(quasi-)neologisms

[Michael Adams]

All of these are really nice examples of the phenomenon -- the density
of examples per year seems to intensify later, but there's a pretty
straight line along these to later use.  The VERB + much examples are
also interesting, but the pattern is older and more frequent than ADJ +
much.  In the Buffyverse, though, speakers stretch the constraints a
bit, e.g. Respect the narrative flow much?

Last night's episode of "Grey's Anatomy" included a very rhetorical
"Jealous much?"

-----Original Message-----
From: Benjamin Zimmer <bgzimmer at rci.rutgers.edu>
To:  American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
Cc: Michael Adams <madams1448 at AOL.COM>
Sent: Mon, 9 May 2005 13:29:08 -0400 (EDT)
Subject: Re: (quasi-)neologisms

  On Mon, 9 May 2005 12:18:36 -0400, Benjamin Zimmer
<bgzimmer at RCI.RUTGERS.EDU> wrote:

>On Mon, 9 May 2005 11:55:34 -0400, Michael Adams <madams1448 at AOL.COM>
>wrote:
>
>>Jesse is right that ADJ + much predates "Buffy" -- but OED's second
>>quote from "Heathers" is the only known pre-"Buffy" instance of it and
>>the pattern seems to have been "invented" for "Heathers," then
>>exploited by "Buffy" such that it's a "Buffyism" more than it's
>>anything else.  (ADJ + much isn't the only item from "Heathers"
>>borrowed and developed in "Buffy.")  Eventually, outside of "Buffy,"
>>NOUN + much develops, apparently on the ADJ + much model, so ADJ +
much
>>is more interesting than at first it seems -- if anyone ever uncovers
>>an instance of ADJ + much from between 1988 and 1997 (besides the one
>>in the "Buffy" film of 1992), I'd be glad to hear about it, because it
>>would change the picture some to know that it had a life outside of
the
>>Heathers/Buffy relationship.
>
>Check the Usenet archive.  For "jealous much?" I see one cite from '91,
>two from '92, two from '93, etc.  I'd guess _Heathers_ fans did the
early
>popularizing.

Some more Usenet examples of ADJ + _much?_ through '97 (the only one
that
occurs with much regularity is "paranoid much?", starting in '93):

-----
http://groups-beta.google.com/group/alt.personals/msg/af123b601000310c
alt.personals, Apr 24 1993
Paranoid much?
-----
http://groups-beta.google.com/group/alt.games.doom/msg/20ee1942cb4d75e9
alt.games.doom, Jan 7 1994
Arrogant much?
-----
http://groups-beta.google.com/group/k12.chat.teacher/msg/376d04fa398997f2
k12.chat.teacher, Jan 22 1994
Contradictory much?
-----
http://groups-beta.google.com/group/alt.politics.homosexuality/msg/ec643decf7dab0b4
alt.politics.homosexuality, May 30 1994
Obsessive much?
-----
http://groups-beta.google.com/group/k12.chat.junior/msg/cf9ded057a6d6e59
k12.chat.junior, Feb 1 1995
Can we say "Rude Much?!"
-----
http://groups-beta.google.com/group/misc.invest.stocks/msg/662fbcaea1aca4a0
misc.invest.stocks, Oct 12 1996
Confused much?
-----
http://groups-beta.google.com/group/rec.autos.sport.f1/msg/fbe1c2900b783abc
rec.autos.sport.f1, May 22 1996
Lazy much?
-----
http://groups-beta.google.com/group/alt.wedding/msg/19d9fc35c5ccbc7e
alt.wedding, Dec 20 1996
Geez, Kim, sarcastic much?
-----
http://groups-beta.google.com/group/alt.fashion/msg/b57eaff2299e87a7
alt.fashion, Mar 28 1997
Selfish much?
-----

Also, two related examples of V + "much?":

-----
http://groups-beta.google.com/group/alt.religion.buddhism.nichiren/msg/4e0b6f1ac6db9a69
alt.religion.buddhism.nichiren, Feb 7 1996
Gee, condescend much?
-----
http://groups-beta.google.com/group/alt.tv.x-files/msg/d8c113e74f887b19
alt.tv.x-files, Feb 23 1996
Gee.  Obsess much?
-----


--Ben Zimmer