On 12 December 2006 18:24, Neil Bothwick wrote: > > I have never seen anyone (except non-native speakers by mistake) use > > mouses as the plural for a computer mouse. Are the people of the Oxford > > dictionary nuts, or is this really correct and mice wrong in this case? > > 1) You have waaaaaaayyyyy too much time on your hands :)
Well, I had to look up the other thing. ;-) > > 2) My OED (2002 edition) says of the computer device "(pl also mouses)" > so they consider both mice and mouses to be correct. Uh, yours is newer than mine (1994). So I am allowed to call them mice. What a relief. > > 3) Bear in mind that a dictionary documents the language as used, not a > set of rule for using it, so if both plurals are accepted usage, both > should be included (you are not alone Alan :) I always thought of the Oxford dictionary as extremely conservative, i.e. it reflects a language in use 30 years ago. BTW, my spellchecker accepts mouses - of course it can't distinguish what I am referring to. Anyway, thanks for answering (to Alan as well). Uwe -- Mark Twain: I rather decline two drinks than a German adjective. http://www.SysEx.com.na -- gentoo-user@gentoo.org mailing list
