highball

[Laurence Horn]

I concur.  I recall that I had other examples of this, where a form
that was earlier historically (like "highball poker" may or may not
have been) would constitute a retronym for a later generation of
language users who have lost touch with the original configuration of
markedness.
In this case, given David Barnhart's evidence and our intuitions, we
might have something like the following sequence:

Stage 1     highball poker
Stage 2     poker (= high hand wins)
Stage 3     poker (= high hand wins) vs. lowball poker (= low hand
wins), hi-lo, etc.
Stage 4     highball poker (as retronym to distinguish it from...)
lowball (poker)


We have to distinguish ontogenetic from phylogenetic retronymy.
Unfortunately, I seem to have misplaced the relevant examples.  There
are certainly related cases in which one generation's
retronym-inducers can be another generation's retronyms.  Consider
for example desktop computers, fountain pens (or, later, ball-point
pens--for me, at least, felt-tip pens are now the default), cash
money, prop(eller) plane, wind-up watch,...

larry

At 12:08 PM -0500 3/9/02, Dennis R. Preston wrote:
>I see Doug and I agree about what is "retro_" here. I can also
>confirm his suspicions about the age of lowball. I played it in the
>mid-50's.
>
>dInIs
>
>>>See Tom Clark's _Dictionary of Gambling & Gaming_ (c. 1987):
>>>
>>>highball, n.  A poker game in which the player holding the highest
>>>ranking hand wins.  Compare lowball.  [1881 DAE, 1894 OED]
>>>
>>>lowball, n.  A variation in poker in which the lowest hand wins rather
>>>than the highest hand.  Compare highball.  [ca. 1961 Hotel Coll]
>>>
>>>This would lead me to believe lowball is the "retronym".
>>
>>The "highball" listed in the OED with an 1894 citation apparently was a
>>game using balls and a bottle ... I imagine something like poker dice,
>>maybe? I think this game is now long forgotten?
>>
>>"Lowball" (poker) MIGHT be based on the name of this old game (another
>>possibility: formed as in "lowball offer" [however that came to be]).
>>"Lowball" (poker) is surely older than 1961, but I can't find a reference
>>for its age. It's in Webster's Third.
>>
>>The modern "highball" quoted above is almost surely based on "lowball".
>>This is a natural development e.g. in a game of dealer's choice where
>>"lowball" is a common choice ["We'll play five-card draw." "Lowball again?"
>>"No, highball this time."]
>>
>>-- Doug Wilson