Just came across this one in a newspaper article on-line:
On Tuesday afternoon shattered glass from the broken front windows was scattered all over the well-kempt front yard.
It prompted me to explore kempt. Apparently it means well-kept from ME cemd meaning combed.
But this is nearly an orphan-negative these days. Unkempt we read and hear often enough, but kempt is dying. So, well-kempt is probably a malapropism for well-kept.
The question then is: Is well-kempt also a tautology?
And does kept share an ancestry?
Kempt and kept
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- Grand Panjandrum
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- Slava
- Great Grand Panjandrum
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Re: Kempt and kept
They don't appear to be related. Looks to me like kempt stands alone, the well is unnecessary.
Life is like playing chess with chessmen who each have thoughts and feelings and motives of their own.
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- Grand Panjandrum
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- Location: Melbourne
Re: Kempt and kept
Thanks Slava. I think we agree on this!
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