Theatre/theater

[Mark Wright AIA]

Howdy

--- Thomas Colin <thomas_colin at hotmail.com> wrote:
> It would not be heresy. It is actually the first reasonable thing one
> should 
> think of. But, again, it does not seem likely. And what if it was a
> typo? 
> Would it really cancel the whole discussion. I don't think so.(snip)
So, my
> opinion 
> is: this is the text we have, this is the text we read, period.

I agree that the text is all that the case is.  In my opinion it can be
over-interpreted.  I don't wish to "cancel the whole discussion."  I'm
just snorting humbug into my pint, is all.  That's fair too....  Why
should the typo seem unlikely?  On the contrary, it seems highly likely
to me that an error of this sort might go uncorrected because (a) it
would be almost impossible to spot (b) it doesn't alter the sense in
any way.

OED lists Theater as a variant spelling of Theatre, with no shades of
meaning.  Websters' old New Collegiate does the opposite, with no
shades of meaning distinguished.

Mark
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