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Behold, or I’ll disappear you!

Until today it would never have occurred to me that to disappear is an ambitransitive verb. It can not only be used in an intransitive sense (the magician disappeared) but also in a transitive sense (the magician disappeared the elephant). If you – like me – can’t at first read believe that using to disappear transitively is correct: Let Merriam-Webster tell you about it.

2 Responses to “Behold, or I’ll disappear you!”

  1. Torsten
    March 10th, 2006 15:02
    1

    Eigentlich wäre als Titel ja “Behold, or you’ll be disappeared!” besser…

  2. Random Thoughts in Scattered Posts » The most versatile word in the English language
    March 13th, 2006 00:50
    2

    Speaking of the English language:
    Monty Python once wrote a good piece about the most versatile word in the English language. There’s a (probably well known) flash animation in the web out there… [weiter]