Some random dispatches from the word front ...

THEY'RE SO EXCITED!

A U.S. senator's website reports that the senator was "genuinely excited to meet Jon Stewart." A headline says that golfer Michelle Wie is "excited to start a dream job." A competitor on a high school swim team says, "We're really excited for the championships."

Is it just me, or wouldn't "about" be the preposition of choice here, i.e. "excited about meeting," "excited about starting," "excited about the championships"? These phrasings sound more natural to my ear.

Even so, I can't really find a grammatical reason for my preference. After all, no one would object to "I'm prepared to meet Jon Stewart," "I'm motivated to start a dream job," or "I'm pumped for the championships."

It's just that "excited" is usually followed by "about" or "by" and the object of a preposition. To me, it sounds strange to use it any other way. Just as you wouldn't say, "I'm interested to meet Jon Stewart," "I'm interested to start a dream job," or "I'm interested for the championships" because "interested" is almost always followed by "in," you wouldn't say "I'm excited to do something." (Perhaps my fretting about this suggests I need more excitement in my life.)

SIGN LANGUAGE

Peter Adelsberger of Suffield, Conn., wonders about the meaning of the words "Police Take Notice" on signs that say, "No Loitering" or "No Trespassing." He asks, "Is this intended as a command to the police to take notice for fear they don't care, or is it a warning to the reader that the police are very much aware of this particular site and, in fact, take notice as part of their routine patrols?"

I've always wondered about this too. If anyone has any "in-sign" information, please take notice and send it to me.

GREAT CAESAR'S GHOST!

A recent column on words that appear to have opposite meanings but don't (such as "bone/debone" and "habitable/inhabitable") inspired Mike Agranoff of Ellington, Conn., to send me a terrific example of such a paradox. The statements "I demand the life of Caesar" and "I demand the death of Caesar," he notes, mean the same thing.

DEUS EX MACHINA

Emailer Marjorie Nielsen recalls that her daughter, as a second-grader, once rendered part of "The Pledge of Allegiance" in this delightful way: " ... one nation, under God, in a dirigible."

Rob Kyff, a teacher and writer in West Hartford, Conn., invites your language sightings. Send your reports of misuse and abuse, as well as examples of good writing, via email to [email protected] or by regular mail to Rob Kyff, Creators Syndicate, 737 3rd Street, Hermosa Beach, CA 90254.