"smart" = "considerable (in number, amount, extent, etc.)"

[Wilson Gray]

I was thinking more along the lines of an error by the editor or by the
typesetter, not one by the author himself, part-time zoomie though he
be.

-Wilson

On Jan 26, 2005, at 6:38 PM, Jonathan Lighter wrote:

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> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       Jonathan Lighter <wuxxmupp2000 at YAHOO.COM>
> Subject:      Re: "smart" = "considerable (in number, amount, extent,
> etc.)"
> -----------------------------------------------------------------------
> --------
>
> Slater, USAFR, used to be an English professor and, back from Asia
> where he was a PAO, resumed his current job with National Public Radio
> in Ohio.
>
> So he's literate.  Actually, his short memoir is gracefully written
> (and available on-line). Color photos, too.  "Smart" shouldn't be a
> misprint.
>
> JL
>
> Wilson Gray <wilson.gray at RCN.COM> wrote:
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> Sender: American Dialect Society
> Poster: Wilson Gray
> Subject: Re: "smart" = "considerable (in number, amount, extent, etc.)"
> -----------------------------------------------------------------------
> --------
>
> Slater's usage seems strange to me, too, Jon. And I've actually known
> people who said "right smart." If I'd come across this usage of "smart"
> in situ, I would have assumed that it was some sort of typo, perhaps
> for "small." But "small" doesn't clarify things much, either.
>
> -Wilson
>
> On Jan 26, 2005, at 1:37 PM, Jonathan Lighter wrote:
>
>> ---------------------- Information from the mail header
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>> Sender: American Dialect Society
>> Poster: Jonathan Lighter
>> Subject: Re: "smart" = "considerable (in number, amount, extent,
>> etc.)"
>> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
>> -
>> --------
>>
>> OED thinks so too, Bill. But Slater's usage seems odd tp me, esp. in a
>> standard English context.
>>
>> Still recovering from the shame,
>>
>> JL
>>
>> "Mullins, Bill" wrote:
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>> Sender: American Dialect Society
>> Poster: "Mullins, Bill"
>> Subject: Re: "smart" = "considerable (in number, amount, extent,
>> etc.)"
>> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
>> -
>> --------
>>
>> It seems related to "right smart", which I've seen used to mean "very"
>> or "considerable"
>>
>>> -----Original Message-----
>>> From: American Dialect Society
>>> [mailto:ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU] On Behalf Of Jonathan Lighter
>>> Sent: Wednesday, January 26, 2005 11:29 AM
>>> To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
>>> Subject: "smart" = "considerable (in number, amount, extent, etc.)"
>>>
>>> ---------------------- Information from the mail header
>>> -----------------------
>>> Sender: American Dialect Society
>>> Poster: Jonathan Lighter
>>> Subject: "smart" = "considerable (in number, amount,
>>> extent, etc.)"
>>> --------------------------------------------------------------
>>> -----------------
>>>
>>> OED has this from 1778-1882, marked "Chiefly dial. and U.S."
>>> Here is an ex. from more than a century later. It caught my
>>> eye because at first I thought it was only a bad metaphor.
>>>
>>> "I get used to the dust...fine dust like talcum powder....It
>>> piles up wherever it finds a niche...The dust is smart enough
>>> to ground an aircraft." --Major Richard C. Slater, "Notes
>>> from a Journal: Afghanistan...," War, Literature, & the Arts
>>> (16 [2004]: 151).
>>>
>>> Is anyone familiar with this usage?
>>>
>>> JL
>>>
>>>
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