If I were referring to a refrigerator in writing as a ’fridge I would spell it with the apostrophe. If a character uses the word in a casual sentence, should it best be spelled as simply fridge inside the quoted dialog? Note that I'm writing in American English.
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How to spell “fridge” in dialog?
- Thread starter JDlugosz
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Maybe this is a difference between British and American English, but I can't recall ever seeing the word fridge written with an apostrophe before. A quick Google search didn't turn up much either, beyond a solitary forum thread. Are you sure this is a thing?
It was a thing in my younger days - but I don't think it is any more. However, if someone wants to start a movement to Bring Back The Rules, I'll sign up.
Licensed to chill? I guess you know something about refrigeration units, then.
Less sure once I started looking things up to write this question. I did find that the OED listed “fridge” as a plain word with the notation Chiefly British.
I'm wondering if the mark has been lost recently in the Internet Generation.
Anyway, https://books.google.com/books?id=w...page&q=fridge spelled with apostrophe&f=false
Good Grammar for Students by Howard Jackson, in 2005, gives that as a specific example among others. “This practice is archaic and no longer followed.”
So I guess that's my answer. I guess if writing a period piece it would be good to know when it shifted.
Less sure once I started looking things up to write this question. I did find that the OED listed “fridge” as a plain word with the notation Chiefly British.
I'm wondering if the mark has been lost recently in the Internet Generation.
Anyway, https://books.google.com/books?id=w...page&q=fridge spelled with apostrophe&f=false
Good Grammar for Students by Howard Jackson, in 2005, gives that as a specific example among others. “This practice is archaic and no longer followed.”
So I guess that's my answer. I guess if writing a period piece it would be good to know when it shifted.
Never seen 'fridge with an apostrophe in anything, ever, either in published articles, books, novels, the internet - I am well aware of it's origins, but I have honestly never seen it written that way.
I would treat it like other abbreviations that have become so common they're almost proper nouns in their own right, such as phone - you don't write that 'phone, do you?
I would treat it like other abbreviations that have become so common they're almost proper nouns in their own right, such as phone - you don't write that 'phone, do you?
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I'm American, and I've heard people say "fridge" all my life. I don't think an apostrophe is required. Maybe it's one of those things different publishers have in-house rules for, but if you're consistent within your own manuscript, I don't see how it would be a problem.
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I wouldn't put an apostrophe in - the quote offered by JDlugosz sums it up: “This practice is archaic and no longer followed.” So archaic, I've not seen it in my umpteen decades.
I'm not even sure that would be the correct use of an apostrophe. I could see 'frigerator but not 'fridge. A "refrige" is not a thing.
Yup, it used to be 'phone as well as 'fridge. I've seen both in older books, magazines, newspapers.
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Now I have an image of the ancient Greeks and Romans going around putting apostrophes in the word "fridge."
Perhaps the practice started when our ancestors were painting on cave walls.
But I do write its for the pronoun. Maybe you have a stockpile of apostrophes you need to use up?
What edition of the OED do you have? I'm 51 and American, and have said "fridge" all my life.
I don't recall ever seeing the apostrophe, either. I've seen 'phone a couple of times in old books, I think (Wodehouse might have used it? Maybe?)
If ever someone wrote 'fridge with an apostrophe, it would have been wrong 'cause unlike 'cause, fridge is not a contraction. There's no "d" in refrigerator.
Thus, fridge is and always has been a made-up shortened form, like wanna and gonna, also with no apostrophes.
Lil's point above has merit. If indeed fridge is a shortened form of Fridgidaire, it's still a made-up spelling with the added "e." Again, no apostrophe.
Thus, fridge is and always has been a made-up shortened form, like wanna and gonna, also with no apostrophes.
Lil's point above has merit. If indeed fridge is a shortened form of Fridgidaire, it's still a made-up spelling with the added "e." Again, no apostrophe.
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The derivation is not certain, but both the OED and a couple of other dictionaries point to Frigidaire as at least a partial inspiration.
I've checked about six dictionaries — British, U.S., Canadian and Australian, and none have a clear etymology; none suggest that the apostrophe is needed. All use fridge as the lemma.
I know I'm from a non-English speaking country but I had to take some English tests and study English for it. I've never seen fridge written like that.
They may have wanted to distinguish 'frig (short for refrigerator) from frig (masturbate), so added the D for the sake of pronunciation.
My assumption would be that it started out as spoken shorthand*, and when it became common enough that people started writing it, the "d" was automatically written in because that's how English pronunciation naturally works - "frig" was already a word, and "frige" is a head-scratcher. (Freej? Fryj? Frigha?)
*I would also assume it was shorthand for "refrigerator" in general, not just Frigidaire, but that's a side note and I could be wrong...
This is off-topic, but you talking about 'phone cracked me up for some reason. XD
Same with blog. It was originally a contraction of weblog, so . . . 'blog.
Language marches on.
hmmm.....so I have a cell' 'phone....
or would it get a period for cellular, as its an abbreviation?
--
He grabbed his annoying, fucky, irritating cell. 'phone. "Siri, I need directions to Millers."
"Getting directions to The Minetaur, in Gainesville, Florida," the always pleasant, always wrong voice replied. It plotted a route all the way to Florida, instead of to the store the next town over. He wanted to shove the 'phone up its own ass, if that were possible...
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When an abbreviation becomes often used you drop the apostrophes and periods because it has become a word in its own right rather than an abbreviation. Thus phone rather than 'phone, blog rather than 'blog. We'd never write cell. phone since the period would cause readers to glitch when they read the period as the end of a sentence, then realize it wasn't. Instead we'd write cell phone or eventually cellphone or cell. Just so does F. B. I. becomes FBI and L. A. becomes LA.
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