Shakespeare vs. the English teachers

“In the golden prime and high noon of English speech; when from the lips of the great Elizabethans fell words that made their own meaning and carried it in their very sound; when a Shakespeare and a Bacon were possible, and the language now rapidly perishing at one end and slowly renewed at the other was in vigorous growth and hardy preservation—sweeter than honey and stronger than a lion—the lexicographer was a person unknown, the dictionary a creation which his Creator had not created him to create.”
-Ambrose Bierce, The Devil’s Dictionary

The above quote is included to reinforce the point that TAP does not give two hoots if your English teacher would approve of a piece of commentary. We’re more interested in the approval of thousands of thoughtful but easily bored individuals who decide to spend a little of their time every day at our website.

For the most part, they will not care if “to boldly go” is a split infinitive and neither do we. To our ears, “to boldly go” sounds better than “boldly to go” or “to go boldly” and the fact that Mr. Webster doesn’t recognize a word doesn’t mean we won’t publish it.

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