Several readers called me out for a line in a recent column about The N&O's Barry Saunders, in which I wrote: "He enjoys being contrarian." The readers said the sentence should have been: "He enjoys being a contrarian" or "He enjoys being contrary." They are correct. I beg the court for mercy. Below is an e-mail from one of the readers. --John Drescher
I question the use of "contrarian." Where did this word come from? Did Barry use this word? There were no quotes on that particular sentence. "He enjoys being contrarian." If the sentence had read "He enjoys being a contrarian," I would not have questioned the word or how it was used. I would have skimmed over the sentence thinking it was my lack of knowledge--which wouldn't be too unusual. I did, however, go to some lengths to find the word. My mother's Webster's Encyclopedic Unabridged Dictionary of the English Language does not include the noun. Contrariety is defined as a noun meaning the quality or state of being contrary. Of course the more common noun of contrariness and the use of contrary as an adjective, adverb or noun are included . The dictionary also lists the adverbs contrariwise and contrarily. All of these words might well be used to describe Barry Saunder's personality or his stated opinions--stubborn or willful??? [I tend to agree with his opinions more often than not.]
