the world

[Jonathan Lighter]

In the VN era, "the world" meant the USA - if you were overseas. "The real world" was a variant, and for all I know the original. (Nowadays you hear the "real world"  in graduate school and instutional and semi-institutional settings, referring to anyplace but.)

Statistically, one would expect that "the world" went from the conscripted to the convicted, rather than vice versa.

As always, I invite (when too tired to incite) further comment.

JL

Wilson Gray <wilson.gray at RCN.COM> wrote:
---------------------- Information from the mail header -----------------------
Sender: American Dialect Society
Poster: Wilson Gray
Subject: Re: the world
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

On Sep 28, 2004, at 12:06 PM, Mullins, Bill wrote:

> ---------------------- Information from the mail header
> -----------------------
> Sender: American Dialect Society
> Poster: "Mullins, Bill"
> Subject: the world
> -----------------------------------------------------------------------
> --------
>
> Discussion of "the world" have centered on it being "not in the army"
> or
> "not stationed away from home".
> From Wall Street Journal, 4/29/91, article Darby, an advice columnist
> in the
> Texas Prison system newspapers.
> "The current Darby wrote for newspapers "in the world," as inmates
> describe
> what's beyond the red-brick prison walls, so submitting stories to the
> Echo
> came naturally.
>

So, what do you think? Did the expression start in prisons and spread
to the outside world? Or did it start in the military and spread into
the prisons?

Has the meaning really expanded to include "not stationed away from
home"? What are the odds that a person will end up stationed in or near
his home? Oops! I'm thinking old-school. The all-volunteer Army of
today is not the Army of the late '50's. and, even then, I knew of
cases like these. A German immigrates to the US, joins the Army, and is
assigned to the 8th Infantry Div (The Pathfinders), which is,
naturally, stationed in Germany. A kid graduates from the Baumholder,
Germany, American High School, joins the Army, and is assigned to my
unit, which is, of course, stationed in Baumholder.

-Wilson Gray



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