On Tue, 12 Dec 2006 17:38:07 +0200, Uwe Thiem wrote: > I was looking up something in my Oxford dictionary. First, I had to > make sure how they indicate irregular plurals. The first word that came > to mind was mouse. Look what they write there apart from 1. the animal > and 2. a timid person: > > 3. (plural mouses) a small hand-held device for controlling a cursor on > a VDU screen. > > I have never seen anyone (except non-native speakers by mistake) use > mouses as the plural for a computer mouse. Are the people of the Oxford > dictionary nuts, or is this really correct and mice wrong in this case?
1) You have waaaaaaayyyyy too much time on your hands :) 2) My OED (2002 edition) says of the computer device "(pl also mouses)" so they consider both mice and mouses to be correct. 3) Bear in mind that a dictionary documents the language as used, not a set of rule for using it, so if both plurals are accepted usage, both should be included (you are not alone Alan :) 4) One of the main cultural references of my youth called them meeces, but the OED doesn't like that one... -- Neil Bothwick Top Oxymorons Number 38: Government organization
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