btdub(s)

Jonathan Lighter wuxxmupp2000 at GMAIL.COM
Fri Dec 11 01:49:08 UTC 2009


In the late lamented TV series _Middleman_  (2008), the hero always referred
to sidekick Wendy as "Dubby."

JL

On Thu, Dec 10, 2009 at 8:31 PM, Wilson Gray <hwgray at gmail.com> wrote:

> ---------------------- Information from the mail header
> -----------------------
> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       Wilson Gray <hwgray at GMAIL.COM>
> Subject:      Re: btdub(s)
>
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> When I bought my first short in 1962, it was referred to as either a
> "V-Dub=
> "
> or as a "V-Wagon," in the 'hood in L.A. But these are so obvious that I
> didn't hear them anywhere else probably because I didn't be anywhere else.
>
> -Wilson
>
> On Thu, Dec 10, 2009 at 4:23 PM, Dennis Baron <debaron at illinois.edu>
> wrote:
>
> > ---------------------- Information from the mail header
> > -----------------------
> > Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> > Poster:       Dennis Baron <debaron at ILLINOIS.EDU>
> > Subject:      Re: btdub(s)
> >
> >
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------=
> ------
> >
> > Is there an entry somewhere for 'dub' =3D 'w' ?
>  >
> > don't forget TWA was called t-dub by employees and occasionally by
> > those who wanted to appear "in the know." And George Washington U is
> > referred to as g-dub.  Bush II as dubya has the prefixed form dub-.
> >
> > DB (with no u in between the letters)
> > ____________________
> > Dennis Baron
> > Professor of English and Linguistics
> > Department of English
> > University of Illinois
> > 608 S. Wright St.
> > Urbana, IL 61801
> >
> > office: 217-244-0568
> > fax: 217-333-4321
> >
> > http://www.illinois.edu/goto/debaron
> >
> > read the Web of Language:
> > http://www.illinois.edu/goto/weboflanguage
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > On Dec 10, 2009, at 3:03 PM, Geoff Nathan wrote:
> >
> > > ---------------------- Information from the mail header
> > > -----------------------
> > > Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> > > Poster:       Geoff Nathan <geoffnathan at WAYNE.EDU>
> > > Subject:      Re: btdub(s)
> > >
> >
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------=
> ------
> > >
> > > Actually it did take off in Canada, where it's frequently pronounced
> > > 'triple double-u', for example on radio and TV stations giving out
> > > URL's.
> > >
> > > Geoff
> > >
> > > Geoffrey S. Nathan
> > > Faculty Liaison, C&IT
> > > and Associate Professor, Linguistics Program
> > > +1 (313) 577-1259 (C&IT)
> > > +1 (313) 577-8621 (English/Linguistics)
> > >
> > > ----- "Steve Kl." <stevekl at GMAIL.COM> wrote:
> > >
> > >> From: "Steve Kl." <stevekl at GMAIL.COM>
> > >> To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
> > >> Sent: Thursday, December 10, 2009 3:37:54 PM GMT -05:00 US/Canada
> > >> Eastern
> > >> Subject: Re: btdub(s)
> > >>
> > >> ---------------------- Information from the mail header
> > >> -----------------------
> > >> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> > >> Poster:       "Steve Kl." <stevekl at GMAIL.COM>
> > >> Subject:      Re: btdub(s)
> > >>
> >
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------=
> ------
> > >>
> > >> There were proposals at some point to get people to pronounce "www"
> > >> as
> > >> "trip-dub," I recall, but it never took off.
> > >>
> > >> - Steve
> > >>
> > >> On Thu, Dec 10, 2009 at 3:24 PM, Benjamin Zimmer <
> > >> bgzimmer at babel.ling.upenn.edu> wrote:
> > >>
> > >>> ---------------------- Information from the mail header
> > >>> -----------------------
> > >>> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> > >>> Poster:       Benjamin Zimmer <bgzimmer at BABEL.LING.UPENN.EDU>
> > >>> Subject:      btdub(s)
> > >>>
> > >>>
> > >>
> >
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------=
> ------
> > >>>
> > >>> I was talking to a college student journalist about the effects of
> > >>> "text-speak" on spoken language, and she mentioned the usual
> > >> suspects,
> > >>> "LOL"
> > >>> (pronounced "loll") and "OMG" (pronounced "oh-em-gee"). But she
> > >> also
> > >>> mentioned the expression "btdub" (pronounced "bee-tee-dub"), derived
> > >> from
> > >>> "BTW" ('by the way'). UrbanDictionary has entries for the more
> > >> common
> > >>> "btdubs" (variously spelled) back to 2004:
> > >>>
> > >>> http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=3Dbtdubs
> > >>> http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=3Dbtdubz
> > >>> http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=3Dbtdubbs
> > >>> http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=3Dbt+dubs
> > >>> http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=3Dbee-tee-dubs
> > >>>
> > >>> And here's a Usenet example from 2002:
> > >>>
> > >>> ---
> > >>> http://groups.google.com/group/alt.music.ween/msg/666fd224428be865
> > >>> alt.music.ween, May 13, 2002
> > >>> Btdubs, Pittsburgh kicks Phile's ass as far as cities go, sorry
> > >> Ween, but
> > >>> it's true.  Go Steelers!
> > >>> ---
> > >>>
> > >>> I don't think this one's been discussed here before, but I'd wager
> > >> it's
> > >>> shown up in elicitations of student slang from Larry, Connie, et
> > >> al.
> > >>>
> > >>>
> > >>> --Ben Zimmer
> > >>>
> > >>> ------------------------------------------------------------
> > >>> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
> > >>>
> > >>
> > >> ------------------------------------------------------------
> > >> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
> > >
> > > ------------------------------------------------------------
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> >
> > ------------------------------------------------------------
> > The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
> >
>
>
>
> --=20
> -Wilson
> =96=96=96
> All say, "How hard it is that we have to die!"=96=96a strange complaint to
> =
> come
> from the mouths of people who have had to live.
> =96Mark Twain
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>



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