tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5687347459208158501.post2118097231354784465..comments2024-03-28T01:17:42.336-04:00Comments on The Philosopher's Stone: IDLE THOUGHTRobert Paul Wolffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11970360952872431856noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5687347459208158501.post-62018582361915111252019-05-05T13:46:33.382-04:002019-05-05T13:46:33.382-04:00Per OED, Goldsmith used the verb seven years earli...Per OED, Goldsmith used the verb seven years earlier in Vicar of Wakefield: "If you can stoop to an alliance with a family so poor as mine, take her." The entry for the sense of "stoop" relating to birds of prey tends to include "at" in the illustrative uses, e.g., "Whether the priest had stooped at the lure of a cardinal's hat I know not." That's a 1753 letter to Wyndham by Viscount Bolingbroke.Deannoreply@blogger.com