- By Jim Evans
- Entertainment
Print 
Smart TalkSMART TALK By Dr. Manda Rynne
LEND v. LOAN: The Institute for the Linguistically Impaired recently included JoAnn Tiedemann in a weekend workshop at Warriner House. Underbelly, Texas, is a long way from Madison, Wisconsin, but she got a 50% discount for giving the Institute this word pair to test advanced patients with.
People have been loaning books to each other for 450 years, but we Smart Talkers, those of us who actually read the books, lend them.
To us, loan is a noun and only a noun. The bank might lend you money. That money is called a loan. Speaking of lending, Shakespeare said, through one of his characters, not to borrow from or lend to friends, because often, the loan loses both itself and the friend.
But you knew that. You even know the character is Polonius, in Hamlet. It's so nice to be superior.
----
v4i3