pomophobe

[Jonathan Lighter]

You mean "pomeopathic."

JL

On Tue, May 3, 2011 at 10:25 PM, Laurence Horn <laurence.horn at yale.edu>wrote:

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> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       Laurence Horn <laurence.horn at YALE.EDU>
> Subject:      Re: pomophobe
>
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> At 10:07 PM -0400 5/3/11, Jonathan Lighter wrote:
> >In later life Snow White suffered from pomophobia.  But potatoes were OK.
> >
> >JL
>
> I'm sorry, I hate to be prescriptive, but I must
> insist: This disorder or fetish or paraphobia or
> whatever it is must be called by its rightful
> name: pommophobia.  Pomophobia is, as ever, the
> fear and/or hatred of post-modernism, Brits,
> and/or British post-modernism.  No apples,
> potatoes, or tomatoes are involved, although
> possibly some molecular bangers and mash.  And
> what's this with the poisonous green potatoes?
> I'm almost positive I've eaten them on St.
> Patrick's Day.  Maybe green beer is a natural
> homeopathic antidote.
>
> LH
>
> >
> >On Tue, May 3, 2011 at 7:30 PM, Joel S. Berson <Berson at att.net> wrote:
> >
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> >>  -----------------------
> >>  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 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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> >>  > > > >
> >>  > > >
> >>  > > >
> >>  > > >
> >>  > > >--
> >>  > > >"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
> >>  > >
> >>  >
> >>  >
> >>  >
> >>  >--
> >>  >"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
> >>
> >>  ------------------------------------------------------------
> >>  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."
> >
> >------------------------------------------------------------
> >The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>
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> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
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