authentic seed overload

Scot LaFaive scotlafaive at GMAIL.COM
Thu Feb 14 22:17:29 UTC 2008


In addition to meaning "New and Improved," it seems that "Extreme" is also
being used to suggest that this new and improved version is also somehow so
explosive and mind-bending that your senses will reel. I've seen many good
parodies of this advertising tool, such as extreme quilting. I'm a little
tired of extreme everything. Extreme toothpaste just might kill me.

Scot

On Wed, Feb 13, 2008 at 4:36 PM, Brenda Lester <alphatwin2002 at yahoo.com>
wrote:

> ---------------------- Information from the mail header
> -----------------------
> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       Brenda Lester <alphatwin2002 at YAHOO.COM>
> Subject:      Re: authentic seed overload
>
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> EXTREME has replaced NEW AND IMPROVED.
>
>  the toothpaste phrase is moronic as well as oxymoronic.
>
>  bl
>
>
>
> Matthew Gordon <gordonmj at MISSOURI.EDU> wrote:
>  ---------------------- Information from the mail header
> -----------------------
> Sender: American Dialect Society
> Poster: Matthew Gordon
> Subject: Re: authentic seed overload
>
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> This example reminds me of a recent toothpaste encounter. I had
> inadvertently bought a tube of Crest whose flavor was "extreme herbal
> mint."
> This label struck me as a phrase that is both redundant and oxymoronic b/c
> of the semantics of 'herbal.' Mint is an herb so 'herbal mint' is
> redundant.
> But, herbal also has connotations, for me at least, of being natural,
> soothing etc. (e.g. herbal tea) and so it's odd to have an 'extreme
> herbal'
> anything (well, maybe not anything....).
>
>
> On 2/13/08 9:56 AM, "Jonathan Lighter" wrote:
>
> > In our kitchen this morning I discovered a package of hors-d'oeuvre type
> > crackers whose label boasted "Authentic Seed Overload."
> >
> > After remonstrating with my wife for bringing such an evidently unstable
> and
> > hazardous product into our home, I discovered - to my chagrin - that the
> > phrase was equivalent to what used to be called "Real Sesame Seed
> Topping!"
> >
> > Surely this is a novel, and misleading, use of "overload."
> >
> > JL
> >
> >
> >
> >
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