Date: Tue, 6 Feb 1996 11:09:26 -0700

From: Rudy Troike RTROIKE[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]CCIT.ARIZONA.EDU

Subject: Re: spitten image [was: The skinny on PROVE]



Larry,

Your (only slightly) speculative reconstruction makes very good sense.

The earlier citations show that image must be the OBJECT of spit , which

makes the present participle more unlikely, given that the derivation (if one

is still a transformational believer, which I find it plausible to be) would

more likely require image to be the underlying SUBJECT. The derivation from

a passivized underlying structure an image which has been spit(ten) makes

much more likely sense.

Rudy

--Rudy Troike (rtroike[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]ccit.arizona.edu)