| 词组 | limited |
| 释义 | limited This innocuous word first became controversial when Hodgson 1889 asserted that it was "often faultily employed" for such adjectives as small, slight, and scant. He quoted examples of what he considered to be misuse—"limited price" for "low or reduced price" and "limited acquaintance" for "slight acquaintance." Vizetelly 1906 repeated Hodgson's opinions almost exactly and cited the same examples in slightly reworded versions. Both Hodgson and Vizetelly did allow, however, that although they did not approve of using limited to describe "pecuniary circumstances," the use might be defended insofar as it was meant to contrast with unlimited in "unlimited wealth." Similar criticism has been passed along from one usage book to another throughout the 20th century. Among the more recent commentators who have considered limited to be misused for small or slight are Partridge 1942, Evans 1957, Bernstein 1965, and Gowers in Fowler 1965. Despite their protests, however, such usage has continued to be common in standard speech and writing: • Delia's experience was too limited for her to picture exactly what might happen —Edith Wharton, The Old Maid, 1924 • ... a narrow mind, capable at most of the limited range of Marston —T. S. Eliot, "Cyril Tourneur," in Selected Essays, 1932 • ... by young women of limited means —Morris R. Cohen, The Faith of a Liberal, 1946 • ... my experience is probably a limited experience —William Faulkner, 25 Feb. 1957, in Faulkner in the University, 1959 • ... our use of certain very limited natural resources —Dr. Ruth Patrick, quoted in Smithsonian, August 1970 • ... so short that it is of very limited use to those interested in Sheraton —Times Literary Supp., 19 Feb. 1971 • ... employees with limited reading ability —William Serrin, Saturday Rev., 2 Feb. 1980 Objections to these uses of limited appear to us to have no sound basis. The one real oddity cited originally by Hodgson was limited price for "low or reduced price." We do not know how widespread such usage was in Hodgson's time, but we have no current evidence for it. |
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