uniting two old threads... (p.s.)

[Chris F. Waigl]

On Fri, 2006-05-26 at 10:45 -0500, Mullins, Bill AMRDEC wrote:

> > This type of syllable-wise shortening is very common in
> > German. See also _Adidas_ and _Eduscho_, both of course from
> > proper names.
> >
>
> When I was in fourth grade, we knew, with absolute certainty, that
> "Adidas" meant "All Day I Dream About Sex".

Precocious.

"Adolf Dassler", the company founder. His brother Rudolf went on to set
up PUMA. All this in a small town called Herzogenaurach, 22km from where
I grew up (and where esp. Adidas is still an important employer, even
though they closed the factories there), which also used to house a US
Air Force base called (on official street signs, no less) "Herzobase" --
two syllables before the original word is chopped off. (Herzobase, which
people liked quite a bit -- air shows, a flying school etc. -- isn't
there any more either, of course.)

Eduscho, I realise, doesn't seem to operate outside the German-speaking
area: "Eduard Schopf". One more: _DEKRA_ (Deutscher
Kraftfahrzeug-Überwachungsverein), which is an organisation that does
technical aptness and road safety certification for motor vehicles and
such.

Chris Waigl
and then there's Quango, also a mixed, part-syllabic acronym

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