Monday, 6 May 2013

Onskew

Onskew: adverb The opposite of askew. The word is used with a verb to describe something very orderly and regular. Generally used with the verb "to stand", in phrases such as "the pole stood onskew". It cannot be used in relation to living organisms, only non-living things, therefore the phrase "the rose stood onskew" is a grammatical impossibility. The term was first used by Gregor Mendel, who used it incorrectly to describe his new generation of peas. He used this word, because of his limited understanding of English, and the lack of any grammatical rules around the word, due to its short time of existence at that moment.

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