Wordie: Eke: Comments

Comment by bilby, 6 months ago

Fri, 18 Apr 2008 14:42:53 +0000

Thanks VO.

Comment by reesetee, 6 months ago

Fri, 18 Apr 2008 12:54:24 +0000

Eek.

Comment by VanishedOne, 6 months ago

Fri, 18 Apr 2008 10:23:32 +0000

Plain 'eke':

1. trans. To increase, add to, lengthen. Also absol. 'neither to eke nor to pair' (Sc.): neither to add to nor take from. Proverb, 'every little ekes'. arch. or dial.

b. intr. To increase, grow. Obs.

2. To add. Const. til, to. Also absol. Obs.

Also 'eke up': 'to supply, repair (a loss). Obs.'

Comment by bilby, 6 months ago

Fri, 18 Apr 2008 05:37:18 +0000

Is there a difference between eke and eke out?

Comment by frindley, 6 months ago

Thu, 17 Apr 2008 23:49:33 +0000

Can't argue with that. (Don't change one word of your poem, yarb, I'm just stuck in the olden days before male salmon!)

Comment by VanishedOne, 6 months ago

Thu, 17 Apr 2008 20:47:35 +0000

OED, 2nd Ed.:

'3. to eke out: a. to supplement, supply the deficiencies of anything (const. with); esp. to make (resources, materials, articles of consumption, etc.) last the required time by additions, by partial use of a substitute, or by economy.

'b. To prolong (a speech or composition, an action) by expedients devised for that purpose; to contrive to fill up (a certain amount of space in writing, etc.).

'c. To contrive to make (a livelihood), or to support (existence) by various makeshifts.'

Interestingly enough, eke also turns out to be a dialect term (northern England) for a male salmon; cited once, 1887.

Comment by yarb, 6 months ago

Thu, 17 Apr 2008 20:35:58 +0000

Is that really misuse? I reckon it's so widespread a usage as to constitute a shift in meaning. What does OED2 say?

I'm just annoyed because I (mis)used it recently in a poem.

Comment by frindley, 6 months ago

Thu, 17 Apr 2008 19:37:08 +0000

Idiom: "eke out a living", frequently misused to mean making a pretty poor living overall doing something that's badly paid, when in fact it refers to the making up of deficiencies. Merriam-Webster's example: "He eked out his income by getting a second job."