Americanised Anglo-Saxon.

Cromwell Argus, Volume III, Issue 141, 23 July 1872, Page 7

Americanised Anglo-Saxon.

"The American word 'collide,'" remarks the London Observer, "though really a useful word if we could overcome our antipathy to its etymology, has not made much progress in England since the date of its attempted introduction. In the meanwhile, American newspaper writers, whilst making abundant use of the word, have found it insufficient for their requirements, and have just invented another, or rather have taken an English noun and turned it into an American verb. The noun is ' telescope' ; and we read in so respectable a journal as the New York Times of an engine coining up and telescoping two cars. To ' telescope' a car is, we gather from the context, to run in from behind with such force as to cause one or more cars to mount on the top of the other cars to which they are attached. The very length of the definition suggests the necessity for a single word descriptive of an incident not possible in the birth period of the English language. But 'telescope' certainly will not do." What, then, (asks a contemporary,) will the Observer think of making a verb out of the word "Phoenix"? Preposterous as it may seem, this has been done in Chicago since the occurrence of the great fire. Scarcely anyone in that city proposes to rebuild an edifice. He prefers the newer form of expression, and makes his announcement in a similar style to the following:—"The Chicago operahouse, which is about to Phoenix, will cost about 400,000 dollars, and will be one of the most magnificent buildings in the country."