Retarded WAS Re: Hi!

James Harbeck jharbeck at SYMPATICO.CA
Wed Apr 4 01:11:04 UTC 2007


>I was just going to comment on how long it took her to post her comment. She
>must have been so angry she couldn't type for a day.
>Anyway, speaking of retarded, I was just considering the usage of "re re" as
>meaning retarded or a retard, as in "He's a re re." I'm not sure how old it
>is, but I thought I'd put it out there because I'm often surprised at how
>far back some people here can take them.

That one's unfamiliar to me, except that family friends had a child
with Down Syndrome whose name was Rita and who called herself -- and
was called by family -- "Re-re." I'm quite sure that if "re re" as
you mention it had been current in Edmonton in the 1960s and '70s
they would have avoided it. What region are you in?

Ciao,
James Harbeck.

------------------------------------------------------------
The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org



More information about the Ads-l mailing list