Re: Gnomic aorist in English?

Carl W. Conrad (cwconrad@artsci.wustl.edu)
Wed, 30 Apr 1997 12:53:53 -0500

At 11:06 AM -0500 4/30/97, Jonathan Robie wrote:
>Is this a gnomic aorist?
>
>"Curiosity killed the cat."

Depends on how many lives the cat has. Sort of like "Pop goes the weasel!"
(or perhaps it should best be called a "hysterical present"?)

Carl W. Conrad
Department of Classics, Washington University
One Brookings Drive, St. Louis, MO, USA 63130
(314) 935-4018
cwconrad@artsci.wustl.edu OR cwc@oui.com
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