Date: Thu, 14 Sep 1995 12:14:05 -0700

From: Sylvia Swift madonna[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]VIOLET.BERKELEY.EDU

Subject: Re: with a bullet



casey kasem (sorry if that's not the right spelling, i haven't seen the

tony robbins infommercial in a while)'s syndicated radio show, "american

top forty" probably did a great deal to popularize this phrase. the

statistics for that show were drawn from _billboard_ magazine, especially

their lists of best-selling/most played-on-the-air records broken down by

market. the last time i looked at an issue of _billboard_, they still

maintained such lists. a bullet (typographical symbol, that is)

appearing next to a number meant something like "fast-moving"; there was

an explanatory note at the bottom of the chart (cf. _the new york times

book review_ chart, where an asterisk denotes little difference between

an entry and its neighbor).



on the etymology of bullet (looks like a bullet-hole?) in its

typographical sense, you might try _pocket pal: a graphic arts

production handbook_, published (and updated every year or so) by

international paper company or _the chicago manual of style_.