Collegiate "geek" in the '70s (was Re: Synonymy avoidance)

[David Bowie]

From:    Jonathan Lighter <wuxxmupp2000 at YAHOO.COM>

> When my wife did botanical research in the '60s, she was instructed
 > that the stuff that grows plants must always be called "soil."  This
 > was not to impress customers.  It was because "dirt" has the salient
 > undesirable meaning of "filth." ("Soil" and "filth" are also related,
 > but the connection does not come to mind as readily.)

> Because of its greater specificity, "soil" became a required technical
 > term.

> Idiomatically, one may live "close to the soil," but not to the "dirt."

Consider, though, that one can find T-shirts and such in gardening
catalogs emblazoned with the statement "Plays in the dirt". I don't
think this is an ironic usage--gardeners don't seem to be an ironic lot
in my experience, speaking generally--though it may be a
(semi-?)conscious co-opting of a negative term to express something
positive (in this case, that gardening is fun).

--
David Bowie                                         http://pmpkn.net/lx
     Jeanne's Two Laws of Chocolate: If there is no chocolate in the
     house, there is too little; some must be purchased. If there is
     chocolate in the house, there is too much; it must be consumed.