I am eruditer than you

At dinner, I described my cousin H—— as being more erudite than myself. J—— looked at me askance. I supplied the definition and then told her how I came to know the word. It was a Slumdog Millionare moment, only thousands of dollars didn't hang in the balance.

In sixth or seventh grade, my English teacher, Mrs. Borden, gave me a note she wrote on a pad she kept on her desk. A cartoon turkey sat on the page above which were printed the words, "I am eruditer than you." I didn't get it. I told her I didn't get it.

Mrs. Border took out a pencil and corrected the sentence. To be grammitcally correct, she said the sentence should read "I am more erudite than you." "An English joke," she said. "'Erudite' means learned."
Posted by eku at January 20, 2009 10:35 PM