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Obviously the music could be rising as it reaches the crescendo!

Music could be rising as it reaches the crescendo

Crescendo is a verb, not a noun.

No it is not. It is an adverb.

chrise@315 et al

I have been investigating 'crescendo' online. I regret to say that some dictionaries unashamedly include the peak reached by a sound as one of the definitions. Others qualify that with 'Some people use crescendo to mean the peak ...'

Despite crescendo being derived from the Latin crescere, to grow, we once again have to admit that frequent enough general usage changes the 'correct' meaning. Language evolves, in this case much to the annoyance of musicians.

I found this helpful:
https://jeremybutterfield.wordpress.com/2020/08/19/can-you-say-reach-a-crescendo-yes-you-can-its-not-a-
specialist-term/

Thanks for the link, paulH. I disagree, of course!

Yes, chrise@326, and there is an emphatic comment from a musician below the linked article.

Your original comment @315 is entirely justified because the Radio 3 (classical music) announcer should have known better about 'crescendo' in that context.

The Chambers entry for FISH includes…

intransitive verb
1. To catch or try to catch or obtain fish, or anything that may be likened to a fish (such as seals, sponges, coral, compliments, information or husbands; often with for)

“Husbands”… is this an example of dictionary editor humour?

jono@328

Wry humour wouldn't surprise me from Chambers. You probably know its definition of middle-age: '...between youth and old age, variously reckoned to suit the reckoner...'

I see that these jocular entries were removed in 1973 but many were reinstated about ten years later because of the affection in which they were held by readers.

Thanks, Paul. I hadn’t realised that the humorous definitions were quite so prevalent, nor tracked so keenly.

I found this most interesting…
http://www.crossword.org.uk/chambrs2.htm