Newsgroup: it.cultura.linguistica.inglese
Titolo: Pedicure/petticure

Dear Realmers,
I am wondering if someone is able to enlighten me with regards to the
variation in spelling of the word which I have always spelt 'pedicure' but
which I see is also spelt 'petticure'.  Is it an Americanism?
The OED makes no reference to the 'petti-' spelling, nor do any of the
dictionaries I have.
For the record, it is not that I am in need of one, but it has only recently
come to my attention that the 'petti-' spelling exists and I am curious to
know from whence it comes.
Any enlightenment would be much appreciated.
--
I remain, as always, ecc., ecc.,
Bambi
dtb

Any enlightenment would be much appreciated.
--
Harlan Messinger
There are no Zs in my actual e-mail address.

 considered acceptable by anyone.
[....]
Dear Harlan,
Thank you for your reply.
I have as I said, seen the word pedicure spelt 'petticure' more than once.
I will not bore the group overly, and merely include below a few pasted
excerpts from one hastily conducted search on the Internet which in fact
returned many uses of this spelling.
The use of the word in an American
sit-com (Friends)  as well as sites hosted by American providers (and the
majority of the quotes below are taken from such sites), leads me to suspect
that it is 'an accepted' Americanism, though I am entirely in agreement with
you that widespread use of the word does not make it 'correct'.
My question remain however, as to whether it is an Americanism.
Excerpts from Web sites where the word petticure has been used:
1/    - House dad Todd shall not be attending next weekend.  I'm having a
long awaited petticure to rid myself of my Cammarata-ish toenail fungus
problems...
2/ Rachel: Oh Pheebs, is that a new ankle bracelet?
Monica: Wow! And you got a petticure. Your feet are all dressed up.
3/ [scene: A beauty parlour, Rachel is getting a manicure while Chandler,
yes Chandler, is getting a petticure.]
4/ We are meeting in the morning at 8:50. I am having my nails done and she
is getting a petticure
5/ You are proud of your calloused feet and would never dream of getting a
petticure!
6/ Go in for transplant, come out with petticure


 terms.
I wonder if it's a reference to pet pedicures. Dog grooming type stuff.
American maybe?
cheers,
Loki

6/ Go in for transplant, come out with petticure
--


 "advice" is meant, and also has poor punctuation.
[snip]
Dear Harlan,
A detailed response which must have taken you quite some time to analyse and
report so thoroughly and for which I am sure the group is grateful.
I am neither an advocate of nor a believer in incorrect spelling and your
pointing out in such detail the many errors in documents you found on the
Internet would seem to me to show that which most of us already know; many
people can't spell properly, myself included.
If I might just reply to a few points raised in your last message as there
seems to be some confusion. You wrote:
    > The fact that more than one person misspells a word the same way does
    > not mean it's a correct spelling.
I include here a line taken from my previous response which seems to me to
show that on this we agree:
    > I am entirely in agreement with
    >you that widespread use of the word does not make it 'correct'
You further wrote:
    >you can't just use multiple appearances of a spelling as
    > a guide to whether it's considered proper or not, either by all
    > speakers or in a particular country. To call it an Americanism is
    > absurd
Indeed one shouldn't use multiple appearances of a spelling as a guide to
whether it is considered correct spelling or not, and if I might point out
that I was not in fact so doing.
I was _asking_ , and specifically I was asking if it was an Americanism.
Perhaps I should more clearly have asked if it was considered correct
spelling in America.
    >To call it an Americanism is absurd
In your (strongly stated) opinion, to which of course you are entitled,
obviously this is the case.
The undersigned on the other hand, is of the opinion that asking a question
is an effective way of seeking clarification on an issue which perhaps one
does not know much about and the best way of obtaining an answer to a
specific question.Your interventions notwithstanding, alas, the question
posed still remains unanswered.



Unless you are expecting, and would find credible, the answer "Yes,
only Americans misspell words" or even "Yes, only Americans misspell
this word", to call a misspelling an Americanism or a Canadianism or a
Briticism is absurd. This is why I thought I hadn't made my point: by
pursuing the question of whether it was an Americanism, you seemed to
think that the issue was not closed on whether this was in fact just a
misspelling, rather than an alternate accepted spelling peculiar to a
particuliar area, in the manner of US "jail" with respect to UK
"gaol". 
I would also have thought that the very low incidence of this
misspelling would have turned you off of the notion that is a
phenomenon at all, let alone a phenomenon that can then be ascribed to
a specific country. At least "seperate", by its frequency, could have
the makings of becoming a new, accepted spelling at some point in the
future. But to consider that possibility based on the evidence of a
very few writers who, from all the other signs, have trouble with
spelling in general, seems overeager.
If you feel that a label such as "Americanism" is appropriate to
describe a misspelling, perhaps you can provide, with documentation to
support your findings, a sample of words that (a) have a correct
spelling that is common to the US and UK; (b) have a common
misspelling in the US, and (c) are never misspelled in the UK. That
would be quite illuminating.


Relax, you guys. I think Bambi's suggestion of "Americanism" was related to her
knowledge that the spelling of some words differs between British and US
English. However, I do understand that when one clarifies something, as you did
so well, one hopes to see the clairification accepted.
I, instead, would take a different, more light-hearted approach to this
question. If "pedi" derives from "feet" and pedicure means the care and grooming
of feet, then what might we infer from "petti" and petticure? If my suspicions
are correct, it might indeed be an Americanism (tongue firmly ensconced in
cheek).
Ciao,
Ron
USA

  If "pedi" derives from "feet" and pedicure means...
Pardon my sudden attack of dyslexia.
Ciao,
Ron
USA

 considered acceptable by anyone".
You will understand my desire I hope, in wishing to obtain (if possible)
more than one person's affirmation of such.
    >To call it an Americanism is absurd.
Whereas to respond as curtly as you did is rude.


Whereas to respond as curtly as you did is rude.
Calling a person absurd is rude. I don't think that noting the
absurdity of a general phenomenon, such as calling an X a Y, is rude.
Would it be rude to note the absurdity of asking who Ben Franklin's
vice president was after already establishing that he was never
president? Anyway, I'm sorry if you were offended.


 Pardon my sudden attack of dyslexia.
forgive we you
saluti,
Peltio
--
! for cure dislexia a found

! for cure dislexia a found
Dyslectics of the world, untie!
Frank

frank ruscalla <rusc...@iol.itZZZ> wrote in message
VLFF5.1095$Nz.2...@news.infostrada.it...

ROTFL
Nice to see you again, Frank !
And your pipe contest in Dijon ? I searched the news, but I found nothing.
Giorgio the Coward

frank ruscalla <rusc...@iol.itZZZ> wrote in message
VLFF5.1095$Nz.2...@news.infostrada.it...
[....]
Dear Frank,
So there you are! What of pipe smoking? In my dotage I forget the exact
date, but seem to recall round about now?
Don't keep us waiting with bated breath now, please.
Whatever the outcome, it's nice to see you here again.
--
I remain, as always,
Bambi
dtb

 Anyway, I'm sorry if you were offended.
And for this I thank you.
Perhaps at this point,  this thread could be considered closed?
If you  would like to continue the discussion,  I think it would be more
appropriate for the sake of the group if we did so via e-mail, my address
contained in this post, being valid.
Otherwise or in the meantime,
--
I remain, as always, ecc., ecc.,
Bambi
dtb

Giorgio the Coward
Dearest George,
happiness is... being remembered by your fellow citizens (or should I
say subjects?).
Thank you George, 'twas quite a pleasure to find out your memory works
so well, and I apologize once again since, besides being a slow
smoker, I'm also a slow answerer.
How did it go? I beg you to be patient with me once more: our Queen
Bambi also inquired about the competition, and you understand that the
hierarchy compels me to give her an answer first. Ubi maior...
You can read the other message of mine in this same thread.
Take care, my friend
Frank

Whatever the outcome, it's nice to see you here again.
Dearest Queen, sorry for answering so late, but lately I'm as rusty as
they come.
I put my best effort to defend the good name of my country and of this
Realm.
I don't want to appear like a boasting KISA, but I can say things
didn't go too bad: there were about 450 competitors and I ranked 9th.
Although I was considered one of the possible winners, I'm not
complaining, since I consider the result quite honourable
Moreover, I was part of the Italian national team (the competion was
both for individuals and nations), and the Italian flag waved to
celebrate the gold medal.
There is one question, though, that I'd like to ask.
In a message of yours dating back to August 5th, you wrote:
<<Therefore, whilst thanking you  for the URL you  provided we have
had the good fortune and privilege to visit it already, along with
several other sites extolling your deeds, though the Cuban one, was in
truth, the only one which I was able to make any sense out of at
all.>>
I've tried on a number of search engines, but I couldn't find this
site you're talking about. Is there any way you could give me some
information to help me find the web page?
Thank you much, my Queen; I appreciated your interest in the outcome
of my competion: being remembered by a Queen is quite a gift.
Humbly Yours, as always
Frank

 Frank
After carefully reading the other message, I have only two things to say:
a) FRANK RAH RAH RAH !
b) Campioni del mondo, campioni del mondo, campioni del mondo !
For listening to the usual italian hymn, i.e.  'We are the champions', that
you so deeply deserved, obviously you have to wait for the Queens, in the
specific for Isabella.
Oh, come sono contento :-D
Ciao, a prestissimo risentirci
Giorgio

b) Campioni del mondo, campioni del mondo, campioni del mondo !
Ehm, ehm... devo correggerti con un piu' modesto: "Campioni
d'Europa!".
La Coppa del Mondo si svolgera' l'anno prossimo (sempre ad ottobre) a
Londra, il che mi dara' l'opportunita' di rispolverare il mio inglese,
ormai molto rusty.
Grazie di cuore, Wondergeorge
Frank

 > What of pipe smoking?
[.....]
Dearest Frank,
Ben tornato and what is more, flag flying proudly, so it would seem. Allow
me to add my voice to the chorus I can already hear arising across the
Realm, "Rah, Rah, Frank! European Champions!". Given which, you would appear
not to be quite so rusty as you feared? Well done, and also of course, in
the individual competition.  Here's to the London next October?
With regard to your question about the Cuban Web page I visited, I must
confess I am now unable to find it, nor do I remember exactly 'how' I
chanced upon it. The only reference that vaguely approaches it which I can
now find is the Spanish Club's home page
(
http://www.terra.es/personal/fum_scpc/fum-74.htm
) but it is not the site I
visited to which I referred. Perhaps another K.I.S.A. might better be able
to help at this stage, though I do proffer my apologies for being so foolish
as to have misplaced the URL. I shall continue searching through my archives
in the hopes that I might have placed the address somewhere 'useful'.
It's good to have you back and again, my congratulations.
--
I remain, as always,
Bambi
dtb

 Grazie di cuore, Wondergeorge
Wonderedgeorge al massimo.
Ciao
Giorgio