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

[Jonathan Lighter]

I've interpreted those T-shirts to communicate humorously and punningly the covert prestige of being a small child whose report card reads "Plays in the dirt," i.e., like a naughty little brat.
Another famous report-card comment is "Runs with scissors," indicating a tiny, heedless simpleton who's probably going to kill h**self some day.

JL

David Bowie <db.list at PMPKN.NET> wrote:
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Sender: American Dialect Society
Poster: David Bowie
Subject: Re: Collegiate "geek" in the '70s (was Re: Synonymy avoidance)
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From: Jonathan Lighter

> 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.

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