Quarterly Update 10 starts the new year off with a bang with the fine old tradition of an anvil salute. Take two anvils and a pound of gunpowder. . .—what could go wrong? Plenty, it turns out, as the quotations for this and the related entries make clear. Please don’t try this at home! And if that’s not enough mischief, this update also includes not only mischief night, but also a whole raft of synonyms and terms for more specialized nights, like doorbell night and corn night. Note: Clickable links have been added to some entries; they will either take you to entries here on our website or to Digital DARE, where subscription-level access may sometimes be necessary to see the full entry. This Quarterly Update marks the end of an era, though the Updates will continue. As explained in the last DARE Newsletter, the DARE project is downsizing, and sadly this is the last Update to benefit from the skill and experience of longtime staff members Elizabeth Gardner and Julie Schnebly, whose farewell message is below. We will try to live up to their high standards! It is likely that the next Update will, like this one, be a bit late, but we hope that by Quarterly Update 12 we are back on a regular schedule.
Proofreaders’ Valediction: Forbidding Mo⁁rning __________________________________________u
It is the curse of proofreaders to be noticed only when we don’t do our jobs, but it is highly rewarding work nonetheless. (Where else does one get to ask, “Does this font have an italic period?”) Alas, this is the final Quarterly Update on which we will provide intensive checks on citations, bibliographic details, and formatting. It is our hope that we helped DARE’s editors focus on more lexicographical matters instead of minute details such as how to render a superscripted bracket or prevent an apostrophe from becoming an opening quotation mark. We are confident that the quality and consistency of work will continue, however, because Hall and Goebel are exceptional editors who know how to cross a ‘t’ and dot an ‘i’ with the best of them. That said, we ask that future readers please forgive the the occasionaL quotatoin from 2099.
All hail the Oxford comma!
Elizabeth Gardner, Senior Proofreader (1988–2017)
Julie Schnebly, Proofreader/Digital Text Specialist (2007–2017)
| Headword | Part of Speech | Update Type |
| all | adj1 | Revised Sense |
| all’s | pron | Revised Entry |
| alley taw | n | Revised Entry |
| along of | prep phr | Revised Senses, New Senses |
| always ago | adv phr | Revised Entry |
| Amarugia | n | New Entry |
| amarugian | n, adj | Revised Entry |
| among(st) | prep | New Senses, Revised Sense |
| among(st) hands | adv phr | New Sense |
| amongst hands | pron phr | Revised Entry |
| anadama bread | n | Revised Entry |
| anvil chorus | n | New Entry |
| anvil dust | n | Revised Entry |
| anvil salute | n | New Entry |
| anvil shoot | n | New Entry |
| anyways | adv | Revised Senses, New Sense |
| assle | v | Revised Entry |
| awhile | adv | Revised Entry |
| ax-handle | n | Revised Sense |
| aye, yes, or no | n | Revised Entry |
| cabbage night | n | Revised Entry |
| chalk night | n | New Entry |
| clothesline night | n | Revised Entry |
| corn | v | New Sense |
| corn night | n | Revised Entry |
| damage night | n | New Entry |
| devil’s night | n | Revised Entry |
| doorbell night | n | Revised Entry |
| fire | n, v C2 | New Sense |
| fox night | n | New Entry |
| garbage-can night | n | Revised Entry |
| gate night | n | Revised Entry |
| goosey night | n | Revised Entry |
| hell night | n | New Entry |
| mischief night | n | Revised Entry |
| moving night | n | Revised Entry |
| picket night | n | Revised Entry |
| roundst | prep, adv | New Entry |
| shoot | v | Revised Entry |
| soap night | n | New Entry |