on the, at the

[alocispepraluger102]

when i heard or read ' on the' ....................musical instrument, a musician sitting or reclining on their instrument comes to mind, a funny picture indeed.

isnt 'at the' or something else more accurate and appropriate?

[papsrus]

I'm on the computer, so I went to dictionary.com, and this seems to be the applicable definition:

20. assigned to or occupied with; operating: Who's on the switchboard this afternoon?

"At the" piano sounds better. "At the" drums, not so much. "At the" tuba, sounds wrong.

The more precise "playing the" piano, "playing the" drums and "playing the tuba" would be best.

Reminds me of the kind of problems that crop up with headline abbreviations. Often you'll see the word "in" used as an abbreviation of the expression "in the case of." So what you get is: "Man charged in murder," which sounds OK, but not the way you'd speak. You'd say, "He was charged with murder."

But saying "in" is more accurate and fair than saying "with" because the term "murder" has a legal definition, and to associate someone "with" it before it has been established that a) the death was a murder and b) the suspect is guilty of that murder, indicates a presumption of guilt, or a presumption of facts that have yet to be established.

(this is the kind of shit copy editors think of) <--- if you'll pardon the dangling preposition. ...

[alocispepraluger102]

that was helpful.

thanks for taking the time, and for the clarification.

have you moved?

i dont recall seeing 'florida'?

[Quincy]

Harry is at the piano, Lauren is on the piano.

[alocispepraluger102]

lauren reminds me of that awesome beezboll term, "over but low".

[papsrus]

that was helpful.

thanks for taking the time, and for the clarification.

have you moved?

i dont recall seeing 'florida'?

Florida has been on there for a while

Do you ever read those Safire "On Language" columns in the nyt sunday magazine? I stopped getting the times, but used to get a kick out of them. He goes on and on (no pun intended) about stuff like this.

[JSngry]

George Fell Into His French Horn.

[papsrus]

Daryl lambasted his talking drum.

[The Magnificent Goldberg]

Ray Pounds on the drums.

Ray pounds on the drums.

MG