Bob Crystal, a Rochester, N.Y., reader, writes:
“Why is
‘defenestrate’ only transitive? Why can’t I say, ‘I had to watch Michele
Bachmann’s press conference and after 10 minutes, I defenestrated’?”
Feel
free to.
This is accepted among grammarians as the Bachmann Exception.
It
is not to be confused with the Trump Exception, which allows “gasbag” as
an intransitive verb–for example, “gasbagged” instead of ”said” or
“announced.”
And you don’t want to know about the
Limbaugh Exception.
From today's QT by Zay N. Smith:
Categories: Zay N. Smith - Quick Takes
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