The problem with defending the purity of the English language…

The problem with defending the purity of the English language is that English is about as pure as a cribhouse whore. We don’t just borrow words; on occasion, English has pursued other languages down alleyways to beat them unconscious and rifle their pockets for new vocabulary.

Sourced

Usenet article <1990May15.155309.8892@watdragon.waterloo.edu> (1990), updated in Usenet article <bi5d3u$hjl$1@panix1.panix.com> (2003). (This observation is extensively quoted even outside of Usenet, and has appeared in textbooks. It has also been misattributed, in part and in whole, to Booker T. Washington, to Ambrose Bierce, and, in one case, to the painter James Nicoll (1846–1918).)

Other James Nicoll Quotes

Usenet article <b38svt$o0u$1@panix1.panix.com> (2003) - View Quote Details on Usenet article <b38svt$o0u$1@panix1.panix.com> (2003)
Hell, Chuck Yeager could do it in his sleep while on fire, I’m sure. - View Quote Details on Hell, Chuck Yeager could do it in his sleep while…
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Nah, that’s just the morphic field of the local environment compensating for a Nicoll Event. Do you recall having a mishap just before any of these sightings? - View Quote Details on Nah, that’s just the morphic field of the local environment…
I think once you start eating people you should stop claiming to be a vegetarian, even if you only eat bad people. - View Quote Details on I think once you start eating people you should stop…
Call me an extremist but killing a few hundred million people seems like the sort of method that might have unintended consequences. - View Quote Details on Call me an extremist but killing a few hundred million…