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Drive Safe: In Praise of Flat Adverbs Lyrics by Merriam-Webster

Merriam-Webster Ask the Editor

2011

Welcome to Ask the Editor. I’m Emily Brewster, an Associate Editor at Merriam-Webster.
The other night, my parting words to a friend were, “Drive safe,” at which point another friend chimed in, “-ly!”—which made me think about how attached some of us are to the idea that an adverb should end in -ly. Should it? Should I have said, “Drive safely”? Or was “Drive safe” okay?
The adverb “safe” is what’s called “the flat adverb,” that is, an adverb that has the same form as its related adjective. So, “safe” in “drive safe,” “slow” in “go slow”; “easy” in “take it easy.”
Flat adverbs used to be much more common than they are now. In Robinson Crusoe, Daniel Defoe spoke of weather that was “violent hot.” In his famous diary, Samuel Pepys wrote of being “horrid angry.” But most of these adverbs have long since been abandoned.
In Middle English, adverbs like these had case endings that distinguished them from their related adjectives, but those gradually disappeared.
18th-century grammarians didn’t even identify flat adverbs as adverbs. They considered them adjectives, and the adverbial used to be a mistake. It’s these grammarians we have to thank for the still repeated injunction that adverbs end in -ly, and for the sad lack of flat adverbs today.
We still have some, but most of them compete with an -ly form—there's “slow” and “slowly,” “safe” and “safely”; “bright” and “brightly.” But then we have “tight” and “tightly,” with “tight” used in a few places “tightly” is not—“sit tight”; “sleep tight.” “Near” and “nearly” also do different jobs—“The day is drawing near” versus “It’s nearly over.”
A few flat adverbs survived without any competition from an -ly version. “Fast” is one—“Time goes so fast”; “fast asleep.” So is “soon,” as in “We’ll be there soon.”
I admit, I like flat adverbs. Maybe I’ll start ignoring the competing -ly versions entire.
Tune in again soon for future installments of Ask the Editor here at merriam-webster.com, and in the meanwhile, surf safe.
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Merriam-Webster

Merriam-Webster

About “Drive Safe: In Praise of Flat Adverbs” by Merriam-Webster

Read the complete lyrics to "Drive Safe: In Praise of Flat Adverbs" by Merriam-Webster from the album "Merriam-Webster Ask the Editor" in 2011. On Lyrks you can follow along with the full text, explore the artist's discography, and discover related songs. The track is often categorized under Non-Music, Literature.

"Drive Safe: In Praise of Flat Adverbs" is performed by Merriam-Webster. from the album "Merriam-Webster Ask the Editor" in 2011 This page provides the full lyric text for fans who want to sing along, study the songwriting, or compare versions across releases. Lyrks organizes lyrics by artist and song slug so you can bookmark and share a stable URL. Music lyrics help listeners connect with emotion, narrative, and rhythm in a track. Whether you are learning English, researching a favorite chorus, or preparing for karaoke, having accurate line breaks and section labels (verse, chorus, bridge) makes the experience easier. We link to the official artist profile on Lyrks where available, including biography snippets, top songs, and chart placements when we have that data. If you enjoy "Drive Safe: In Praise of Flat Adverbs", explore more songs by Merriam-Webster using the links below. Chart and trending pages on Lyrks highlight what listeners are searching for this week. For copyright or correction requests, see our DMCA and contact pages.

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"Drive Safe: In Praise of Flat Adverbs" appears on "Merriam-Webster Ask the Editor" in 2011.

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