Fwd: Dictionary inclusion of unworthy words ["phat"]

[Dennis R. Preston]

>I was listning with onyl half a mouthful of food, but I clearly
>heard (an was as or even more suspicious than larry of) the ety.

dInIs



>On Mon, Sep 23, 2002 at 07:18:07PM -0400, Laurence Horn wrote:
>>
>>  Anyone watching ABC World News Tonight will have noticed the last
>>  segment (promoted through the half hour) on why and how new words get
>>  into "Webster's Dictionary".  This was a segment shot in Springfield,
>>  at Merriam-Webster, and included comments by several lexicographers
>>  there on such items as "netiquette" and "booty(licious)".   The
>>  lexicographer who got the most air time was never identified by name,
>>  but did explain to the world that M-W's evidence clearly indicates
>>  that "phat" originated as an acronym of 'Pretty Hips And Thighs'.  Is
>>  this something we actually know, or even universally believe?  Is
>>  anyone here (from M-W or elsewhere) willing to divulge what this
>>  evidence is?
>
>The online version of this piece can be found at
>http://abcnews.go.com/sections/wnt/DailyNews/ISOA_Websters020923.html
>; lexicographers Tom Pitoniak and James Lowe are mentioned by name.
>The etymology of _phat_ is not discussed in the online piece, and I'd
>hope either that Larry completely misunderstood what the lexicographer
>was saying, that the piece was edited to make the lexicographer seem
>to be saying something completely the opposite of what he meant, or
>that someone from M-W or elsewhere will indeed divulge what the
>evidence is for what I think is a stunning claim.
>
>I note in passing, in the familiar "Webster's Dictionary" vein, that
>the two Webster's dictionaries featured in the photo are published by
>Random House and Webster's New World, not by Merriam-Webster, the
>actual subject of the piece. Groan.
>
>Jesse Sheidlower

--
Dennis R. Preston
Professor of Linguistics
Department of Linguistics & Germanic, Slavic,
      Asian & African Languages
Michigan State University
East Lansing, MI 48824-1027
e-mail: preston at msu.edu
phone: (517) 353-9290