On Nov 30 , at 4:03 PM, Martin Vlietstra wrote:
> You have fallen into a common trap. You wrote "Ye olde ...". The word "Ye"
> first word should be "Þe" ("Þ" is a close approximation to the old English
> letter "thorn" - still used in Iceland and in this mail).
I am aware of that, Martin, but I am using "Ye" in the sense commonly used and
understood, in American English at least. In that context it is just an archaic
way of saying "that old (thing)" or more properly "the old (thing)" where the
word "ye" and the "e" on "olde" are simply ways of underlining the fact that we
are talking about old fashioned and outdated things.
A quick Googling of "Ye Olde" restaurants reveals this usage to be quite
common.
Here are a couple examples:
Ye Olde Tavern, a restaurant in Manchester, Vermont
Ye Olde Lantern restaurant in Portsmouth, Ohio
Ye Olde King's Head British Pub in Santa Monica, California
Ye Olde Alpha restaurant and pub in Wheeling, West Virginia
Ye Olde Meeting Place restaurant and pub in Milton, Pennsylvania
Ye Olde Royal Oak Pub and Restaurant in Santa Clara, California
Ye Olde Centerton Inn in Pittsgrove, New Jersey
These are just the ones on the first page (of 20 pages) in my Google search,
which also suggested I look for "Ye Olde Pub", "Ye Olde Shoppe" and even "Ye
Olde Cheese". (I may look into that last one!) So obviously there are many
people out there who regard "ye olde" as a legitimate colloquialism for
something old fashioned and archaic.
Regards,
Bill Hooper
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