User talk:95.23.32.175

snoze, snozen
Hi. These are obviously non-standard forms, but what makes you think the citations are fake? Equinox ◑ 23:50, 19 November 2011 (UTC)

The forms are certainly not attested in dictionaries. They are not in the Oxford English Dictionary, nor in Merriam-Webster. Moreover, they do not appear in the Corpus of Contemporary American English.

Concerning the citations more specifically, Ampersandia: this and that and other things is in Google Books, with Snippet View. Neither "snoze" nor "snozen" can be found inside that text. Nor, for that matter, "temperature" or "freezing". I understand this is not conclusive proof that the citations are fake, but it suggests something's amiss.

However, I have checked that the Boys' Life citation is indeed correct. I remain skeptical it's proof of usage --- it is meant for comic effect, which could reasonably derive from an intentional mistake --- but it is not fake.


 * We do include non-standard forms, unlike some dictionaries. I will add the non-standard marker to those entries. If you want to go ahead with your RFD, which I think should be an RFV (you want verification of usage, not outright deletion), you need to click the "+" button in those RFD templates you added. Thanks. Equinox ◑ 00:09, 20 November 2011 (UTC)

A search of Google Books shows that that particular pun dates back at least to 1843: "but as the professor sneezed — why shouldn't the perfect tense of this verb be snoze, as well as freeze — froze ?"

The Cambridge Review citation is also from Google Books. There are a few others, all of which seem to be making the point that "sneeze - snoze - snozen" is tempting by analogy to "freeze - froze - frozen," yet wrong.

I still retain my original suspicions about the Ampersandia citations, but I understand the entries can stand without them. However, if they are not to be deleted, shouldn't it be mentioned at least that those alternative forms are not merely non-standard, but perceived to be comically wrong?

As a non-native speaker of English, I admit I may take an overly normative view of dictionaries, including Wiktionary. I'm happy to leave the matter in your more expert hands. Thanks.


 * Yes, we've got a "humorous" template for comical usages. I'll stick that on there as well. Equinox ◑ 00:22, 20 November 2011 (UTC)