sea change

In Shakespeare’s Tempest, Ariel deceitfully sings to Ferdinand:Full fathom five thy father lies;Of his bones are coral made;Those are pearls that were his eyes:Nothing of him that doth fadeBut doth suffer a sea-changeInto something rich and strange.This rich language has so captivated the ears of generations of writers that they feel compelled to describe as “sea changes” not only alterations that are “rich and strange,” but, less appropriately, those that are simply large or sudden. Always popular, this cliché has recently become so pervasive as to make “sea” an almost inextricable companion to “change,” whatever its meaning. In its original context, it meant nothing more complex than “a change caused by the sea.” Since the phrase is almost always improperly used and is greatly over-used, it has suffered a swamp change into something dull and tiresome. Avoid the phrase; otherwise you will irritate those who know it and puzzle those who do not.

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• ratio
• woman vs women
• ceasar vs caesar
• amature vs amateur
• flys vs flies
• intergrate vs integrate
• blindsighted vs blindsided
• interment vs internment
• phantom vs fathom
• espouse vs expound vs expand

Definitions

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• n  a profound transformation

News & Articles

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• Same-Sex Marriage Ruling: A Financial Game Changer
  The Supreme Court’s ruling is a practical one that will usher in a sea change and likely prompt a flurry of lawsuits.
  June 26, 2013 - CNBC
• The Hedge Edge Moves to Mutual Funds
  By Hal M. Bundrick NEW YORK (MainStreet)--The landscape for tactical investments is undergoing a sea change. Hedge funds are being trimmed, while alternative strategy mutual funds are gaining favor, according to a national surveyregarding the use of alternative investments by institutions and financial advisors conducted by Morningstar and Barron's. Money poured into alternative mutual funds ...
  June 25, 2013 - TheStreet.com
• Guest Column: The route from dysfunction to secession
  Absent a sea change reversing the federal government's seemingly inexorable slide to total dysfunction, two things will happen within the next 50 years: A bloodless secession movement will grow and succeed, the United States splitting into two nation-states, and both new nations will scrap representative democracy in favor of the direct Athenian model.
  June 16, 2013 - The St. Augustine Record