Re: house plant/houseplant

**f*@aol.com**

 Lois,
a voice of reason. But even though I agree with you I do like "houseplants," perhaps because when I have, say, a 1,000 word limit I always write 1,389 and then have to prune. Any two words that can be camouflaged as one, like two people in a cow suit, become my friends as I near the goal.
How about "hardgoods" as a descriptor of all non-plant garden center inventory? I don't like it. "Hard goods" feels better, doesn't it?
Merry Christmas, y'all.
JF

-----Original Message-----
From: loisdan@juno.com
To: gardenwriters@lists.ibiblio.org
Sent: Wed, 24 Dec 2008 11:24 am
Subject: Re: [GWL] house plant/houseplant

 OK, I can't stand it any longer. The word "house" is a noun used as an
adjective to delimit (not just describe) the word "plant." Therefore, it
should be "house plant," as opposed to some other kind of plant (for
example tropical plant, or landscape plant). If you think of another term
that means the same thing, the proper use becomes clear. We would never
write "indoorplant," but rather, "indoor plant."

I tried to keep quiet, but I just couldn't help myself.

Merry Christmas, everyone.
Lois

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