Geographical euphemisms?

[Laurence Horn]

>         Actually, a Dutch auction is a descending-price auction,
>with several variations in practice.  It derives from the auction
>system used in the Netherlands to auction tulips.  It is believed to
>produce higher prices than traditional ascending-price auctions, at
>least in some contexts.
>
>John Baker
>

Thanks for the correction.  My entry was part of a group of
anti-Dutch slurs dating to the Herring Wars from the Victorian era
Farmer & Henley _Slang and its Analogues_.  I wonder if they got it
wrong, if there always were two different senses/uses of "Dutch
auction", or if the sense has changed.  Anyone know?

Larry

>-----Original Message-----
>From: Laurence Horn [mailto:laurence.horn at YALE.EDU]
>Sent: Friday, January 03, 2003 10:51 AM
>To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
>Subject: Re: Geographical euphemisms?
>
>
>Here are a few, some overlapping with the above or with other posted
>nominees, from a paper ("Spitten Image") I've submitted to _American
>Speech_:
>
>[snip]
>
>Dutch auction:  a sale at minimum prices
>
>[snip]
>
>In the paper, I dub these "ironyms".
>
>Larry