Posted by Alex C on July 29, 2003 at 19:25:05:
In Reply to: Re: Re: Strauss Horn con. #1 by Ted Cox posted by Mark on July 29, 2003 at 13:33:03:
I don't think tubaist is a mis-spelling. I think it's more clear.
What is a tubist? A person who makes tubs? A person who uses tubs?
Or maybe it's a tube maker... someone who makes tubes. Is a trumpet player also a tubist? How about a bassoonist? They use wooden tubes.
I carried on a rather lengthy and spirited spate of letters with the people at Merriam-Webster argueing for acceptance of the term "tubaist." In the end, "tubist" won out because there were places to site usage, thus tubist is in the dictionary even if it's unclear.