"in one swell foop" (sic)--another example

[Jonathan Lighter]

Google web and groups together offer about 8,000 examples of "swell foop."

More than I expected.

JL

"Cohen, Gerald Leonard" <gcohen at UMR.EDU> wrote:
---------------------- Information from the mail header -----------------------
Sender: American Dialect Society
Poster: "Cohen, Gerald Leonard"
Subject: "in one swell foop" (sic)--another example
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"Intentional spoonerism" is an oxymoron, although "in one swell foop") is so designated in HDAS. In the same vein, the late Peter Tamony often used to sign off his letters with "West bishes" (Best wishes). I suppose this feature has (or should have) some place in general linguistic theory. For example, is "foop" a word or not? If it isn't, what is it? And if it is, what is its meaning? If language is a system, how does "foop" fit in? -- (I ask these questions merely in the spirit of public musing.)

Anyway, "in one swell foop" hopped off the page for me as I looked at the editorials of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Sept. 15, 2004, sec. C, p. 10, cols.1-3; title: "Shillinois II" [sic: "Shillinois"; II = Roman numeral 2).
"...The deal was signed in February, so the firm has five months to make up the remaining $2.94 million.
"The state might make that up in one swell foop by inking a pact with a soft-drink bottler..."

Gerald Cohen


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