"meanderthal"

[Anne Gilbert]

Laurence:

----- Original Message -----
From: "Laurence Horn" <laurence.horn at YALE.EDU>
To: <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
Sent: Saturday, July 20, 2002 11:59 AM
Subject: "meanderthal"


> An intermittently blend, and evidently not a brand-spanking-new word,
> but still relatively new.  I first encountered it in a piece in the
> Times earlier this week...
>
>
> The New York Times
> July 16, 2002, Tuesday
> SECTION: Section B; Page 1; Column 2; Metropolitan Desk
> HEADLINE: Think You Own the Sidewalk?; Etiquette by New York
> Pedestrians Is Showing a Strain
>
> BYLINE:  By MARC SANTORA
> The average New York City fast walker does not have to get stuck
> behind a pack of mall walkers to grow sour. A single person moving at
> a slow clip-clop can be enough. There is even a word for this
> slowpoke: meanderthal.  An Internet dictionary of slang defines him
> as "an annoying individual moving slowly and aimlessly in front of
> another individual who is in a bit of a hurry."

A couple of years ago, I was doing a search for certain kinds of websites,
and attempted to type "neanderthal" to get some hits.  I was off by one
letter, and came up with some "Meanderthal" websites!  I'm not making this
up!  I don't know when this word was first coined, but it's been around for
*at least* 2-3 years.
Anne G


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