mine-run

[Dennis R. Preston]

"Run of the mine" is as indeed as well known in coal territory as
run-of-the-mill is generally, and with the same meaning. I am a
little surprised to find it in general use.

dInIs (whose PADS monograph, "The Bituminous Coal Mining Vocabulary
of the Eastern United States," in spite of its status once as a
best-seller, has now been remaindered)



>  > >Last Week - Justice R.B. Ginsburg , "so long as the rule, like
>the mine run
>>   >of procedural rules, generally serves the state interest."
>>   >
>>   >4/19/01 Newsday, "Brian Daubach strokes a three-run homer during Boston's
>>   >mine-run eighth inning."
>>   >
>>   >3/11/01 News & Record, "They do tend to make ordinary, mine-run
>politicians
>>   >look a little dingy by comparison."
>>   >
>>   >07/18/94 American Lawyer Newspapers Group, "In the 'mine run' of cases it
>>   >may not be so very difficult because more or less similar cases have
>blazed
>>   >trails."
>>   >
>>   >Sometimes this seems to mean vast majority - others just run-of-the-mill
>>   >ordinary - and the baseball one is, well - what exactly does this phrase
>>   >mean, and where did it come from?
>
>Except for the baseball quote, they all mean not "vast majority" but "just
>run-of-the-mill ordinary".  In fact, "run of the mill" and "mine run" are not
>just synonyms but also probably formed in the same way, one referring to the
>"run" of a mill and one to that of a mine.
>
>The baseball quote is an obvious typo, since if there were a three-run homer
>it was obviously not a "mine run" or "run of the mill" inning.
>
>           - Jim Landau
>
>P.S.  You really ought to look up Robert E. Lee's celebrated victory over the
>Union
>Army at the Battle of Mine Run, December 2, 1863.

--
Dennis R. Preston
Department of Linguistics and Languages
Michigan State University
East Lansing MI 48824-1027 USA
preston at pilot.msu.edu
Office: (517)353-0740
Fax: (517)432-2736