Loogie (1985)

[Mullins, Bill AMRDEC]

In the film "Tombstone,"  Jonny Ringo (Michael Biehn) refers to Doc
Holliday (Val Kilmer), who has tuberculosis, as a "lunger".

OED has lunger: "One who is diseased or wounded in the lungs" back to
1893, so this is a slight anachronism (the film was set immediately
around the Gunfight at the OK Corral (10/26/1881).

> -----Original Message-----
> From: American Dialect Society
> [mailto:ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU] On Behalf Of Wilson Gray
> Sent: Wednesday, July 05, 2006 12:54 AM
> To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
> Subject: Re: Loogie (1985)
>
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> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       Wilson Gray <hwgray at GMAIL.COM>
> Subject:      Re: Loogie (1985)
> --------------------------------------------------------------
> -----------------
>
> I know "lunger," too. Oddly enough, though, I don't know of a
> specifically-BE term for this activity. There's only "spit
> out some flim." Well, having to use "some" may be
> specifically black. "Spit out flim" is not quite right,
> somehow. It feels more like a definition than something that
> someone would say naturally.
>
> -Wilson
>
> On 7/4/06, Douglas G. Wilson <douglas at nb.net> wrote:
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> > Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> > Poster:       "Douglas G. Wilson" <douglas at NB.NET>
> > Subject:      Re: Loogie (1985)
> >
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
> > ---------
> >
> > Here's an uncontrolled (I think) sample:
> >
> > http://survey.net.nz/results.php?185cd8015d5a78bb84973fd5ddc12a3f
> >
> > I've heard "looie" and "loogie" both for a long time. "Oyster" too.
> > Also "lunger" ("lung-er" /lVN at r/, 'from the lung', I
> guess). Not "hawker" though.
> >
> > -- Doug Wilson
> >
> >
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