Show Out

[Laurence Horn]

On May 31, 2014, at 6:56 PM, Alice Faber wrote:

> I've only heard "show up" for the ballplayer (over-)reacting to a
> perceived bad call.

Yes, but that one is always transitive (unless we're talking about how 90% of everything is just showing up)--you have to show up *some*one, such as the umpire/referee in that case, or a member of the opposing team (or your own team, as when a player shows up his coach), sometimes earning a technical foul or taunting penalty (or a beanball).  The unwritten rules for what counts as showing someone up can be somewhat complex, but apparently include going around the bases really slowly after hitting a home run.  Or, alternatively, really quickly.

LH
>
> A binky is what we used to call a pacifier.
>
> On 5/31/14 9:32 AM, Jonathan Lighter wrote:
>> Indeed.
>>
>> But isn't "show out" being alleged as a common synonym (or exclusive
>> equivalent) of "show off"?
>>
>> I've never heard of a "binky."
>>
>> JL
>>
>>
>> On Fri, May 30, 2014 at 10:45 PM, Laurence Horn <laurence.horn at yale.edu>
>> wrote:
>>
>>> ---------------------- 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: Show Out
>>>
>>> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>>>
>>> On May 30, 2014, at 10:11 PM, Wilson Gray wrote:
>>>
>>>> Do you have any examples of this "show off" to indicate that it has the
>>>> same meaning as "show out"? Like,
>>>>
>>>> That called third strike really upset John. He just showed off, calling
>>>> that empire all kind of names!
>>>>
>>>> When Mary pulled the binky out of its mouth, her baby fair showed off,
>>>> squalling like a panther!
>>>>
>>>
>>> FWIW, "show(ed) off" doesn't work here for me; "went wild/crazy" (or for
>>> the ballplayer "went nuts" or "blew his top") seem more like it.  (And for
>>> me a binky is only a pacifier, but that's just me.)
>>>
>>> LH
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> On Fri, May 30, 2014 at 2:32 AM, Indigo Som <indigo at well.com> wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> ---------------------- Information from the mail header
>>>>> -----------------------
>>>>> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
>>>>> Poster:       Indigo Som <indigo at WELL.COM>
>>>>> Subject:      Re: Show Out
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>>>>>
>>>>> I=92ve lived in San Francisco Bay Area pretty much all my life. I=92ve =
>>>>> heard =93show off=94 more, but have also heard =93show out=94, =
>>>>> (almost?*) exclusively from African American folks =97 some of whom
>>> were =
>>>>> born, bred & buttered here, like I was, & some who were from the South
>>> & =
>>>>> other places.=20
>>>>>
>>>>> *haven=92t kept careful track, but I think if I heard non-Black people =
>>>>> say =93show out=94 they were probably from the South &/or spent a lot
>>> of =
>>>>> time in African American communities.
>>>>>
>>>>> On May 29, 2014, at 9:00 PM, Automatic digest processor =
>>>>> <LISTSERV at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU> wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>>> From: Brian Hitchcock <brianhi at SKECHERS.COM>
>>>>>> Subject: Show Out
>>>>>> Date: May 29, 2014 at 12:09:29 PM PDT
>>>>>> =20
>>>>>> =20
>>>>>> Having lived on the west coast for 63 years (Seattle area, then Los =
>>>>> Angeles area), I have always heard "show off". Not once have I  heard =
>>>>> "show out",  in a positive or negative sense, even in my travels across
>>> =
>>>>> the country.  The recent post in ADS-L is the first I've heard of it. =
>>>>> But I've never been to Georgia, and only briefly to Texas.  IMHO the =
>>>>> usage is regional.
>>>>>> Brian Hitchcock
>>>>>> Torrance, CA
>>>>>
>>>>> ------------------------------------------------------------
>>>>> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> --
>>>> -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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>>>> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>>>
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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."
>>
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>>
>
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