This post really came about because I wanted to check my spelling of the title. My Chambers rather scathingly, I thought, suggested one 'f' - commenting that it was 'sometimes' spelt with two f's as though they rose above such spelling. I have always spelt it with two - but henceforth I shall - on the rare occasions I use the word - make sure I spell it with one. Chambers is my bible and I am on my fourth or fifth one - I look several times a day for something in it - spelling, meaning, a letter in the Greek alphabet for the quick crossword (there was a time when I could rattle it off - but sadly I get half way through now and then start to get the letters in the wrong order.) They are good on obscure Wedding Anniversaries and Chemical Elements too should you ever need one for a word game. Its down-side is its size and weight. Not kind on the arms, especially Shingled ones.
However back to my subject - for reasons of economy on my finger ends I shall henceforth refer to the folk in my title as straightforward 'fans'.
I have never been a fan of sport - I hated it at school. As a Scholarship girl in a fee-paying school pre-1944 Education Act my parents could never afford either Tennis racket or Hockey stick so I had to spend one afternoon a week either playing Netball or Rounders (both words make me shudder to this day). My worst memory is of the Netball day when for some unknown reason (I was tall for my age) I managed to get the netball through the net a lot of times and as a result was chosen for the team to play against another school. At the match I never scored a single goal and was dropped afterwards.
My Dad was a footie fan - ran the village football team for years, went to the Cup Final every year (so many tickets allocated to village teams) until one year - he was in his early sixties by this time - he got carried along by the crowd - both feet off the ground! He never dared to go after that.
One of my carers is a Leeds United Fan, another is a Horse racing fan and a third follows Darts.
But last evening I watched the cricket and boy was it exciting. Usually I think of it as a rather sedate, gentle game. But last evening, right until the very last ball, it was breath-taking. Either team could have won, both teams gave it their all and when the Aussies finally won the whole crowd erupted regardless of which side they supported.
I think I might get to be an aficionado of cricket. One thing is for certain - I would rather have been watching it than living in Edgbaston last evening - or indeed anywhere in the Birmingham area - the noise of the watching thousands would have raised a few roofs. Anybody wanting a quiet evening in the garden would have been disappointed.
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17 comments:
It was a chicken and egg situation then. Which came first, the post or the heading?
My go-to dictionary has always been the Oxford English Dictionary - I have had a copy of the shorter OED for many years, and would have liked a copy of the full OED but had nowhere to put it (or the money to buy it for many years).
My shorter OED agrees that aficionado has just one 'f'.
When you say the word it has a soft f as in off...so one naturally thinks that it has two.
Pat, I would choose a big dictionary as my book should I ever be a guest on Desert Island Discs!
Listening or watching Test cricket, particularly the Ashes, is a wonderful way of passing a day. We’ve been lucky enough to go to a few and the crowd have always kept us amused and uplifted - regardless as you say - of the final result.
Love watching Test Cricket against the Poms. My dream holiday would be to spend a Summer in England at the Test cricket and Wimbledon.
My one recollection of watching cricket is watching an Australian touring side playing Oxford Uni at the Parks in Oxford in the early 1970s. The weather and setting was perfect - the lush green of early summer trees around the pitch in full summer sunshine, plenty of seating for watchers, refreshments (both alcoholic and non-alcoholic) available. It really was a quintessentially English scene.
A single f or a double ff is something that often gives me pause, but I am Welsh, and would naturally think of an f as sounding like a v. To get the English sound of f as in friend, Welsh would use two ffs. So, is it aficionado as with a v or afficionado with a ff.?
We have both a thick Webster's dictionary and an OED that have been well used for decades.
Pat, I'm with you in not caring to participate in organized sports when young and don't care to watch now. Unlike you, I am short. :)
Am glad you enjoyed the exciting cricket match!
Hugs!
I've always loved sport, either as a competitor or a fan. I've been in cricket, football, darts and badminton teams and loved it, especially badminton. I used to sit and listen to the cricket on the radio, as a child, with my father back in the 1950's. Yesterday's match was awesome, apart from the result.
I think we all have our preferred sports. Some enjoy the role of spectator only, rather than playing themselves. Both avid spectators and players are usually very enthusiastic. I was never very talented on the playing field. I will play for fun, not caring about winning or losing; rather just playing for fun. Today, there seems often a preferred spelling and an acceptable spelling.
I have never been sporty either though did enjoy watching Wimbledon on TV years ago. At school I was no good at netball and although gave my all at hockey but it never came to anything. As for playing tennis, hot sunny afternoons were meant for sitting in the shade and not leaping about on a hard court.
I was once very good at spelling but now find myself doubting my ability and have to write the word in one or two variations before deciding which one looks correct!
I've never liked the discomfort of playing sport. I agree with Heather about hot conditions on hard courts, and standing endlessly fielding in blazing sun for cricket would not be my idea of fun. When my daughter played hockey, I shivered on the sidelines wishing I was home, trying to look enthusiastic! 'Astounded and surrounded' by many loud and very rough rugby league fans at a match, I looked up at my husband and told him he never looked so handsome. He told me he'd take me to a rugby league match anytime.- Pam, Aust.
Heather - I know that spelling feeling well. You are not alone.
Thanks everyone.
I'm ashamed to say that I missed the end of the Cricket; I fell asleep. I was so annoyed.
Are aficionados and fans the same thing? I always think of aficionados as being those who enjoy the finer points of their obsessions, whereas fans exhibit raw enthusiasm. Having said that there was plenty for everyone in that Test match. With Ben Stokes as captain England will never play a boring game; the man seldom does the obvious or safe thing. The women's Test begins today, by the way.
Yes John I shall give it a try. As for whether aficionados and fans are the same - Chambers gives 'fan' as a definition for aficionado.
Thanks to you all as usual.
Sports fan? Dallas Cowboys for me...lol
hugs
Donna
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