My reading of a sad, sad story about an Amish family whose buggy was swept away in a stream, resulting in the deaths of four children, was interrupted by an egregious usage error.
I can't even make a joke about it.
Saturday, February 26, 2011
What Happened to That Buggy?
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6 comments:
Imagine! A ravished Amish buggy.
I agree that it is not the word I would have used, but a quick definition check finds both "To seize and carry away by force" from the Free Online Dictionary, and "to seize and take away by violence" from Merriam Webster. I guess the buggy was seized and taken away, although I don't think the stream did it on purpose.
And how weird is it that another meaning is "to fill with strong emotion, especially joy," especially considering the meaning that we thought of first?
I think an inexperienced copywriter doesn't know the difference between "ravished" and "ravaged."
It may just be the connotations in my head, but the primary definition I have for ravished is as a euphemism for sexual assault.
Merriam-Webster online has that as the third meaning, after " to seize and take away by violence" and "to overcome with emotion (as joy or delight) ," but I can't find anything on the site that says how they order their definitions (what happened to my life that I no longer have a hard-copy dictionary in every room?).
Yes, I think they meant "ravaged," and I wouldn't have used either word in this context, but my point was that technically they weren't wrong. (I tried to write "they were correct" but I couldn't bring myself to do it.)
After checking my New Collegiate Webster's (and in my case, it does actually date from when I was in college) and my OED, I have to concede you are right, Barbara. Ravish and ravage are related, and ravish does mean just what you say.
This is a good example of definitions that are listed as the first or second in a dictionary even though they are archaic. Well, I suppose the sexual assault definition is archaic, too. And then there's "You look ravishing tonight, my dear."
All good arguments for not using the word in the first place, though, as you say. "Ravaged" doesn't seem archaic to me, however. But kind of an odd word for a newspaper caption, I agree.
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