf9d37e5...@pnyoung.ormail.co.uk...
> This phrase from "The Lost Kingdoms of Africa" by Gus Casely-Hayford,
> brought me up short: " ... the niceness of the garden that surrounds
> the site bely the reality of what happened here". I've never seen that
> spelling before, and would have used "belie". Of the dictionaries I have
> . . .
Only a typo would have prompted this, viz. the error that the verb bely
appears
plural here, but its subject niceness is singular. Were the sentence
correct
it would read belies, which must be the 3d person indicative of the verb
whether spelled bely or belie.
--
Don Phillipson
Carlsbad Springs
(Ottawa, Canada)
news:faf9d37e5...@pnyoung.ormail.co.uk...
> This phrase from "The Lost Kingdoms of Africa" by Gus Casely-Hayford,
> brought me up short: " ... the niceness of the garden that surrounds
> the site bely the reality of what happened here". I've never seen that
> spelling before, and would have used "belie". Of the dictionaries I have
Only a typo would have prompted this, viz. the error that the verb bely
appears
plural here, but its subject niceness is singular. Were the sentence
correct
it would read belies, which must be the 3d person indicative of the verb
whether spelled bely or belie.
--
Don Phillipson
Carlsbad Springs
(Ottawa, Canada)
Peter Duncanson (BrE)
Apr 11, 2012, 2:28:23 PM4/11/12
to
On Wed, 11 Apr 2012 17:43:15 +0100, Peter Young <pny...@ormail.co.uk>
wrote:
>This phrase from "The Lost Kingdoms of Africa" by Gus Casely-Hayford,
>brought me up short: " ... the niceness of the garden that surrounds
>the site bely the reality of what happened here". I've never seen that
>spelling before, and would have used "belie". Of the dictionaries I
>have, Samuel Johnson is the only one that recognises the word, as
>"Bely: see belie", though Chambers 20th Century, 1983 edition, gives
>"belying" as past tense of belie. I don't have the full OED, but the
>Shorter OED certainly doesn't recognise it.
>
The full OED gives various spellings used in various centuries. "bely",
"belyed" and "bely'd" were not used after the 18C.
>In view of Johnson, I wonder if it could be an older usage which has
>maybe persisted in AmE. However, the author, though of Ghanaian
>ancestry, is at least as British as I am.
>
>Any ideas?
>
>Peter.
--
Peter Duncanson, UK
(in alt.usage.english)
wrote:
>This phrase from "The Lost Kingdoms of Africa" by Gus Casely-Hayford,
>brought me up short: " ... the niceness of the garden that surrounds
>the site bely the reality of what happened here". I've never seen that
>spelling before, and would have used "belie". Of the dictionaries I
>have, Samuel Johnson is the only one that recognises the word, as
>"Bely: see belie", though Chambers 20th Century, 1983 edition, gives
>"belying" as past tense of belie. I don't have the full OED, but the
>Shorter OED certainly doesn't recognise it.
>
"belyed" and "bely'd" were not used after the 18C.
>In view of Johnson, I wonder if it could be an older usage which has
>maybe persisted in AmE. However, the author, though of Ghanaian
>ancestry, is at least as British as I am.
>
>Any ideas?
>
>Peter.
--
(in alt.usage.english)
Mark Brader
Apr 11, 2012, 2:31:15 PM4/11/12
to
Peter Young:
Perhaps the writer came up with "bely" by back-formation from "belies"
or "belied", which I would think occur more often than "belie".
Don Phillipson:
--
Mark Brader, Toronto "... people are *always* doing stuff ...
m...@vex.net that I wish were typos" --Marcy Thompson
>> This phrase from "The Lost Kingdoms of Africa" by Gus Casely-Hayford,
>> brought me up short: " ... the niceness of the garden that surrounds
>> the site bely the reality of what happened here". I've never seen that
>> spelling before, and would have used "belie". ...
>> brought me up short: " ... the niceness of the garden that surrounds
>> the site bely the reality of what happened here". I've never seen that
Perhaps the writer came up with "bely" by back-formation from "belies"
or "belied", which I would think occur more often than "belie".
Don Phillipson:
> Only a typo would have prompted this, viz. the error that the verb bely
> appears plural here, but its subject niceness is singular.
Well, some sort of error, but not necessarily a typo.
> appears plural here, but its subject niceness is singular.
--
Mark Brader, Toronto "... people are *always* doing stuff ...
m...@vex.net that I wish were typos" --Marcy Thompson
Peter Young
Apr 11, 2012, 5:40:26 PM4/11/12
to
suburban British architecture and the niceness of the garden bely
...", so the incorrect verb is in fact in the correct tense.
Interesting about the comment from the full OED downthread. I'd
certainly never come across it. Then, didn't Francis Bacon comment
about the mental poverty of a man who could only spell a word in one
way?
Glenn Knickerbocker
Apr 11, 2012, 6:13:46 PM4/11/12
to
On 4/11/2012 2:31 PM, Mark Brader wrote:
> Perhaps the writer came up with "bely" by back-formation from "belies"
> or "belied",
or even "belying."
> Perhaps the writer came up with "bely" by back-formation from "belies"
> or "belied",
ŹR
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