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I am wondering if this is correct, I know there is a "neither A nor B" rule but it sounds unnatural. This is to be engraved on a head stone, the tone is solemn rather than informal. Any help/suggesitons would be great.

"Let not our laughter nor our stride falter for we draw strength from your strength, we draw joy from your vibrancy; we carry on through your love."

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  • not... nor... strikes me as a double negative that can be fixed with making the nor an or. Could also strike the second our. "let not our laughter or stride falter"
    – stevesliva
    Commented Jun 25, 2015 at 20:03
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    Your quote doesn't match your question. "Let not our laughter nor our stride falter" is perfectly fine, if a bit archaic. "Let nor our laughter..." would be totally wrong.
    – Marthaª
    Commented Jun 25, 2015 at 20:03
  • ...but as @stephanie says I'm probably doing it wrong.
    – stevesliva
    Commented Jun 25, 2015 at 20:05
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    Some languages (not English) do use the "nor A nor B" type of construction. I guess user126724 speaks one of those languages.
    – GEdgar
    Commented Jun 25, 2015 at 20:15
  • They're both archaic and ponderous. 19th-century bloviation.
    – John Lawler
    Commented Jun 25, 2015 at 21:27

2 Answers 2

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"Let not our laughter nor our stride falter..." is correct English, and it sounds impressive as well.

The use of "nor" is to replace an "or" in a negative sense. The first "not" makes this phrase negative, and so "nor" is proper here.

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  • I would add that "not" has the function of negating "let" rather than "our laughter"; in more colloquial English, it would be "do not let our laughter (n)or our stride falter..."
    – phoog
    Commented Jun 25, 2015 at 20:13
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It's let neither A nor B. It can't be let nor A nor B because the first nor is comparing one thing to nothing, which goes against the function of the or/nor operand of language.

See: How to use Either, Neither, Or, and Nor Correctly

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  • I think the title text is wrong... In the body of the question, the OP says "Let NOT our"... not "let nor".
    – Catija
    Commented Jun 25, 2015 at 20:03
  • I think it may have gotten edited, but I'm going to leave it since there's already a correct answer.
    – Blubberguy22
    Commented Jun 25, 2015 at 20:14
  • If it got edited, there's no history of it.
    – Catija
    Commented Jun 25, 2015 at 20:15
  • @Catija There isn't edit history if the OP makes an edit shortly after the post, I believe.
    – Blubberguy22
    Commented Jun 25, 2015 at 20:16

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