RapidsMy first reaction to this suggestion was that it should clearly be accepted, as
rapid is an adjective, and not the singular of
rapids.
However, on looking into it, I find that most dictionaries have a listing for
rapid as a singular noun, meaning a stretch of a river with fast-moving water, while noting that it is "usually" used in the plural. The singular usage does seem to be quite rare. One example quoted in the OED is from a 1900 letter by Bernard Shaw: "We steered the Society safely through a rapid in which it might have been wrecked." At the same time, the form
rapids is sometimes treated as a singular word, though this is also fairly rare: "As with most things, there is more than one way to shoot a rapids." (
Death on the Barrens, 2010, by George James Grinnell.)
I'm still inclined to think
rapids should be allowed, since the singular
rapid is little-used, and the word
rapid is overwhelmingly used as an adjective.
DuesSo does my thinking about
rapids justify a re-think about
dues?
When I discussed it before,
here, I relied on the fact that
due is quite commonly used as a singular noun, in expressions like "give him his due". I suppose the weak point in that argument is that this usage has a different meaning from the normal sense of
dues, as a membership fee, or in the figurative sense of "paying your dues", meaning to go through hardships. And the singular
due, being almost invariably preceded by a possessive ("her due", "his due", etc), has become an idiomatic construction, where the word
due tends to lose its character as a noun in its own right.
I'm always hesitant to allow a plural, for fear that I'll create a precedent that will open the way for hordes of other plurals. But perhaps the reality of how
dues and
due are normally used justifies me revising my previous ruling.
So, unless anyone can persuade me otherwise, I'll allow both
rapids and
dues. And, as both words are quite well known, I don't think I have any choice but to make them common words.
