"Freedom of stench"

[Bill Palmer]

thank you Laurence

Bill P
----- Original Message -----
From: "Laurence Horn" <laurence.horn at YALE.EDU>
To: <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
Sent: Thursday, September 03, 2009 2:29 PM
Subject: Re: "Freedom of stench"


> ---------------------- Information from the mail
> header -----------------------
> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       Laurence Horn <laurence.horn at YALE.EDU>
> Subject:      Re: "Freedom of stench"
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> At 2:14 PM -0400 9/3/09, Bill Palmer wrote:
>>Interesting side note...from my recall of Anglo-Saxon,of about 45 years
>>ago,
>>"stench" (written then, I think as "stenc") meant any kind of smell or
>>odor,
>>not just an unpleasant one.
>>
>>One of the professors out there, tell me what is the name for that process
>>...when the meaning of a word undergoes a degradation in meaning.
>>
>
> Pejoration, usually.  As also with "smell" (used as a noun or an
> intransitive verb), and to some extent "odor".  The opposite, as with
> "fragrance", is amelioration.
>
>>Bill Palmer
>>-----
>>From: "Joel S. Berson" <Berson at ATT.NET>
>>To: <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
>>Sent: Thursday, September 03, 2009 7:23 AM
>>Subject: "Freedom of stench"
>>
>>>---------------------- Information from the mail
>>>header -----------------------
>>>Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
>>>Poster:       "Joel S. Berson" <Berson at ATT.NET>
>>>Subject:      "Freedom of stench"
>>>-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>>>
>>>A reporter on ABC TV's "Good Morning America" today, noting that the
>>>city council had delayed action on the bill described below after
>>>constitutional questions had been raised, asked whether there was a
>>>"freedom of stench".
>>>
>>>"Honolulu City Council is considering a bill that would impose up to
>>>$500 fine and/or up to 6 months in jail for transit passengers
>>>convicted of being too smelly."
>>>[KGMB.com, September 1.]
>>>http://kgmb9.com/main/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=20721&Itemid=76
>>>
>>>Merely 4 Google hits on "freedom of stench" this morning, despite the
>>>fact that this news is an immense two days old, none related to the
>>>Honolulu bill.
>>>
>>>Joel
>>>
>>>------------------------------------------------------------
>>>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

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