Zona

[Wilson Gray]

Ever have any relatives who were men of the cloth? When I was a
student at Saint Louis University in the 'Fifties, my professor in
Honors English was a Fr. McNamee, S.J., and McNamee isn't a very
common name. He pronounced it MAC nuh Mee. You never know. I've heard
McElroy pronounced Mackle roy, Mik EL roy, and Muh KELLery.

-Wilson

On Feb 3, 2008 6:13 PM, Gregory McNamee <gm at gregorymcnamee.com> wrote:
> ---------------------- Information from the mail header -----------------------
> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       Gregory McNamee <gm at GREGORYMCNAMEE.COM>
> Subject:      Re: Zona
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> "Zonies" comes from San Diego-area surfer talk from the late '70s,
> referring to Arizonans, me among them, who came there to surf. The
> local turf-guarders--"surf Nazis," in the vernacular--meant it as an
> insult, but we had no problem calling ourselves Zonies, so the effect
> was muted. San Diegans in general now refer to Arizona visitors as
> Zonies, and the usage now seems to have spread to Zona.
>
> GM
>
>
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All say, "How hard it is that we have to die"---a strange complaint to
come from the mouths of people who have had to live.
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                                              -Sam'l Clemens

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