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Chris -- 2018-04-11
First time poster so I hope this is OK. Ran across an article where the writer had substituted “nut” for “nub” in the phrase “the nub of” and wondered if it had happened before. I’ve dug up a few examples.
“Critics of Malcolm’s view point to an 1845 Supreme Court decision having to do with control over rivers and other navigable waterways. The nut of this ruling, as we read on the libertarian website Armstrong Economics, is that “once a territory becomes a state, the (federal government) must surrender all claims to the land.””
http://www.politifact.com/punditfact/st … l-right-o/
“”I’m fascinated how Villa could go from being European champions in 1982 to relegation five years later – and the nut of the idea of my next book is the rise and fall of Aston Villa’s golden era,” he said.”
http://www.bromsgroveadvertiser.co.uk/n … ife_tales/
“But the nut of it is that UberCHOPPER is teaming up with Epic Helicopters to give a select number of racing fans an eagle eye tour of Austin before getting dropped off at the Circuit of the Americas race track where all the Formula 1 racing action is going down this weekend.”
http://austininno.streetwise.co/2015/10 … formula-1/
“Here’s the nut of it: whether or not it intended to, this Facebook post is a perfect explanation of both what people THINK socialism can do, and what it ACTUALLY does.”
http://www.theblaze.com/contributions/h … socialism/
“For instance, his Randest gesture so far was a 12-hour Senate filibuster of CIA Director John Brennan’s confirmation over US drone usage. However, the nut of his half-day oratory was an objection to the use of drones for targeted killings within the United States, something already prohibited by existing law.”
http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfre … o-the-bone
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Beauty, and with nice documentation of different forms. A welcome addition.
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I wonder if these might not be independent, or possibly run backwards historically. The idea of the seed (=nut) being the irreducible central part of something is very old.
*If the human mind were simple enough for us to understand,
we would be too simple-minded to understand it* .
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DavidTuggy wrote:
I wonder if these might not be independent, or possibly run backwards historically. The idea of the seed (=nut) being the irreducible central part of something is very old.
This Google Ngram graph shows “the nut of” starting in about the 1670s, while “the nub of” doesn’t show up until around 1800. But then “the nub of” starts increasing in popularity until it overtakes “the nut of” around 1930, and it’s around nine times as common nowadays. So it would appear that your speculation is right, DavidTuggy.
Edit: Oooops, looking at the earlier part of the chart, I see a big spike for “the nub of” way back in the early 1500s. I don’t think that was there when I looked at that page a few minutes go. This complicates things a bit.
Last edited by Dixon Wragg (2016-02-13 06:36:14)
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