Quote:
Originally Posted by Stitchawl
Ask as biologist if they would ever use the word 'subniveal' in this manner. If describing the snow-free zone in which rodents travel under the snow cover, the term 'subnivean layer' is frequently used. Does the writer intend to mean that the lawn was snow free? Or was the intent to say that the lawn was simply snow-covered? If so, I don't believe subnivial would be correct usage. It feels more like the writer just added it in for color, without really understanding its meaning. He saw the prefix 'sub' and the root 'niveal,' and thought it would work to mean 'covered with snow,' rather than its real meaning.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by HarryT
Precisely, Colin Dexter is simply a man with a very rich vocabulary, who makes full use of it within his books.
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Or the author simply has a very big dictionary at hand?
