Re: composite preposition with two opposite meanings

On Jul 28, 2006, at 11:20 AM, Roger Mills wrote:

> Remé Uittenbogaard wrote:
>>
>> Apparently the expression "in possession of" can mean two opposite
>> things.
>>
>> This book is in possession of my brother.
>> I have been in possession of this book for years.
>>
> Disagree. I think there has to be a "the" in the first case.
> Consider also:
[snip]
> And offhand I can't think of any comparable expressions.
An expression that annoys me because (to me) it sounds like it should
mean the opposite is "by way of."  E.g., the sentence "By way of
explanation, John said X" means that John explained something, and
the method by which he explained it was X -- whereas to my mind it
*sounds* like it should mean John said X, and the method by which he
said X was by explanation.  I hope that makes sense.  The other usage
of "by way of" means that something has gone through some place or
passed through the hands of someone on its way.