On Jul 12, 2006, at 1:31 PM, Carrol Cox wrote:
> I love that word (phatic) and almost never see it used.
Me too, and I don't get why it's not more popular. When I was young & grouchy I used to think all the phatic rituals were a waste of time and breath; now I think they're really important. But why is the concept so obscure?
Doug