Ancestor/ Descendant PLUS "tote the line"

[Jonathan Lighter]

"Ancestor" transparently means "descendant" here. This usage, though not this example from a Ph.D., has appeared here before.

  "Tote the line" means "toe the line."  Nowadays.

  JL

Alison Murie <sagehen at WESTELCOM.COM> wrote:
  ---------------------- Information from the mail header -----------------------
Sender: American Dialect Society
Poster: Alison Murie
Subject: Re: Ancestor/ Descendant PLUS "tote the line"
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>I don't see these exx. in the Archives; frankly, I can't get enough of 'em:

> Dr. Turner has taught communications at Harvard and MIT and is currently
>head of undergraduate communications programs at Stanford.

> JL
~~~~~~~~~~
What 'm I missing here?
Mere absurdity in college curricula hardly seems worth noticing any more.
AM

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