"88," White Power for "Heil Hitler"

[Dennis R. Preston]

Work with slang and language use in general among working class (and
even marginal) subcultures has led me (perhaps especially as  a
former student of David Maurer's) to conclude that such speakers are
hardly deaf to nuance and implication in their language use. I might
have even suggested the opposite (since they are the source of so
much which is new in language, particularly, perhaps, in lexicon).

I hardly find "burn like a saint" a good example, filled with the
symbolism of Renaissance depiction as it is.

My quick mental review of "88" among active and past players (in
major sports) does not produce a well-known figure. larry may help
with that.

dInIs




>On 28 Aug 2002, at 17:16, Laurence Horn wrote:
>
>>  Some of which 88 keys are white, and some black, all playing together
>>  in peaceful harmony (and each set pretty boring on its own).  Does
>>  make you wonder.
>>
>>  Larry
>
>True -- but then, I get the feeling that these criminal subculture
>types tend to
>be deaf to the implications of their own language and imagery.  Isn't there
>some Mafia initiation ceremony in which the inductee is warned not to betray
>the cause lest he "burn like a saint"?
>
>Anyway, "88" sounds to me like a typical football player's number.
>I wonder if it holds some special significance for a sports fan. Or
>maybe it just looks cool on a jersey.
>
>Joanne

--
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