"Does it trick?"

[Seán Fitzpatrick]

Could she possibly have said "I hope it DOES THE trick"?  In the clatter,
chatter, and bang of a Starbucks, aging ears can keep you out of it as much
as actually being out of it does.

Seán Fitzpatrick
Wake up with Freedom Fighters
http://www.logomachon.blogspot.com/

-----Original Message-----
"Joel S. Berson" <Berson at ATT.NET> wrote:
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Sender: American Dialect Society
Poster: "Joel S. Berson"
Subject: "Does it trick?"
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Uncertain how to order more coffee in my latte, I asked the cash
register attendee in English, who then spoke the correct Starbuckese
to the barrista. When I received my "triple grande latte", the
barrista said to me "I hope it doesn't trick". Once again, I didn't
speak the language. She explained, that meant "I hope it's what you wanted."

What do the experts say about this use of trick (verb)? That it
arises from "To deceive by a trick; to cheat" seems plausible, but
surely it has moved some distance.

Joel

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