Hastings-haters

[Wilson Gray]

No, it isn't. It might not even be interesting, if Hastings were
white. But there's certainly nothing interesting about a black person
talking black. I've been known to do it myself, from time to time,
when circumstances warrant. And "hater" is no longer a shortened form
of "player-hater." Like the cheese, it now stands alone.

-Wilson

On 11/29/06, Benjamin Zimmer <bgzimmer at babel.ling.upenn.edu> wrote:
> ---------------------- Information from the mail header -----------------------
> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       Benjamin Zimmer <bgzimmer at BABEL.LING.UPENN.EDU>
> Subject:      Hastings-haters
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> In his announcement that he would not seek the chairmanship of the
> House intelligence committee, Rep. Alcee Hastings released a statement
> ending with this line:
>
> "Sorry, haters, God is not finished with me yet."
>
> <http://www.tpmmuckraker.com/archives/002049.php>
>
> That's presumably the hiphop sense of "hater", short for
> "player-hater" (defined by the new OED entry as "a person who is
> jealous of the success of others", with cites back to 1993).
>
> Interesting to hear that term coming from a congressman, as opposed to
> a rapper, sports star, etc.
>
>
> --Ben Zimmer
>
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>


--
All say, "How hard it is that we have to die"---a strange complaint to
come from the mouths of people who have had to live.
-----
-Sam Clemens

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