From Newsgroup: alt.usage.english

If the toothbrush was invented today, it would be called a teethbrush.

-- Richard
--- Synchronet 3.22a-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: alt.usage.english

Le 23/09/2026 |a 00:16, Richard Tobin a |-crit :

If the toothbrush was invented today, it would be called a teethbrush.

Why so?

--- Synchronet 3.22a-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: alt.usage.english

On 23/09/2026 01:16, Richard Tobin wrote:

If the toothbrush was invented today, it would be called a teethbrush.

Well, yes. With better dental hygiene these days, we do keep more of
them than we used to.
--- Synchronet 3.22a-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: alt.usage.english

On 23/09/26 17:28, Hibou wrote:

Le 23/09/2026 |a 00:16, Richard Tobin a |-crit :

If the toothbrush was invented today, it would be called a teethbrush.

Why so?

I heard it on my earsphone.
--
Peter Moylan peter@pmoylan.org http://www.pmoylan.org
Newcastle, NSW
--- Synchronet 3.22a-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: alt.usage.english

On 23/09/2026 13:07, Peter Moylan wrote:

On 23/09/26 17:28, Hibou wrote:

Le 23/09/2026 |a 00:16, Richard Tobin a |-crit :

If the toothbrush was invented today, it would be called a teethbrush.

Why so?

I heard it on my earsphone.

Or even saw it with my own eyesglasses.

The truth is that Richard may be right. If invented today, a toothbrush
would be a "dental hygiene system appliance" (TM)
--- Synchronet 3.22a-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: alt.usage.english

Le 23/09/2026 |a 13:06, occam a |-crit :

The truth is that Richard may be right. If invented today, a toothbrush
would be a "dental hygiene system appliance" (TM)

After the candy floss, the dental floss.

--- Synchronet 3.22a-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: alt.usage.english

On 9/23/2026 9:28 PM, Hibou wrote:

Le 23/09/2026 |a 13:06, occam a |-crit :

The truth is that Richard may be right. If invented today, a toothbrush
would be a "dental hygiene system appliance" (TM)

After the candy floss, the dental floss.

It would be /teethbrush/ to comply with official policy of inclusive-
ness. We can't just name an appliance such that it seems to be only
usable for one tooth at a time.

Most customers have more than one tooth, namely teeth, and they would
indeed feel left out if the /dental hygiene system appliance/ implied
they could one use it if near toothless.


Best wishes, and happy dental hygiene in alt.usage.english!
--
Johann | email: invalid -> com | http://www.myrkraverk.com/blog/
I'm not from the Internet, I just work there. | via XS News https://bsky.app/profile/myrkraverk.bsky.social | for ( ;; ) _:;
--- Synchronet 3.22a-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: alt.usage.english

In article <nhhdc3FdrhuU2@mid.individual.net>,
Hibou <vpaereru-unmonitored@yahoo.com.invalid> wrote:

If the toothbrush was invented today, it would be called a teethbrush.

Why so?

Teeth whitening, women teachers, even mice traps. Where a singular
noun would have been used in what might be considered a plural
context, in the case of irregular plurals I now see the plural used
instead.

-- Richard
--- Synchronet 3.22a-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: alt.usage.english

On 23/09/2026 15:14, Johann 'Myrkraverk' Oskarsson wrote:

On 9/23/2026 9:28 PM, Hibou wrote:

Le 23/09/2026 |a 13:06, occam a |-crit :

The truth is that Richard may be right. If invented today, a toothbrush
would be a "dental hygiene system appliance" (TM)

After the candy floss, the dental floss.

It would be /teethbrush/ to comply with official policy of inclusive-
ness.-a We can't just name an appliance such that it seems to be only
usable for one tooth at a time.

Must gums be forever written out of the script?
I demand the use of: "Teeth and Gum Brush" with a possible entry for the tongue.>

Most customers have more than one tooth, namely teeth, and they would
indeed feel left out if the /dental hygiene system appliance/ implied
they could one use it if near toothless.

Best wishes, and happy dental hygiene in alt.usage.english!

--
Sam Plusnet
--- Synchronet 3.22a-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: alt.usage.english

Le 23/09/2026 |a 15:32, Richard Tobin a |-crit :

Hibou wrote:
[...]

If the toothbrush was invented today, it would be called a teethbrush.

Why so?

Teeth whitening, women teachers, even mice traps. Where a singular
noun would have been used in what might be considered a plural
context, in the case of irregular plurals I now see the plural used
instead.

OK. Let's seerCa

'Teeth whitening' is about as common as 'tooth whitening':

<https://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=teeth+whitening%2Ctooth+whitening&year_start=1950&year_end=2022&corpus=en&smoothing=3&case_insensitive=false>

'Female teachers' lost ground to 'women teachers', but is fighting back-|:

<https://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=woman+teacher%2Cfemale+teachers%2Cwoman+teachers%2Cwomen+teachers&year_start=1800&year_end=2022&corpus=en&smoothing=3>

'Mousetrap' and 'mouse trap' are much commoner than 'micetrap' and 'mice trap':

<https://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=mousetrap%2Cmicetrap%2Cmouse+trap%2Cmice+trap&year_start=1800&year_end=2022&corpus=en&smoothing=3>

Perhaps people are ignorant of the rule. Alas, the written language is
no longer controlled by those who know something about it.


-|Good! I hate to see adjectives queueing at the Job Centre when
aggressive nouns have stolen their jobs. They, at least, have the
decency not to inflect in the plural.

--- Synchronet 3.22a-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: alt.usage.english

On Wednesday or thereabouts, Hibou blurted ...

Perhaps people are ignorant of the rule. Alas, the written language is no longer controlled by those who know something about it.

It hardly ever has been, despite repeated attempts. Not to mention
attempts by people who /think/ they know something about it.

/dps
--
Rule #0: Don't be on fire.
In case of fire, exit the building before tweeting about it.
(Sighting reported by Adam F)
--- Synchronet 3.22a-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: alt.usage.english

In article <118v286$88kn$1@artemis.inf.ed.ac.uk>, I wrote:

If the toothbrush was invented today, it would be called a teethbrush.

And now I see a headline with "teethmarks". What next, feetprints?

-- Richard
--- Synchronet 3.22a-Linux NewsLink 1.2