creature vs. critter

[Jonathan Lighter]

Don't know anything about Ellie May's influence on language, but I'd say that "critter" has become more frequent in seemingly serious contexts than it was in, say, the '60s.

Not a SOTA, however, IMO.

JL
"Mullins, Bill" <Bill.Mullins at US.ARMY.MIL> wrote:
---------------------- Information from the mail header -----------------------
Sender: American Dialect Society
Poster: "Mullins, Bill"
Subject: Re: creature vs. critter
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

> -----Original Message-----
> From: American Dialect Society
> [mailto:ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU] On Behalf Of James C Stalker
> Sent: Monday, May 23, 2005 9:19 PM
> To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
> Subject: Re: creature vs. critter
>
>
> Creatures and critters, whatever the OED says, are not the same now.
> Critters are small, generally harmless, even cuddly, animals,
> although they may be pests.

This is pretty much the sense of the word as used by Ellie May Clampett,
on the Beverly Hillbillies (which may have spread the sense nationally?)


> Creatures come from outer space
> and aren't friendly, for the most part. They are also
> generic and include us humans and critters, as well as BEMs.
> An (ante)dating?
>
>


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