"scream" = 'makes me laugh'

[RonButters at AOL.COM]

In a message dated 10/16/07 12:22:09 PM, george.thompson at NYU.EDU writes:


> Have you met her?  She's a scream.  Or, That movie is a scream.
> 

Documented in slang dictionaries. How far should dicitonaries of record go in 
documenting slang uses?As with trademarks and compounds, it seems to be up to 
the editors, based on (1) frequency, (2) opaqueness, and (3) general utility. 
This is opaque enough that I'd think a lexicographer might well consider it. 
If "gray rape" could be construed as 'rape of(by?) old people' "She's a scream 
could easily be read to mean "She's frightening," though no native speaker of 
current American English would ever do that.



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