pomophobe

[Joel S. Berson]

At 5/3/2011 06:17 PM, Jonathan Lighter wrote:
>To me, the "ancients" are Homer and Vergil.  You must be younger than me.

Perhaps.  But I thought I had found the origin of
"pomophobia".  See Wikipedia on the potato, section "Africa" --
"Like in other continents, in spite of its
advantages as an antifamine, high-elevation
alternative to grain, the potato was at first
resisted by local farmers who thought it was poisonous."

And snopes.com on "Claim: Green potatoes are
poisonous. / Status: True."  Any green part.

JSB


>JL
>
>On Tue, May 3, 2011 at 5:40 PM, Joel S. Berson <Berson at att.net> wrote:
>
> > ---------------------- Information from the mail header
> > -----------------------
> > Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> > Poster:       "Joel S. Berson" <Berson at ATT.NET>
> > Subject:      Re: pomophobe
> >
> >
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> >
> > At 5/3/2011 04:47 PM, Jonathan Lighter wrote:
> > >See, an apple in Latin is "pomum."  It's kind of a play on words.
> > >
> > >But the ancients didn't have potatoes, so I don't see how they could have
> > >been afraid of them.
> > >
> > >Except perhaps in dreams....
> >
> > Or in the Latin writings of the Spanish clerics
> > who accompanied the Conquest.  The Spanish
> > brought the potato to Europe in the late 16th
> > century.  I believe they were considered
> > poisonous by some (in England or France?),
> > although I don't immediately have documentation for that.
> >
> > Joel
> >
> >
> > >JL
> > >
> > >On Tue, May 3, 2011 at 4:25 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: pomophobe
> > > >
> > > >
> > >
> >
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> > > >
> > > > On Tue, May 3, 2011 at 9:55 AM, Jonathan Lighter <
> > wuxxmupp2000 at gmail.com>
> > > > wrote:
> > > > > ---------------------- Information from the mail header
> > > > -----------------------
> > > > > Sender: Â  Â  Â  American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> > > > > Poster: Â  Â  Â  Jonathan Lighter <wuxxmupp2000 at GMAIL.COM>
> > > > > Subject: Â  Â  Â pomophobe
> > > > >
> > > >
> > >
> >
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> > > > >
> > > > > Yep. Over 10,000 raw hits.
> > > > >
> > > > > JL
> > > > >
> > > > > --
> > > > > "If the truth is half as bad as I think it is, you can't handle the
> > > > truth."
> > > > >
> > > > > ------------------------------------------------------------
> > > > > The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
> > > > >
> > > >
> > > > At first, thanks to increasing presbyopia, I read the word as
> > > > _pornophobe_, an obvious oxymoron.
> > > >
> > > > But, "hates apples?" I don't get it.
> > > >
> > > > --
> > > > -Wilson
> > > > -----
> > > > 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.
> > > > -Mark Twain
> > > >
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> > >
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> > >
> > >--
> > >"If the truth is half as bad as I think it is, you can't handle the
> > truth."
> > >
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> > >The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
> >
> > ------------------------------------------------------------
> > The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
> >
>
>
>
>--
>"If the truth is half as bad as I think it is, you can't handle the truth."
>
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