The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1898-01-17
Some Few.
The receipt of the following letter from
Philadelphia is hereby acknowledged:
products.

The receipt of the following letter from
Philadelphia is hereby acknowledged:
ITO THE EDITOR OF THE sUy-sir: On THE sus's
editorial page in to-day's issue I notice the use of
the phrase some few Although this expression is
now colloquially used, yet l know that 1t was once
regarded as Pathological. and therefore an offense
against good style. Can THE Sun Justify. or will it
plead by way OF confession and avoidance?
"IfI am right in thinking that a member Of the edi.
torial stan Of the best edited aud most entertaining
newspaper now published has at last made a slip.
then l shall be pleased. 1t is good for US all to realize
that we are but human and fallible.
IAN EARNEST ApMRER.
PHILADELPHIA, Jan. H."
For our friends good words he should get
as good In return, yet he must be reminded
that THE SUN Is wholly human seven days
in the week, being the sworn foe of all
Mugwump p~retensions. For the same rea-
son it never has put on and 1t never will
put on the Mugwump cracked and ~clatter-
ing stills of infallibility. But when our
readers in Philadelphia or anywhere else
don their quizzing glasses and search The
SUN for errors, they want to be very sure
hat they know an error when they think
that they see one. AS far as our observa-
tion goes, most of the occasional critics of
THE Suns English are too rash, too un-
advised and sudden. They rush gayly out
to seek the blood of words and phrases
which are as good English rs anything in
the English language is capable of being. In
lightness Of heart and with much hcaviness
of feet they jump upon the most respectable
idioms. Even 80 does this Philadelphia
throw himself upon the innocent "some
few" 1t is Pathological, he says.
Dear sir, you will never understand the
English language il you try to cut up and
analyze expressions in 1t, or to reject this
and that idiom on the ground of tautology,
or because this or that idiom seems incor-
rect as compared with some similar ex-
preston. A given word or idiom or sen.
tence Is good English simply because it is
good English that Is, because it Is found in
good English writer's. We leave out as In.
essential to the present question the mat
ter of the obsoleteness or obsolescence Of
idioms or words.
Now, what is the standing of "some
few"a A %colloquial expression, according
to the Philadelphia. Let us turn to a mon
ument of the English language, the King
James version of the Bible or, rather, let
us turn to the worthy Mr.. ALEXANDER Cru
DEN's Concordance:
at arose, and some few men with me."-Nehemiab
H., l2.
Now for the Complete Concordance to
SHAKESPEARE:
"some few odd lads
with some few private friends"
And some few yanities."
So much for this ~colloquial and tautc-
logical expression. If our Philadelphia
friend will read the best English authors
from SHAKESPEARE to the present time, he
will find "some few" used some few thou.
sands or hundred thousands of times. The
number is ~unimportant, but probably it
will be found larger than our correspondent
dreams of. May we add hat the next time
he stamps upon an English word or
phrase he should be sure that it is not
better than it looks to himl What led him
to wage war against "some few"i Who
told him that "some few" was once re-
garded as an offence against good style2
Alasl we fear that he has fallen a vic
tim to some of the puddle-headed pedants
who think that their poor little opinions
about the English language are the Ian