McMansions (was: Boughten bread)

[Fred Shapiro]

On Wed, 10 Dec 2003, Peter A. McGraw wrote:

> grand portico.  In subdivisions they mimic California suburbs by taking up
> nearly all their property and thus crowding together cheek-by-jowl; in
> rural areas they tend to occupy developments of mini-estates that have
> taken former farmland out of production or replaced large stands of stately
> fir trees.  For all their pretentious grandiosity, they still manage to
> look cheap.  A great word for a miserable phenomenon.

I think the "Mc" in McMansion must be inspired by the cookie-cutter nature
of the houses, since grandiosity or size are not particularly associated
with McDonald's.

Fred Shapiro


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