Vetting versus doctoring
The curious distinction in the usage of the verbs “to vet” and “to doctor,” referred to on this page on January 16, has still not been solved. A reader. John Storey, reports that the 1933 supplement to the 12-volume “Oxford English Dictionary” records the first use of “vet,” as a verb, by Rudyard Kipling in 1904. Kipling used it in the sense of subjecting something to careful test or examination, the meaning it has retained. The form “vetting" is noticed by the supplement to the “Big Oxford" as having first been used in 1918. That- still leaves unanswered the puzzle of why “vetting” should be a respectable, even valuable activity, while “doctoring,” in a figurative sense, carries the sense of mischievous interference or misrepresentation.
Permanent link to this item
https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/CHP19820206.2.96.8
Bibliographic details
Press, 6 February 1982, Page 15
Word Count
127Vetting versus doctoring Press, 6 February 1982, Page 15
Using This Item
Stuff Ltd is the copyright owner for the Press. You can reproduce in-copyright material from this newspaper for non-commercial use under a Creative Commons BY-NC-SA 3.0 New Zealand licence. This newspaper is not available for commercial use without the consent of Stuff Ltd. For advice on reproduction of out-of-copyright material from this newspaper, please refer to the Copyright guide.
Copyright in all Footrot Flats cartoons is owned by Diogenes Designs Ltd. The National Library has been granted permission to digitise these cartoons and make them available online as part of this digitised version of the Press. You can search, browse, and print Footrot Flats cartoons for research and personal study only. Permission must be obtained from Diogenes Designs Ltd for any other use.
Acknowledgements
This newspaper was digitised in partnership with Christchurch City Libraries.
Log in