reveal, n.

[Jonathan Lighter]

On Wed, Nov 9, 2011 at 7:59 PM, Garson O'Toole
<adsgarsonotoole at gmail.com> wrote:
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> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       Garson O'Toole <adsgarsonotoole at GMAIL.COM>
> Subject:      Re: reveal, n.
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Jonathan Lighter wrote:
>>>
>>> English archaeologist on a National Geographic Channel show about the
>>> recently uncovered Anglo-Saxon gold hoard:
>>>
>>> "When you're working on [cleaning] an object, it's amazing when you
>>> get the reveal."
>>>
>>> I.e., "the first clear sight of something that is being
>>> microscopically cleaned of debris."
>
> Arnold Zwicky wrote:
>> section 2 of:
>>
>> http://arnoldzwicky.wordpress.com/2009/11/30/on-the-noun-watch/
>
> I have heard and read the term "the reveal" associated with stagecraft
> and magic. The archaeologist may be suggesting that the new view of
> the cleaned object is extraordinary and has a magic quality.
>
> Below is a GB example that is probably from 1964 from the world of
> public relations.
>
> The Reporter: Volume 31
> Max Ascoli - 1964
> (Date probes show that this volume contains a September 24, 1964
> issue. The GB date is probably close.)
> [Being excerpt]
> At the climax, scenery and singers melted away and there — swathed in
> lights on a revolving stage — stood the 1964 Oldsmobile. The magic
> moment, as essential to auto shows as horses are to Westerns, is known
> in the trade as the "reveal." Properly done, it can make even the most
> cynical pedestrian weep.
> [End excerpt]
>
> Magicians use the term "the reveal" when describing tricks or
> illusions I think. Maybe Bill Mullins knows more about this use.
> Garson
>
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