"Ghetto" now (also) means "jury-rigged"?

[Sally Donlon]

Actually, stealing bread got Jean Valjean into trouble. Stealing
silver led to his redemption.

sally


On Jan 9, 2006, at 5:38 PM, Joel S. Berson wrote:

> That answers part of my question:  "jury-rigged" [etc.] are senses of
> "ghetto".  But while there is 4. below, there is also 3:
>
> 3. Jane hid her head in embarrasment [sic] as her mom shamelessly
> committed the ghetto act of stuffing the restaurant's bread rolls,
> sugar packets, and silverware in her purse
> 4. "A TV Guide duct-taped to a 4 foot stick?! That's one hella ghetto
> 'mote control!"
>
> While 3. above may be "3. (adj.) poor; of or relating to the poor
> life," it would correctly be viewed as stealing by the owner of the
> items.  Bread and sugar Javert might have excused, but it was silver
> that got Jean Valjean into trouble.  So perhaps acts "of or relating
> to the poor life" may acquire the sense of acts of theft?
>
> I'm still not sure, reading the hand-scanner instance, whether the
> writer meant "jury-rigged" or "bootleg".
>
> Joel
>
> At 1/9/2006 03:55 PM, you wrote:
>> ---------------------- Information from the mail header
>> -----------------------
>> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
>> Poster:       Erik Hoover <grinchy at GRINCHY.COM>
>> Subject:      Re: "Ghetto" now (also) means "jury-rigged"?
>> ---------------------------------------------------------------------
>> ----------
>>
>> Wilson,
>>
>> That posting on /. gave me pause, too.  The usage has been around for
>> awhile, perhaps:
>>
>> http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=ghetto
>>
>> Erik
>>
>> On Jan 9, 2006, at 3:15 PM, Wilson Gray wrote:
>>
>> > ---------------------- Information from the mail header
>> > -----------------------
>> > Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
>> > Poster:       Wilson Gray <hwgray at GMAIL.COM>
>> > Subject:      "Ghetto" now (also) means "jury-rigged"?
>> >
>> ---------------------------------------------------------------------
>> --
>> > --------
>> >
>> > From today's SlashDot:
>> >
>> > "[The computer-science student thereby] made [his mouse] into a
>> > _ghetto_ B&W handscanner."
>> >
>> > -Wilson Gray
>> >
>> >
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