"stay put" or "sit put"

[Dennis R. Preston]

What's odd (or even perverse) about this?

I got happy -->You hope I stay 0 I got happy  --> You hope I stay happy.

I got put in my chair --> You hope (that) I stay where (=in the
chair) I got put  --> You hope (that) I stay put.

Looks pretty normal to me.

dInIs



>      I'm curious about the origins of the phrase "Stay put"
>      or "Sit put"- the idea of a verb discussing the act of
>      placement morphing into a term for staying in one place.
>
>      Has this always been a valid alternate meaning, or is this
>      another matter of public perversion, as with current usage
>      of nauseous/nauseated?
>
>      -Rick

--
Dennis R. Preston
Professor of Linguistics
Department of Linguistics and Languages
740 Wells Hall A
Michigan State University
East Lansing, MI 48824-1027 USA
Office - (517) 353-0740
Fax - (517) 432-2736