How gets an extended meaning if you added “one” before a noun? Is this actually semantics?
Why did Elaine make a great gift for Tim? What’s your opinion on the “jenny”? “Wurd you ever find out who got that? ” One Tim Whatley” ” Jerry: “Something Like Tim Butler. What
does “one” mean when used as a modifier?
What shall I do if I get nothing too bad about my name?
I believe the origin of it uses old legal jargon (possibly just TV-legal, not actual legal) such as “The court hereby alleges that one John Doe did, on the night of September 29th, with malice aforethought…” (Where that comes from, I have no idea. I suspect “Legal” could give you a better answer
(but not a good one.) In the case you’re asking about then it’s a form of humor that uses unnecessarily serious language to discuss a trifling matter. Rather than Jerry just answering the question “Tim Whatley” he uses a (pseudo?) legal construction “One Tim Whatley” as if he is filing charges against Tim for re-gifting.
I believe the origin of it uses old legal jargon (possibly just TV-legal, not actual legal) such as “The court hereby alleges that one John Doe did, on the night of September 29th, with malice aforethought…” (Where that comes from, I have no idea. I suspect “Legal” could give you a better answer
(but not a good one.) In the case you’re asking about then it’s a form of humor that uses unnecessarily serious language to discuss a trifling matter. Rather than Jerry just answering the question “Tim Whatley” he uses a (pseudo?) legal construction “One Tim Whatley” as if he is filing charges against Tim for re-gifting.
What’s the name of the show Tim Whatley?
What did Tim Whatley create in PBS, before he changed the name to Whatley?
One (DICTIONARY.) Who
- was John Smith? (com) a certain (often used in naming someone else unknown or undescribed)
How can I find out what other comment I’m reading on etymonline? I didn’t find anything too useful in that specific meaning of ‘one’, but it’s interesting that one derives from old English ‘ans’ which is an older form of ‘a’.
One (n.)
c. 1200, from Old English an (adjective, pronoun, noun) “one,” from Proto-Germanic *ainaz (source also of Old Norse einn, Danish een, Old Frisian an, Dutch een, German ein, Gothic ains), from PIE root *oi-no, “one, unique. Was
Tim Whatley originally used to legally specify that he was just one of several possible Tim Whatleys?
