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I will be afraid of neither rain nor of snow

I will be afraid neither of rain nor of snow.

I will be afraid of neither rain nor snow.

What is the correct usage?

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    All three are acceptable.
    – Michael Harvey
    Commented Feb 1, 2020 at 10:40
  • @MichaelHarvey Do you have any reference why all of them are acceptable? The 3-rd one sounds good but the other 2 - not so much. I don't think of before snow is needed.
    – user107943
    Commented Feb 1, 2020 at 12:48
  • 'Of' before snow is not needed, and can be omitted, but it is correct if used, and we can use repetition to add emphasis or rhythm. I am afraid neither of men, nor of women, nor of wild beasts, nor of tempests on the ocean. Multiple 'nors' after 'neither' are grammatical, by the way.
    – Michael Harvey
    Commented Feb 1, 2020 at 13:27

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I think 2 and 3 are fine, but 1 is not, because when you say

I will be afraid of neither...

two options are expected. You then present us with options

A) ... rain.
B)... of snow.

That second of is off (pun intended).

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  • 1
    Do you want to rebuke Matthew Arnold? "Ah, love, let us be true To one another! for the world, which seems To lie before us like a land of dreams, So various, so beautiful, so new, Hath really neither joy, nor love, nor light, Nor certitude, nor peace, nor help for pain;
    – Michael Harvey
    Commented Feb 1, 2020 at 13:21
  • Or Kipling? "But there is neither East nor West, Border, nor Breed, nor Birth, When two strong men stand face to face, though they come from the ends of the earth!"
    – Michael Harvey
    Commented Feb 1, 2020 at 13:25
  • "That second of is off (pun intended)." - nonsense,
    – Michael Harvey
    Commented Feb 1, 2020 at 21:39
  • But it was such a good pun... :(
    – krobelusmeetsyndra
    Commented Feb 2, 2020 at 16:03
  • @MichaelHarvey Your examples seem to be hitting more than two items rather than the "of" in the second one. Maybe "neither of rain nor of snow."
    – puppetsock
    Commented Mar 4, 2020 at 19:23
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All three are acceptable.

The third is probably preferred, but 1 and 2 are also correct.

The style is rather formal, and the use of "I will" (rather than I'll) expresses "determination" rather than a simple prediction of the future. And generally rain and snow are not considered scary, so the meaning is rather odd.

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