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mariecarnes commented on the word oftenist
"Men are whipped oftenist who are whipped easiest." -- Frederick Douglass
January 24, 2009
rolig commented on the word oftenist
Did he really spell it in this illiterate way?
January 24, 2009
bilby commented on the word oftenist
The source quoted by mariecarnes has it this way.
January 24, 2009
rolig commented on the word oftenist
Yes, but unfortunately, that source does not reference the Douglass quote. I may be wrong, but it seems strange that Douglass would misspell the word this way. If anything, educated former slaves, especially when they were public figures, tended to be overcareful about things like spelling and grammar. The last thing they wanted was to appear illiterate. The word is, of course, properly spelled "oftenest".
January 24, 2009
sionnach commented on the word oftenist
Certainly, it is spelled correctly in the 'worldofquotes' database: Douglass quotes . I agree with rolig: the general level of the other quotes by Douglass, as well as his background, strongly contradict the notion that he would misspell 'oftenest'.
Pssst, rolig: I added kurtweilliana to one of my lists.
January 24, 2009
bilby commented on the word oftenist
Agreed.
January 24, 2009
rolig commented on the word oftenist
Thanks, Sionnach!
January 24, 2009