Morning Glory Road renamed due to sexual connotation

Geoffrey Steven Nathan geoffnathan at WAYNE.EDU
Wed Apr 10 00:09:24 UTC 2013


We have close friends, one of whose parents are buried in Climax, Michigan. The name still generates snickers among many folks. FWIW

Geoff

Geoffrey S. Nathan
Faculty Liaison, C&IT
and Professor, Linguistics Program
http://blogs.wayne.edu/proftech/
+1 (313) 577-1259 (C&IT)

Nobody at Wayne State will EVER ask you for your password. Never send it to anyone in an email, no matter how authentic the email looks.

----- Original Message -----

> From: "Brian Hitchcock" <brianhi at SKECHERS.COM>
> To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
> Sent: Tuesday, April 9, 2013 7:51:22 PM
> Subject: Re: Morning Glory Road renamed due to sexual connotation

> ---------------------- Information from the mail header
> -----------------------
> Sender: American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster: Brian Hitchcock <brianhi at SKECHERS.COM>
> Subject: Re: Morning Glory Road renamed due to sexual connotation
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------

> For many years I lived near a road called "Climax Road" (presumably
> because it ran along the crest of the hill). People kept stealing the
> sign (this was in the 1980s.) Then the county renamed the road "9th
> Place
> West". Nobody stole those signs. (Tangentially... there were morning
> glories growing wild along Climax Road; in western Washington they
> are not
> considered flowers, but are one of the most tenacious of invasive
> weeds --
> you can't get rid of them!)

> But even then, it seemed to me that "climax" was a bit outdated as a
> naughty word; it seemed like a cute but passe euphemism. Nowadays it
> is
> rarely heard, though it is not uncommon to hear talk show hosts and
> guests
> discussing "orgasm". Does anyone still call it a "climax"?

> ------------------------------------------------------------
> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org

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The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org



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