Usage note: Roll versus role
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Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. This is your friendly, neighborhood cranky grammarian here with a usage note. Rule One: KNOW THE MEANINGS OF WORDS YOU USE, ESPECIALLY HOMOPHONES.
Take the following sentence, for example: “We are called father, and that is the roll of the father in a family to teach and correct his children.” Let’s ignore the punctuation issues for the moment. The “roll of the father.” I wonder, does he mean his dinner roll? Perhaps his roll of tape? Maybe he has a parchment roll from which he teaches and corrects his children.
Frankly, I think he means “role,” as in, “a part or character to be played” or “a function or position in society.”
Having twatted your nose with a roll of newspaper, I now lay aside my role as cranky grammarian.
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