Date:  Wed, 31 May 1995 10:34:25 EDT

From:  Larry Horn <LHORN[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]YALEVM.CIS.YALE.EDU>

Subject: Re: 'rush hour'



Re:



>>Subj: 'rush hour'

>>

>>Why is it called 'rush hour' when it is so slow?



>And when describing traffic flow, "big bottlenecks" restrict even more traffic

>whereas a big bottleneck for liquids allow for more flow?



>-- Jim



Uh-oh. Son of "words-that-are-their-own-opposites"? Actually, the latter one

makes some sense, given that it described something that is "bigly" (i.e. 'to

a great extent') a bottleneck (i.e. 'a narrow passage'); _big_ = 'major' here,

not 'large'. But there may well have been a transfer, where 'bottleneck' can

now refer to the congestion itself, not just to the 'narrow or confined space

where traffic may become congested' [OED].

  As for the former, perhaps the reananalysis we're tempted to make is 'the

hours that rush by while you're stuck in a bottleneck'.



Larry