Goomba38 wrote on Wed, 07 Nov 2007 11:35:07 -0500:

??>> My friend was being silly, even though she was correct. If
??>> the menu says panini, as a heading atop a list of choices,
??>> that's correct because it's plural. But, to list each item
??>> with the word "panini" (Roast beef panini with horseradish
??>> sauce) seems incorrect, since that's just one sandwich, at
??>> least in theory.
??>>
??>> So, if I'm being pedantic, should a diner's beverage list
??>> look like this? Coffees Milks Orange Juices Grapefruit
??>> Juices
??>>

I tend to agree since I cannot speak or write Italian tho' my
recognition vocabulary for food is just passable. However, tho'
ravioli sounds plural, what *do* you call an individual one? I
suspect ravioli has been around long enough in English usage to
be the same in singular or plural, horrible tho' an Italian
speaker might find that :-) I don't know if the aging process
has gone on long enough for panini but I don't know the singular
here either. I guess speakers of other languages have been
appalled by what English speakers can do for 500 years or more!

James Silverton
Potomac, Maryland

E-mail, with obvious alterations:
not.jim.silverton.at.verizon.not