geographical slanders/euphemisms

[vida morkunas]

Vancouver Sunshine = rain

Vida.
vidamorkunas at telus.net
(slightly to the North of WA state)


-----Original Message-----
From: American Dialect Society [mailto:ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU]On Behalf
Of Peter A. McGraw
Sent: January 6, 2003 10:34 AM
To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
Subject: Re: geographical slanders/euphemisms


Another possible Northwest candidate is "Oregon sunshine," i.e., rain.  I
say possible, because I think I've heard it several ways, sometimes as
"Oregon liquid sunshine" and sometimes just as "liquid sunshine," this last
sometimes accompanied by the further clarification "Oregon's 'liquid
sunshine.'"  These latter variations make it an uncertain member of this
class of expressions.  To my knowledge all of these versions are used only
self-deprecatingly by Oregonians.  After all, Washington would have an
equal claim on "liquid sunshine."  Have any of you Washingtonians ever
heard of "Washington liquid sunshine"?

PMc

--On Monday, January 6, 2003 12:39 PM -0500 Laurence Horn
<laurence.horn at YALE.EDU> wrote:

> At 12:18 PM -0500 1/6/03, Wendalyn Nichols wrote:
>> Those of us who grew up in the Northwest are familiar with the
>> "California driver"--a reckless speed demon who disregards traffic rules
>> and never comes to a complete stop at a controlled intersection.
>
> Notice, though, that some of these slurs and slanders are not ironyms
> in my sense.  A Welsh rabbit is not a rabbit (but what the poor
> rabbit-deprived Welsh presumably think is one), nor is a prairie
> oyster an oyster.  And the DC parking permit below is not a parking
> permit.  But a California driver is a driver, however reckless, just
> as a Philadelphia lawyer is a lawyer.  I think the distinction is a
> significant one.
>
> Larry
>
>>
>> At 08:25 PM 1/4/03 -0500, you wrote:
>>> Philadelphia lawyer
>>>
>>> DC parking permit (the emergency flashers on your car)---I have only
>>> heard this from one person (from Baltimore, worked in a seedy area of
>>> Washington DC) so I'm not sure it's in general use, or, for that
>>> matter, usually attributed to DC
>>>
>>>       - Jim Landau



****************************************************************************
                               Peter A. McGraw
                   Linfield College   *   McMinnville, OR
                            pmcgraw at linfield.edu