Date: Wed, 10 Dec 1997 08:51:56 -0600 From: "Timothy C. Frazer" Subject: Re: ADS-L; Hazard; Legal Sharks; Linguistics Dictionary; Dog Names I think below is what I meant.--Tim ------------------------------------------------------------ On Tue, 9 Dec 1997, Bapopik wrote: > ADS-L > > Is this coming up again? > As I've said _many_ times, the ADS needs to get much bigger (not > smaller!). We need to have an online publication with the American Name > Society such as AMERICAN POPULAR SPEECH, something that would cover news > events, movies, plays, music lyrics, books, new words and phrases, and more. > Here's the latest issue: > > NEWS: Discussion of Gravegate, Paulagate, Travelgate, Filegate, Watergate. > Reprints of recent news articles on license plate names and dog names. > > MOVIES: Discussion of Robin William's "pahk yah cah in Hahvahd Yahd" in GOOD > WILL HUNTING. Discussion of the Southernisms of THE RAINMAKER. Discussion of > AAVE and AMISTAD by two or three experts. Teen talk and SCREAM 2. > > BOOKS: Reviews of Peter Matthews's CONCISE OXFORD DICTIONARY OF LINGUISTICS, > Anne Soukhanov's revised Flexner, AMERICA IN SO MANY WORDS. > > THEATER: Africanisms and African naming in THE LION KING. > > SPORTS: Legal battle over Nets coach John Calipari's "F***ing Mexican Idiot." > Rehabilitation words?--Latrell Sprewell, Marv Albert, Lawrence Phillips > quotes. > > MUSIC: Lyrics of the latest from Will Smith, the Rolling Stones. > > SPECIAL INTERVIEW: AMISTAD's dialect coach (see above review). > > SPECIAL FEATURE: "Santa Claus" names (Sidewalk Santa, Street Corner Santa, > Department Store Santa, St. Nick, Kris Kringle). > > SPECIAL FEATURE: "Gaspers" (autoerotic asphyxiation). > > NEW WORDS & PHRASES. > > NOTABLE WORDS & PHRASES. > > SPANGLISH, EBONICS, REGIONAL SPEECH COLUMNS. > > NOTES & QUERIES COLUMN. > > ANNOUNCEMENTS: ANS meeting, ADS meeting. > > UNOFFICIAL WORD-OF-THE-YEAR VOTES. > > WEB LINKS. > > CORRECTIONS AND COMMENTS. > > For example, if any discussion about AMISTAD were to appear in AMERICAN > SPEECH, it would appear next year, after the movie closes! > I have said many times that I would even fund such a venture through the > first year, although I would expect that it would make money eventually. > I don't apologize for putting etymologies on ADS-L--they are certainly > professional and nearly all contain OED and RHHDAS antedates. The American > Dialect Society has been a pretty lonely place for discussion of popular > speech. Why make it worse? > If you're not reading the above AMERICAN POPULAR SPEECH issue right now, > don't blame me! I'm willing to donate only time, expertise, and money... > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ > ------------------------------------------- > THE GAME OF HAZARD > > "Craps" comes from "crabs" in the game of "Hazard." This is not an > antedate, but is from the Sporting Magazine (London), April 1794, pg. 84: > > The GAME of HAZARD. > THIS game may be played by any number of people. The person who takes > the box and dice throws a _main_, that is to say, a chance for the company, > which must be more than four, but not exceeding nine: otherwise it is no main, > and he must consequently continue throwing till he brings five, six, seven, > eight, or nine. This done, he must throw his own chance, which may be any > above three, and not exceeding ten. If he throws two aces, or trois ace > (commonly called crabs) he loses his stakes, let the company's chance (which > we call the main) be what it will. > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ > ------------------------------------------- > LEGAL SHARKS > > "Professional courtesy! Heh-heh-heh!" > --end of a lousy lawyer joke. > > For lawyer-shark, OED has 1806 and notes that it is a nautical term. > This is from the Sporting Magazine (London), October 1793, pg. 50: > > A _water-lawyer_, or, in plainer terms, a _shark_, was caught last month > near Washington, by Mr. Richard Graham, tacksman of the fishery of J. C. > Curwen, Esq. It was included in a stake-net, with several salmon, which, as > supposed, it was in pursuit of Mr. Graham, and his servant had a severe > conflict with the voracious fish, in which a very string spear was shivered to > pieces. It was ten feet long. > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ > ------------------------------------------- > LINGUISTICS DICTIONARY > > I just bought THE CONCISE OXFORD DICTIONARY OF LINGUISTICS by Peter > Matthews (1997, Oxford University Press, paperback, 410 pages, $13.95). It's > more comprehensive (3,000 entries), but less in-depth than Crystal's > dictionary. Why isn't anyone doing a CD-ROM linguistics dictionary? > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ > ------------------------------------------- > DOG NAMES > > First the New York Post did license plate names, and now the New York > Daily News has done dog names. (What, no cat names?) It's in the December > 8th newspaper on pages 7, 28, and 29. Yes, it's been a slow news week! > There are 85, 735 licensed dog names in New York City. > The article starts with menacing dog names such as Bad Attitude, Baddest, > Bazooka, Bullett Proof, Bull Dozer, Bruglar, Bite/Bitten, Corrupt, Crusher, > Curtains, Deathrow, Demon XVI, Destroyer, Ferocious, Firstblood, Mafioso, > Negative, Predator, Monster, Rikers, Slasher, Sledge, Spike, Kill, Terminator, > Thug, Vendetta.... > This reminds me of another old joke. There was a woman who named her > dog Virginity. One day, the dog was lost and she tried to find it... >