The “dribble off” is the oral way of saying etc., etc., etc. when the speaker has gotten beyond control of his thought. It’s also called a “spoken ellipsis.” One way of expressing it is “…and so forth and so on.” Another: “blah-blah-blah.” Another: “duh-dah-duh-dah-duh-dah-duh-dah.” Another: Yah-duh Yah-duh Yah-duh. Another “…and what not,” or “…and like that.”
Coming to Terms. William Safire. New York: Doubleday. 1991.
No comments:
Post a Comment