Hurray for “Slew!”

I saw a headline in my morning newspaper (Yes, I still read print!) that renewed my hope that one of my favorite irregular verb forms, slew, is going to survive after all. U.S. says raid slew leader of terror cell Ever since Buffy the Vampire Slayer ruled the television waves, the regularized form slayed has been gaining ground. The traditional simple past form, slew, was slipping away, but between headline writers and writers of fantasy, it may have a new lease on life. Slew has fewer letters than slayed and in writing headlines, short words trump long words. I like slew because it sounds more deadly, serious, and final. Buffy slew the vampire. David slew Goliath. Saint George slew the dragon. If you’re... [read full story]