the Shandy-Lack theory revisited

Thu Aug 30 12:30:16 UTC 2007

Should we stop leg-pulling altogether?

dInIs

>---------------------- Information from the mail header
>-----------------------
>Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
>Poster:       "Landau, James" <James.Landau at NGC.COM>
>Subject:      Re: the Shandy-Lack theory revisited
>-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
>Per the Shandy-Lack theory, Allan Metcalf should be the greeter at the =
>State Fair, Ron Butters should run a dairy farm, Mark Mandel should own =
>an almond orchard, and I should be in the business of repairing =
>automobile roofs.
>
>But no, John Tyler did not fix floors, Zachary Taylor did not make men's =
>suits, Dwight Eisenhower was not a blacksmith, and Jimmy Carter was not =
>a teamster.=20
>
>Seriously, Shandy-Lack is an exceptional case of reversing cause and =
>effect.  In most European cultures surnames are either patronymics like =
>"Thompson", place names like "Landau" (a town in the Palatinate of =
>Germany), or occupational names such as "Boyer", "Fletcher", and =
>"Arrowsmith".  Hence, in the case of occupational names, the occupation =
>came first and the name followed it, not vice versa.
>
>George, I am surprised that you would be na=EFve as to seriously =
>consider Shandy-Lack.  After all, you are the son of a man named "Thomp" =
>(presumably a variation on "Tom") and therefore, via nature or nurture, =
>you should have acquired his standing as a doubting Thomas.
>
>OT:  Quote of the week "the enormity of modern databases"  - Sam =
>Clements
>
>OT:  From Barry Popik  ""Boy's Town" or "Boys Town" is a place in Mexico =
>near the Texas border where "boys" go to find "girls." These places of =
>prostitution are also called "Zona de Tolerancia" (Zone of Tolerance) =
>and "Zona Roja" (Red Zone) and "Zona Rosa" (Rose Zone or Pink Zone)."
>
>Question:  is there any connection between Mexican "Zona Roja", "Zona =
>Rosa" and US "Red light district"?  Or just coincidence?
>
>James A. Landau
>test engineer
>Northrop-Grumman Information Technology
>8025 Black Horse Pike, Suite 300
>West Atlantic City NJ 08232 USA=20
>=20
>~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^
>YXAZH PLRJJ WNDNC RPWRX PHHTS IOMBC BMFAP=20
>WJKWF YAFQG ZAHED I=20
>~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^
>
>-----Original Message-----
>From: George Thompson [mailto:george.thompson at NYU.EDU]
>Sent: Tuesday, August 28, 2007 11:29 AM
>Subject: Re: the Shandy-Lack theory revisited
>
>I'm glad to see that the Shandy-Lack theory has been so readily =
>accepted.  I was afraid I was going to be asked to put together a list =
>of all thelexicographers and philologists who were named Preposition, =
>Methatesis, and the like.
>
>GAT
>
>George A. Thompson
>Author of A Documentary History of "The African Theatre", Northwestern =
>Univ. Pr., 1998, but nothing much lately.
>
>----- Original Message -----
>From: Dennis Preston <preston at MSU.EDU>
>Date: Monday, August 27, 2007 12:18 pm
>Subject: Re: the Shandy-Lack theory revisited
>To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
>
>
>>  Who needs this more recent evidence? In Louisville KY years ago there=20
>>  was a proctologist named Assman. I'm a believer.
>>
>>  dInIs
>>
>>
>>
>>  >---------------------- Information from the mail header
>>  >-----------------------
>>  >Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
>>  >Poster:       George Thompson <george.thompson at NYU.EDU>
>>  >Subject:      the Shandy-Lack theory revisited
>>  >---------------------------------------------------------------------
>>  >----------
>>  >
>>  >To refresh your memories: some time ago I called your attention to=20
>>  >the Shandy-Lack hypothesis of Onomastic Determinism, first proposed=20
>>  >by ca. 1770 Walter Shandy in the novel Tristram Shandy, and=20
>>  >elaborated ca. 1950 by the British ornithologist David Lack.  Shandy=20
>>  >held that one's name determined the future tenor of one's life, and=20
>>  >Lack, by citing a number of ornithologists whose names were the names =
>
>>  >of birds or parts of birds, showed that it specifically determined=20
>  > >one's career choice.
>>  >A mounting accumulation of additional evidence -- for instance a=20
>>  >story in the NYTimes a few years ago that cited a fisheries expert=20
>>  >named Herring -- justifies referring to this now as a theory.
>>  >
>>  >In any event, the August 24/31 2007 issue of the Times Literary=20
>>  >Suppl. reviews a book on the bad effect of 500 years of destruction=20
>>  >of habitat and bounties put upon supposed pest species has had on=20
>>  >English wildlife.  The book is called "Silent Fields", and is by a=20
>>  >naturalist named Roger Lovegrove.
>>  >Need more proof be called for?
>>  >
>>  >(Published by Oxford U Pr., and sounds fairly interesting.)
>>  >
>>  >GAT
>>  >
>>  >George A. Thompson
>>  >Author of A Documentary History of "The African Theatre",=20
>>  >Northwestern Univ. Pr., 1998, but nothing much lately.
>>  >
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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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>>  The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>
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>The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org

--
It should be the chief aim of a university professor to exhibit
himself [sic] in his own true character - that is, as an ignorant man
thinking, actively utilizing his small share of knowledge. Alfred
North Whitehead

Dennis R. Preston
University Distinguished Professor
Department of English
Morrill Hall 15-C
Michigan State University
East Lansing, MI 48824-1036 USA
Office: (517) 353-4736
Fax: (517) 353-3755

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