One can also collide with a bumper car that just spins in circles.
The English language is ever-changing, existing in a state of constant flux (we should be glad that means it’s alive and well). The changes are usually most obvious when a new word is encountered or when a new meaning is added to an existing word. Yet another form of change comes from rules or guidelines that are no longer available. An example of this can be found with collide.
For most of the 20th century, it was common to see manuals and newspapers saying that in order to have two things collide both must move. This prohibition has eased in recent years, due to the fact that uncountable millions of people seem to use collide in fact, as if one might collide with a stone wall. However, there are still people who firmly believe in the need for dual movements with collide (And collide).
collision, collision. Only two moving objects can collide.— The New York Times Handbook of Style and Usage2015
Skip the manual
Take for example both the fact that not all writers follow the style manual of the publication in which they write and the manner in which they are written. collide commonly used, we present the following quotes:
His bike hits a rock wall, he bounces like a box and then disappears to the side.—Michael Powell, New York TimesJuly 23, 2019
And quite a few spacecraft have accidentally collided with the moon.— Jonathan Fetter-Vorm, New York TimesJuly 19, 2019
The birds collided with active wires and fell to the ground.— David Streitfeld, New York TimesMarch 9, 2019
Another train, heading west, then hit the vehicle and pushed it down the tracks before the two front carriages of the train derailed and hit the concrete platform.— Azi Paybarah, New York TimesFebruary 27, 2019
collide has been in use in English since the first half of the 17th century, originally used in the transitional form (“attack against”), a meaning that is now obsolete. The intransitive meaning (“associated with firm or direct action”) began to be used near the beginning of the 18th century.
The first is, I suppose, written to invite imitation, the second stands as an Index anchoralis, or seamarke, lest posterity collide with the same rock.— Robert Johnson (translated by TM), History of Scotland1646
Most manuals these days no longer worry about a single person moving or not finding it offensive in the first place. online AP Style Book removed their entry (“Two objects must be in motion before they can collide”) in early 2018 and the most recent version of Fowler’s Dictionary of Modern English Usage (2015) states “There is no basis for such a belief.” Usage rules often take decades (or even centuries) to expire, so there’s always the chance that you’ll be corrected by someone for saying you collide with a parked car. Don’t worry, as this usage is completely standard and is widely found in all levels of writing.
Categories: Usage Notes
Source: vothisaucamau.edu.vn
