BULLOCKS - euph/typo/LA pron.?

[Benjamin Zimmer]

On Tue, 3 May 2005 13:11:45 -0400, Baker, John <JMB at STRADLEY.COM> wrote:

>        There's a detailed discussion at
> http://www.snopes.com/holidays/christmas/donner.asp.  Here's the
>evolution:
>
>Original 1823 publication of "A Visit from St. Nicholas," anonymous but
>probably by Henry Livingston:  Dunder and Blixem (Dutch for thunder and
>lightning).
>
>1837 reprint published by Charles Fenno Hoffman:  Donder and Blixen (to
>rhyme with vixen).  Snopes speculates that Dunder may have been changed
>to Donder to reflect its pronunciation.
>
>1844 publication by Clement Clarke Moore, who until recently was thought
>to be the poem's author:  Donder and Blitzen.  This linguistic muddle
>(Dutch for thunder, German for lightning) remains the poem's standard
>text.
>
>1906 republication by The New York Times:  Donner and Blitzen (German for
>thunder and lightning), beginning the confusion that continues to this
>day.
>
>1949 recording of "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer," written by Johnny
>Marks:  Donner and Blitzen, probably following an erroneous copy of the
>poem's text that used Donner rather than Donder.  It is the famous and,
>to me, completely abhorrent recording of this song by Gene Autry that
>seems to have put "Donner" firmly in some people's minds.

Dec. 1989: In the premiere episode of _The Simpsons_ ("Simpsons Roasting
on an Open Fire"), Homer doesn't get a Christmas bonus and is forced to
find extra work as a department store Santa.  He doesn't do too well at
Santa school when he is drilled on the names of the reindeer:

    "Dasher...  Dancer...  Prancer...  Nixon...
     Comet...  Cupid...  Donna Dixon?"


--Ben Zimmer