The show

[Page Stephens]

Then, of course, there is "the show" in baseball usage which refers to the
major as opposed to the minor leagues.

As a kid back in the 1950s in Centralia, Illinois we called a moving picture
show the show perhaps because there was no other show in town. We also used
to talk about going to a show, or going to see a picture

When I was in college in Crawfordsville, Indiana we used to talk about going
to the flick(s) or to see a flick which at the time (early 1960s) seemed to
be an anachronism since I had only heard of the use of the word "flickers"
as an old word for motion pictures in books about the history of the movies.

On the other hand you have to have lived in Indiana to know and love the
fact that the minute you step across the Indiana border from any place you
feel like you are in a time warp.

Page Stephens

----- Original Message -----
From: "Douglas Bigham" <TlhovwI at AOL.COM>
To: <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
Sent: Friday, July 23, 2004 1:45 PM
Subject: Re: The show


> ---------------------- Information from the mail
header -----------------------
> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       Douglas Bigham <TlhovwI at AOL.COM>
> Subject:      Re: The show
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------
-----
>
> I still go to see the show... or *a* show, at least.  Fuzzy thoughts....
I'm
> thinking that going to the "show" might be a date, while going to the
"movies"
> (etc) would just be hang-out time.  Yep.  I think that's where I make a
> distinction.
>
> -dsb
> Douglas S. Bigham
> Department of Linguistics
> University of Texas - Austin
> http://hometown.aol.com/capn002/myhomepage/index.html