"Many + a + singular noun"
Koji Hishinuma
I am an interpreter working in Japan.
This interpreter who works with me
sometimes says,
"Many a room......," "Many a person........,"
"Many a meeting," and so on.
I know in "Hotel California" (by the Eagles)
there is a phrase that goes, " Many a room
at the Hotel California," but in that case it
does not sound funny since it is a part of
the lyrics, right?
My question is how such usage sounds in
daily conversations. I think it sounds a little
strange. Do you agree with me?
I would appreciate your answer on this question.
===============================
Koji Hishinuma
Tokyo, Japan
===============================
Angela Kodrycka-Thomas
I am reading a book by V.C Andrews and I just came across this "many
a something" and I thought it was incorrect, it didn't sound right for
me for some reason. I checked my grammar books and there is nothing about
that. My understanding is that it's an old way of using many.
'many' + plural noun = many books
or 'many' +a+ singular noun = many a book
Angela
Lars Eighner
<8ggigm$3c7$1...@newsflood.tokyo.att.ne.jp>, the lovely and
talented Koji Hishinuma broadcast on alt.usage.english:
KH> Hi, there!!! I am an interpreter working in Japan.
KH> This interpreter who works with me sometimes says, "Many
KH> a room......," "Many a person........," "Many a
KH> meeting," and so on.
This construction is idiomatic, but it is not especially
common.
KH> I know in "Hotel California" (by the Eagles) there is a
KH> phrase that goes, " Many a room at the Hotel
KH> California," but in that case it does not sound funny
KH> since it is a part of the lyrics, right?
The construction is somewhat poetic or proverbial.
It is used in general expressions such as:
Many a gambler has gone broke in Las Vegas.
Like many proverbial expressions, no particular
group of gamblers is meant.
KH> My question is how such usage sounds in daily
KH> conversations. I think it sounds a little strange. Do
KH> you agree with me?
It is not common in conversational English. It is,
as I have said, more common in poetry and proverbs.
--
Lars Eighner eig...@io.com http://www.io.com/~eighner/
700 Hearn #101 Austin TX 78703 (512)474-1920 (FAX answers 6th ring)
"Any writer, I suppose, feels that the world into which he was born is nothing
less than a conspiracy against the cultivation of his talent." --James Baldwin
Richard Fontana
> I am an interpreter working in Japan.
> This interpreter who works with me
> sometimes says,
> "Many a room......," "Many a person........,"
> "Many a meeting," and so on.
>
> I know in "Hotel California" (by the Eagles)
> there is a phrase that goes, " Many a room
> at the Hotel California," but in that case it
> does not sound funny since it is a part of
> the lyrics, right?
You're right that you can get away with things in lyrics that you can't
get away with in ordinary speech. (Didn't Garry Vass post something about
"pink champagne on ice" a while back?)
> My question is how such usage sounds in
> daily conversations. I think it sounds a little
> strange. Do you agree with me?
It's not strange, and is a very familiar construction, but it probably
wouldn't be encountered much in daily conversation. It's a bit poetic,
and in addition to poetry it might be found in formal, somewhat
old-fashioned speech.
RF
Robert Lipton
Angela Kodrycka-Thomas wrote:
> I am reading a book by V.C Andrews and I just came across this "many a
> something" and I thought it was incorrect, it didn't sound right for
> me for some reason. I checked my grammar books and there is nothing
> about that. My understanding is that it's an old way of using many.
> 'many' + plural noun = many books
> or 'many' +a+ singular noun = many a book
>
How about this song from Rodger's & Hammerstein's OKLAHOMA!
Why should a woman who is healthy and strong,
Blubber like a baby if her man goes away?
A-weepin' and a-wailin' how he done her wrong,
That's one thing you'll never hear me say!
Never gonna' think that the man I lose is the only man among
men.
I'll snap my fingers to show I don't care;
I'll buy me a brand new dress to wear;
I'll scrub my neck and I'll brush my hair,
And start all over again.
Many a new face will please my eye,
Many a new love will find me;
Never've I once looked back to sigh over the romance behind
me;
Many a new day will dawn before I do!
Many a light lad may kiss and fly,
A kiss gone by is bygone.
Never've I asked an August sky, "Where has last July gone?"
Never've I wandered through the rye, wondering where has some
guy gone;
Many a new day will dawn before I do!
Many a new face will please my eye,
Many a new love will find me;
Never've I once looked back to sigh over the romance behind
me;
Many a new day will dawn before I do!
Many a light lad may kiss and fly,
A kiss gone by is bygone.
Never've I asked an August sky, "Where has last July gone?"
Never've I wandered through the rye, wondering where has some
guy gone;
Many a new day will dawn before I do!
Many a red sun will set!
Many a blue moon will shine before I do!
Bob
Matt Curtin
Hi,
Koji> My question is how such usage sounds in daily conversations. I
Koji> think it sounds a little strange. Do you agree with me?
I would not agree. I've used the construction many a time.
In fairness, though, it isn't as common as "many times", at least in
the US.
--
Matt Curtin cmcu...@interhack.net http://www.interhack.net/people/cmcurtin/
Dennis Bathory-Kitsz
>
> It's not strange, and is a very familiar construction, but it probably
> wouldn't be encountered much in daily conversation.
You'd encounter it quite a bit here in Vermont, where language still has
an older feel, even speaking of contemporary topics. (Parse this common
construction: "There's many a program crash soon as look at the sucka.")
Dennis
--
Dennis Báthory-Kitsz
MaltedMedia Productions: http://maltedmedia.com/
Kalvos & Damian's New Music Bazaar: http://kalvos.org/
The Transitive Empire: http://maltedmedia.com/empire/
OrbitAccess Accessibility: http://orbitaccess.com/
Lullaby for Bill Gates: http://www.mp3.com/bathory/
ICQ: 10526261 / AIM: DBathory
Robert E. Lewis
Koji Hishinuma wrote:
>
> Hi, there!!!
>
> This interpreter who works with me
> sometimes says,
> "Many a room......," "Many a person........,"
> "Many a meeting," and so on.
>
> I know in "Hotel California" (by the Eagles)
> there is a phrase that goes, " Many a room
> at the Hotel California," but in that case it
> does not sound funny since it is a part of
> the lyrics, right?
>
> strange. Do you agree with me?
>
>
> ===============================
> Koji Hishinuma
> Tokyo, Japan
> ===============================
My initial reaction to "many a...." is that it sounds rather
old-fashioned and flowery, and that it would be out of place
in modern conversation (though fine in a song lyric or
poem).
My other sense is that the phrase implies that, while it may
refer to many of a thing, it usually refers to them in a
non-group context. That it, "many people walked down the
path...." indicates (often) that a group or groups of many
people traveled the path together, while "many a person
walked down the path..." would more likely describe many
instances of individuals walking down the path.
-- Robert
Evan Kirshenbaum
> I know in "Hotel California" (by the Eagles) there is a phrase that
> goes, " Many a room at the Hotel California," but in that case it
> does not sound funny since it is a part of the lyrics, right?
Others have discussed the general "many an X" idiom, but as far as I
can tell nobody has pointed out that the phrase in "Hotel California"
is "plenty of room", not "many a room". See
http://cui.unige.ch/~deguilla/lyrics/Hotel_California.html
--
Evan Kirshenbaum +------------------------------------
HP Laboratories |"You can't prove it *isn't* so!" is
1501 Page Mill Road, Building 1U |as good as Q.E.D. in folk logic--as
Palo Alto, CA 94304 |though it were necessary to submit
|a piece of the moon to chemical
kirsh...@hpl.hp.com |analysis before you could be sure
(650)857-7572 |that it was not made of green
|cheese.
| Bergen Evans
Pat Meadows
<cmcu...@interhack.net> wrote:
>>>>>> "Koji" == Koji Hishinuma <koj...@tkh.att.ne.jp> writes:
>
>Hi,
>
> Koji> My question is how such usage sounds in daily conversations. I
> Koji> think it sounds a little strange. Do you agree with me?
>
>I would not agree. I've used the construction many a time.
I have, too. The one which immediately springs to my
mind is: Many a girl is walking the streets of Paris
because she forgot to pull trump. (I'm a duplicate bridge
player.)
Another one (I think) in fairly common use is "Many a man
would have made a meal out of that!" - a comment, I think,
that the speaker could use more of the food.
>In fairness, though, it isn't as common as "many times", at least in
>the US.
That's true.
Pat
Margaret and Kathleen
would be unlikely to hear it at an English-language business meeting, for
example. To my ears, its sounds a little folksy. It's certainly not part of
standard business English.
Margaret Doney mk...@idirect.com
Translation into English from French and Spanish
Koji Hishinuma <koj...@tkh.att.ne.jp> wrote in message
news:8ggigm$3c7$1...@newsflood.tokyo.att.ne.jp...
> Hi, there!!!
>
> I am an interpreter working in Japan.
> This interpreter who works with me
> sometimes says,
> "Many a room......," "Many a person........,"
> "Many a meeting," and so on.
>
> I know in "Hotel California" (by the Eagles)
> there is a phrase that goes, " Many a room
> at the Hotel California," but in that case it
> does not sound funny since it is a part of
> the lyrics, right?
>
> My question is how such usage sounds in
> daily conversations. I think it sounds a little
> strange. Do you agree with me?
>
peter
"Angela Kodrycka-Thomas" <ang...@polbox.com> wrote in message news:392BD717...@polbox.com...Hello,
I am reading a book by V.C Andrews and I just came across this "many a something" and I thought it was incorrect, it didn't sound right for me for some reason. I checked my grammar books and there is nothing about that. My understanding is that it's an old way of using many.
'many' + plural noun = many books
or 'many' +a+ singular noun = many a book
Angela
PP I cannot resist inserting an old Scottish saying
'Many a mickle makes a muckle'
I suppose this is using the Lallans dialect of English that Rabbie Burns employed
and again where Lallans I presume means Lowlands as opposed to the Gaelic of the Highlands of Scotland.
It means, incidentally, that a collection of small things (especially small coins) makes a worthy sum
Koji Hishinuma wrote:
Hi, there!!!
I am an interpreter working in Japan.
This interpreter who works with me
sometimes says,
"Many a room......," "Many a person........,"
"Many a meeting," and so on.
I know in "Hotel California" (by the Eagles)
there is a phrase that goes, " Many a room
at the Hotel California," but in that case it
does not sound funny since it is a part of
the lyrics, right?
My question is how such usage sounds in
daily conversations. I think it sounds a little
strange. Do you agree with me?
I would appreciate your answer on this question.
===============================
Koji Hishinuma
Tokyo, Japan
PP Would I be correct in saying that it is poetic or archaic?
'Many a rose is born to blush unseen' ....or something like that comes to mind.
Peter P
Koji Hishinuma
Angela, Lars, Matt, Dennis, Robert, Margaret
and Garry.
It seems that I can conclude that it is better
for me as a business interpreter not to use
such a form.
I might start to lose the sense that this expression
sounds a little out of place since I will still be hearing
it from her often, though.
I might tell her what all of you are saying to convince
her that my original sense was not that out of line.
Thank you very much again, everyone.
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KOJI HISHINUMA TOKYO, JAPAN
Philip 'Yes, that's my address' Newton
<koj...@tkh.att.ne.jp> wrote:
> |||||||| |||| |||||| |||||||||| ||||||||
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I suggest that you use a non-proportional (monospased) font such as
Courier when composing ASCII art.
This looks a little like K-joined-to-3, I-with-a-curved-stem,
I-with-the-top-bar-moved-to-the-right, C. K3IIC?
Cheers,
Philip
--
Philip Newton <nospam...@gmx.li>
If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the precipitate.
Koji Hishinuma
Philip 'Yes, that's my address' Newton <nospam...@gmx.li> wrote in
message news:392d6bab....@news.nikoma.de...
Thank you very much for your warning.
I would have kept looking stupid without it.
I really appreciate it !!!
Koji Hishinuma Tokyo, Japan
Simon R. Hughes
Nobody wants their ASCII art to make them look stupid, eh?
--
Simon R. Hughes -- http://sult.8m.no/
Quoting Usenet postings in follow-ups -- http://sult.8m.no/quote.html
Garry J. Vass
news:Pine.GSO.4.10.100052...@merhaba.cc.columbia.edu...
> On Wed, 24 May 2000, Koji Hishinuma wrote:
>
> > This interpreter who works with me
> > sometimes says,
> > "Many a room......," "Many a person........,"
> > "Many a meeting," and so on.
> >
> > I know in "Hotel California" (by the Eagles)
> > there is a phrase that goes, " Many a room
> > at the Hotel California," but in that case it
> > does not sound funny since it is a part of
> > the lyrics, right?
>
> get away with in ordinary speech. (Didn't Garry Vass post something about
> "pink champagne on ice" a while back?)
>
Yes. My problem with pink champagne on ice is who was the dolt that ordered
*that*?
Jack Gavin
>Richard Fontana <re...@columbia.edu> wrote in message
>news:Pine.GSO.4.10.100052...@merhaba.cc.columbia.edu...
>>
>> get away with in ordinary speech. (Didn't Garry Vass post something
about
>> "pink champagne on ice" a while back?)
>>
>
>Yes. My problem with pink champagne on ice is who was the dolt that
ordered
>*that*?
Consider your apparent fears of having the stuff poured over ice as
allayed.
The LP interpretation is generally that the *bottle* is in one of those
long-stemmed flower pots filled with ice. (The kind where pulling out the
bottle may allow the ice to settle, making reinsertion problematic.)
Or do you RPs take pink champagne at the same temperature as ale?
--
Jack Gavin
Robert E. Lewis
>
> Richard Fontana <re...@columbia.edu> wrote in message
> news:Pine.GSO.4.10.100052...@merhaba.cc.columbia.edu...
> >
> > >
> > > I know in "Hotel California" (by the Eagles)
> > > there is a phrase that goes, " Many a room
> > > at the Hotel California," but in that case it
> > > does not sound funny since it is a part of
> > > the lyrics, right?
> >
> > get away with in ordinary speech. (Didn't Garry Vass post something about
> > "pink champagne on ice" a while back?)
> >
>
> Yes. My problem with pink champagne on ice is who was the dolt that ordered
> *that*?
You would chill a bottle of pink champagne by putting it on
ice, in an ice bucket, before drinking it, no? That's what
I assumed the lyrics meant, rather than pink champagne "over
ice," - meaning poured into a glass containing ice.
I must admit, though, that for years I thought the lyrics
were, "Mirrors on the ceiling, depicting pain on ice."
--Robert
Linz
"Jack Gavin" <jackgavi...@home.com> wrote in message
news:rHM_4.112010$R4.6...@news1.rdc1.nj.home.com...
> > dolt that ordered *that*?
>
> ice as allayed.
>
> The LP interpretation is generally that the *bottle* is in one
> of those long-stemmed flower pots filled with ice. (The kind
> where pulling out the bottle may allow the ice to settle,
> making reinsertion problematic.)
That was this RPian's interpretation of the line, certainly.
> Or do you RPs take pink champagne at the same temperature as
> ale?
No. But then, I wouldn't drink pink champagne.
--
In America everyone blames everyone else for anything.
In England, blame is kept purely for the weather.
Stephen Toogood
net.co.uk> writes
>
>"Jack Gavin" <jackgavi...@home.com> wrote in message
>news:rHM_4.112010$R4.6...@news1.rdc1.nj.home.com...
>> Garry J. Vass wrote in message
><8hfi72$b41$1...@apple.news.easynet.net>...
>> >
>> >Yes. My problem with pink champagne on ice is who was the
>> > dolt that ordered *that*?
>>
>> Consider your apparent fears of having the stuff poured over
>> ice as allayed.
>>
>> The LP interpretation is generally that the *bottle* is in one
>> of those long-stemmed flower pots filled with ice. (The kind
>> where pulling out the bottle may allow the ice to settle,
>> making reinsertion problematic.)
>
>That was this RPian's interpretation of the line, certainly.
>
>> Or do you RPs take pink champagne at the same temperature as
>> ale?
>
>No. But then, I wouldn't drink pink champagne.
>
Does pink champagne have this unbearably louche image, suggesting a type
of man with whom you (understandably) avoid?
Brothel creepers, cravats and blazers with brass buttons?
Step into your local Somerfield or Sainsbury's and pick up (£4.99 when I
last tried) a bottle of own-brand Rose Cava, which is quite acceptable
in quality, and an equal volume of dry stout (Guinness is no good now
that it isn't bottle-conditioned any more; try Burton Bridge or
Freeminers). Mix a glass at a time in a jug and transfer to a red wine
glass. Drink with a bacon sandwich. This is excellent for the morning
after.
Then tell me you wouldn't drink pink champagne.
--
Stephen Toogood
Garry J. Vass
news:8hlafk$1rko$1...@probity.mcc.ac.uk...
>
>
> No. But then, I wouldn't drink pink champagne.
>
My point exactly! A waste of perfectly good ice cubes...
Linz
"Garry J. Vass" <g...@totally-official.com> wrote in message
news:8hnvb1$6j7$1...@apple.news.easynet.net...
A good drink has no truck with ice.
--
Don't stop thinking about tomorrow
Don't stop, it'll soon be here
Linz
> In article <8hlafk$1rko$1...@probity.mcc.ac.uk>, Linz <linz@REMOVETHISeidos
> net.co.uk> writes
> >
> >No. But then, I wouldn't drink pink champagne.
> >
> I have to ask you, is the provenance you object to, or the pinkness?
>
> Does pink champagne have this unbearably louche image, suggesting a type
> of man with whom you (understandably) avoid?
That's the one. Of course, I shouldn't make a judgment without trying
the thing, but the reputation...
> Brothel creepers, cravats and blazers with brass buttons?
>
> Step into your local Somerfield or Sainsbury's and pick up (£4.99 when I
> last tried) a bottle of own-brand Rose Cava, which is quite acceptable
> in quality, and an equal volume of dry stout (Guinness is no good now
> that it isn't bottle-conditioned any more; try Burton Bridge or
> Freeminers). Mix a glass at a time in a jug and transfer to a red wine
> glass. Drink with a bacon sandwich. This is excellent for the morning
> after.
Hm. Now, this I might be tempted to try. Possibly. Right now, though,
the idea makes me feel a little green around the gills.
> Then tell me you wouldn't drink pink champagne.
I'll get back to you...
--
It's that Linz, she's like a sort of usenet oynpx ubyr,
gathering groupies as she moves from arjfgroup to arjfgroup.
L Casey, urs
Garry J. Vass
news:x61APiAF...@stenches.demon.co.uk...
> >
>
> Step into your local Somerfield or Sainsbury's and pick up (£4.99 when I
> last tried) a bottle of own-brand Rose Cava, which is quite acceptable
> in quality, and an equal volume of dry stout (Guinness is no good now
> that it isn't bottle-conditioned any more; try Burton Bridge or
> Freeminers). Mix a glass at a time in a jug and transfer to a red wine
> glass. Drink with a bacon sandwich. This is excellent for the morning
> after.
>
I've been trying a mixture of Red Bull and Port, which is delightful
(seriously) at roughly 3:1 ratios, gradually attaining a 1:1 ratio as the
evening wears on. But only in the evenings. For the mornings after, I
suggest dropping 2 Alka Seltzers into a glass of chilled tomato juice and
letting them dissolve in it.
Nice visuals too...
GJV
"A young Parisian woman came to London recently to drown herself in the
river. It is curious how the Thames attracts people from far away..." -
Roni Horn