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3 months agoIf you look at the meaning of the word “early” there are several senses.
- One sense is “At a time in advance of the usual or expected event.” e.g. if someone suffered an “early death.” Another sense of the word is “Arriving a time before expected; sooner than on time.” e.g. “you arrived early today!” You’re right that in these two senses of the word, “early voting” sounds weird.
- But there’s another sense of the word early: “Near the start or beginning.” e.g. “Shakespeare’s early works”. There’s also “Near the start of the day.” as in “It’s too early for this sort of thing. I’m not awake yet.” Another sense is “Having begun to occur; in its early stages.” e.g. “an early cancer”. In these senses of the word, “early voting” sounds a lot better.
- For more info see: https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/early
My BFF had this skill: whenever they sang an Elvis tune (like “Blue Moon”) their cats would start humping. They weren’t singing it weird, maybe a little more warbly than normal. Anyway, we were in this zoo once, and I said, “I wonder if that lion would react to your Elvis songs the same way your cats do!” I was just kidding, but my BFF started singing the same way and that lion suddenly became VERY alert and stared right at us. I started wondering if a properly motivated lion could leap that gap that was keeping us separated, and what I would do if it reached us. Anyway, my point is: it depends on how you sing it.