Turd Blossoms in Texas?

[Dennis Preston]

Ditto Louisville area 40's, 50's, 60's.
"Fartblossom" was a very common term of
endearment for kids, especially but not uniquely
after an actual performance.

dInIs

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>Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
>Poster:       Darla Wells <dlw3208 at LOUISIANA.EDU>
>Subject:      Re: Turd Blossoms in Texas?
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>
>My stepmother is from Atlanta, Texas, near Texarkana and she called all of us
>kids "fartblossoms" growing up. That would have been in the late 60's or so,
>and she still uses the term.
>Darla
>
>With magic, you can turn a frog into a prince. With science, you can turn a
>frog into a Ph.D and you still have the frog you
>started with. (Terry Pratchett)
>
>---------- Original Message -----------
>From: Bapopik at AOL.COM
>To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
>Sent: Mon, 13 Aug 2007 02:02:44 EDT
>Subject: Turd Blossoms in Texas?
>
>>  ---------------------- Information from the
>>mail header -----------------------
>>  Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
>>  Poster:       Bapopik at AOL.COM
>>  Subject:      Turd Blossoms in Texas?
>>
>>-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>>
>>  If anyone (HDAS?) has turd blossoms, please send them over here. Is
>>  this a  Texas term? ... ... ...
>>  _http://www.barrypopik.com/index.php/texas/entry/turd_blossom/_
>>  (http://www.barrypopik.com/index.php/texas/entry/turd_blossom/) ...
>>
>>  Entry from August 13, 2007
>>  Turd Blossom
>>
>>  "Turd Blossom’Äù was a nickname for George W. Bush’Äôs adviser, Karl
>>  Rove. The  term was popularized in 2002.
>>
>>  A ’Äúturd blossom’Äù is supposedly a Texas  term for a flower that
>>  grows from manure, but historical citations for this  alleged
>>  regional definition are lacking.
>>
>>  _Wikipedia: Turd Blossom_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turd_Blossom)
>>     Turd Blossom, according to partisans of Karl Rove and George W.
>>  Bush,  is a Texan term for a flower which grows from a pile of cow
>>  dung. The term has  gained notoriety in the United States, as
>>  reportedly this is one of President  George W. Bush’Äôs terms of
>>  endearment for his chief political advisor, Karl Rove.  Bush is also
>>  reported to call Rove by the nickname ’ÄùBoy Genius.’Äú
>>
>>  Few, if  any, native Texans would recognize this definition of
>>  ’Äòturd blossom.’Äô ’ÄòTurd  blossom’Äô was used in 1960s Texas high
>>  school slang to describe the spreading  smell of a fart, or the
>>  spreading stain of a loose bowel movement. Neither Rove  nor George
>>  W. Bush attended high school in Texas, and they may have been
>>  unfamiliar with the original use of the word. ’ÄòFart blossom’Äô was
>>  a common  variant.
>>
>>  _Google  Groups: alt.usage.english_
>>
>>
>(http://groups.google.com/group/alt.usage.english/browse_thread/thread/45d3bd0fb799e27/d34b040d6e48705a?lnk=st&q=&rnum=5
>>  0&hl=en#d34b040d6e48705a)
>>  Newsgroups: alt.usage.english
>>  From: Ben  Zimmer
>>  Date: Thu, 28 Jun 2001 15:31:40 -0500
>>  Local: Thurs, Jun 28 2001 4:31 pm
>>  Subject: Re: Rove’Äôs nickname?
>>
>>  Turd Blossom.
>>
>>  Time Magazine had no qualms printing it:
>>  _http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,107219,00.html_
>>
>>
>(http://www.barrypopik.com/index.php?URL=http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1072
>19,00.html)
>>
>>  An explanation is given in ’ÄúFirst Son: George W. Bush and the Bush
>>   Family Dynasty’Äù, by Bill Minutaglio:
>>
>>  ’ÄúEverybody must have a nickname,  and the spin doctor has a
>>  quality nickname, Turd Blossom ’Äî as in  wherever-he-goes-something-
>>  is-sure-to-pop-up.’Äù
>>
>>  _Google  Books_
>>
>>  (http://books.google.com/books?id=ChXd7GeqlToC&pg=RA1-
>>
>PA138&ots=zywGyJpcLW&dq="turd+blossom"&ei=tO6_RoWCFofI6wKtzY3qAg&ie=ISO-8859-1&sig=Fnj
>BXRNDa-D14GvFIy3YJCpeISk)  Boy Genius: Karl Rove, the Brains Behind the
>Remarkable  Political Triumph of George W. Bush by Carl M. Canoon, Lou Debose
>and  Jan Reid Public Affairs 2003 Pg. 138: Somewhere along the line,  after
>they moved to Washington together, Bush began alternating Rove’Äôs ’ÄúBoy
>Genius’Äù nickname with another, less flattering moniker: ’ÄúTurd Blossom.’Äù
>It seems  fitting enough, given Rove’Äôs modest background (a turd blossom is
>a Texas  expression for a flower that grows out of a cowpie), but Rove shrugs
>in some  embarrassment when asked how Bush came up with this.
>>
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--
Dennis R. Preston
University Distinguished Professor
Department of English
Morrill Hall 15-C
Michigan State University
East Lansing, MI 48864 USA

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