plural people

[Laurence Horn]

At 7:15 AM -0700 4/13/06, James Smith wrote:
>I hear such plural references as meaning a group or
>class in reference to an eponymous archtype.
>

Hey, I really like "eponymous archetype".  That's more grown up than
"italics" and "dentifrice" put together!  (Actually, I was going to
say that not only do I (like Wilson) remember "dentifrice" from TV
commercials and magazine ads, but that those are the only places I
can remember hearing/seeing it.  It's one of those words with
commercial applications only.

Larry

>
>--- George Thompson <george.thompson at NYU.EDU> wrote:
>
>>  LH observes: > Don't we mean "players of the kind
>>  instantiated by Mantle and
>>  > DiMaggio" rather than referring to those specific
>>  players themselves?
>>
>>  That is sometimes the sense, when "the Mantles" is
>>  used to indicate a
>>  generic Hall-of-Famer.  But it seems to me that I
>>  also hear it as just
>>  an odd way of refering to a specific individual.
>>  This is the sense I
>>  take from the words quoted from the Sing Sing
>>  keeper.
>>
>>  My association of this with baseball broadcasts may
>>  arise from either
>>  the fact that it was a trick of speech used by one
>>  particular
>>  broadcaster only that I happen to have heard, or the
>>  fact that I do not
>>  watch television except for occasional baseball
>>  games nor listen to
>>  radio broadcasts except for baseball and music shows
>>  that feature little
>>  talk.
>>
>>  I will also say that I posted this, having come upon
>>  it, in the thought
>>  that it exemplified a turn of speech that might be
>>  of interest to some,
>>  and cannot be searched for in the databases.
>>
>>  GAT
>>
>>  George A. Thompson
>>  Author of A Documentary History of "The African
>>  Theatre", Northwestern
>>  Univ. Pr., 1998, but nothing much lately.
>>
>>  ----- Original Message -----
>>  From: Laurence Horn <laurence.horn at YALE.EDU>
>>  Date: Wednesday, April 12, 2006 1:38 pm
>>  Subject: Re: plural people
>>
>>  > At 12:59 PM -0400 4/12/06, George Thompson wrote:
>>  > >Well, when we say "the Smiths are coming", we
>>  mean two or more
>>  > people.>When a broadcaster refers to "the Mantles"
>>  or whoever, when
>>  > speaking of
>>  > >"playing on the same outfield grass as the
>>  Mantles and the
>>  > diMaggios",>he's only referring to one person, not
>>  to Mantle, his
>>  > wife and sons.
>>  > >
>>  > >GAT
>>  >
>>  > Don't we mean "players of the kind instantiated by
>>  Mantle and
>>  > DiMaggio" rather than referring to those specific
>>  players themselves?
>>  > I think the plurals really do presuppose there's
>>  an ilk, as when I
>>  > might assert my old fartness by bemoaning the
>>  absence of the
>>  > Clementes and Sniders and Mayses of the good old
>>  days.
>>  >
>>  > LH
>>  >
>>  > >
>>  > >George A. Thompson
>>  > >Author of A Documentary History of "The African
>>  Theatre",
>>  > Northwestern>Univ. Pr., 1998, but nothing much
>>  lately.
>>  > >
>>  > >----- Original Message -----
>>  > >From: FRITZ JUENGLING
>>  <juengling_fritz at SALKEIZ.K12.OR.US>
>>  > >Date: Wednesday, April 12, 2006 11:54 am
>>  > >Subject: Re: plural people
>>  > >
>>  > >>  George,
>>  > >>  out of curiosity, why does it strike you as
>>  being "pointless,
>>  > >>  inane, and stupid"?
>>  > >>  What about pluralizing names of people who are
>>  not ballplayers,
>>  > >>  e.g. "The Smiths are coming to dinner tonight"
>>  or that old phrase
>>  > >>  'Keep up with the Joneses"?
>>  > >>  fritz
>>  > >>
>>  > >>  >>> george.thompson at NYU.EDU 4/12/2006 8:16 AM
>>  >>>
>>  > >>  For msome years I have been struck (and
>>  annoyed) at the habit
>>  > of some
>>  > >>  sports broadcasters of pluralizing the last
>>  names of ball-players;
>>  > >>  referring to "the diMaggios, the Mantles, the
>>  Berras" and so
>>  > forth.>>  It has always struck me as pointless,
>>  inane and stupid.
>>  > But it turns
>>  > >>  out to have a long history, as in the
>>  following:
>>  > >>
>>  > >>
>>
>------------------------------------------------------------
>>  > >>  The American Dialect Society -
>>  http://www.americandialect.org
>>  > >>
>>  > >
>>  >
>>
>>------------------------------------------------------------
>  > > >The American Dialect Society -
>>  http://www.americandialect.org
>>  >
>>  >
>>
>------------------------------------------------------------
>>  > The American Dialect Society -
>>  http://www.americandialect.org
>>  >
>>
>>
>------------------------------------------------------------
>>  The American Dialect Society -
>>  http://www.americandialect.org
>>
>
>
>James D. SMITH                 |If history teaches anything
>South SLC, UT                  |it is that we will be sued
>jsmithjamessmith at yahoo.com     |whether we act quickly and decisively
>                                |or slowly and cautiously.
>
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