Author Topic: emptily common?  (Read 288 times)

TRex

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emptily common?
« on: June 25, 2022, 02:38:52 AM »
Is emptily really a common word? It strikes me as an awkward construction.

ridethetalk

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Re: emptily common?
« Reply #1 on: June 25, 2022, 10:02:18 AM »
Indeed...
The greenest watt ever produced is the one you never use. Playing as jk1956 & John is my name.
When we come out of the Covid-19 crisis, we need to make sure recovery efforts address the Climate Crisis (which can't be solved using social distancing!)

Alan W

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Re: emptily common?
« Reply #2 on: July 28, 2022, 03:17:16 PM »
These days I'm inclined to leave a word with its existing common/rare status unless I'm sure a change is warranted. I'm not sure about emptily. Writers use it in various senses and it doesn't necessarily seem awkward. A couple of examples from books in the British National Corpus: firstly, a literal usage, from King Cameron, by David Craig:

Quote
Aberfeldy was a ghost town. The laddering and scaffolding round the half-built mill reared up emptily like the skeleton of a forest.

And a figurative sense, from The Best Man to Die, by Ruth Rendell:

Quote
Yawning ponderously, he put Clytemnestra outside the back door and while he waited for her, stood staring emptily at the cloudless, star-filled sky.

I don't think many players would doubt that there is such a word as emptily. They might not think of it, but that's what the fiendish game is all about.  >:D

I'm going to leave it as common.
Alan Walker
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