Shotgun stalk?

[Nick de Guerre]

King Cobb,

I'm not familiar with the book in question...is this a very academic, historical book published in England, in VERY formal prose?

If so, then the answer to your question is..."possibly." I can't say I have ever heard "stock" and "stalk" used interchangably. But the Oxford dictionary does include this little tidbit along side the standard definition of "stalk" that we'd all expect:

Origin - Middle English: probably a diminutive of dialect stale ‘rung of a ladder, long handle’.

That last bit suggests the term might have been used in centuries past. But again, I've never heard it done. The question is, why in a book written in modern prose would anyone use it, even if technically OK in a language sense?

It would be just plain goofy if it simply got past editing, but I guess weirder things have happened. Certainly it's harder to catch inadvertent use of another proper word, than it is to catch a typo.

Beyond this, I can tell you blue collar Red Sox fans would say both words with zero distinction. They speak of gun stawks, corn stawks, and tech stawks on the stawk exchange.

- Nudge

[Nick de Guerre]

Sorry, I had a third cup of coffee this morning.

- NDG

[Dean Romig]

Originally Posted by Nick de Guerre

Beyond this, I can tell you blue collar Red Sox fans would say both words with zero distinction. They speak of gun stawks, corn stawks, and tech stawks on the stawk exchange.

- Nudge

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Nevertheless, 'stock' as it may pertain to wood -

"The trunk or main stem of a tree, or other plant, as distinguished from roots and branches."

"The handle of a whip, fishing rod, etc."

"The trunk or stump of a tree left standing."

"Stalk" in place of 'stock' may have been intentional but my best guess is in the technical or digital editing process used comercially today if it is spelled 'stalk' just once in the text and the editors think that should be the correct spelling (sometimes even without checking with the author) a couple of keystrokes by the editor can change the spelling of 'stock' to 'stalk' each and every time it appears.

Sometimes I wonder what our schools have been teaching.... or if the students were even paying attention....





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