in a poistion; holy crapsticks

[Jonathan Lighter]

At what point in our history, I wonder, did the cultural expectation that any circumstance is most likely to be bad become entrenched in our very grammar?

  Whorf would have loved it.

  JL

Dennis Preston <preston at MSU.EDU> wrote:
  ---------------------- Information from the mail header -----------------------
Sender: American Dialect Society
Poster: Dennis Preston

Subject: Re: in a poistion; holy crapsticks
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This is the "bad" deletion rule; applies to attitude, situation,
position, mood, feeling, etc...

dInIs

>---------------------- Information from the mail header
>-----------------------
>Sender: American Dialect Society
>Poster: Jonathan Lighter
>Subject: in a poistion; holy crapsticks
>-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
>Just watched Sci-Fi Channel's TV movie, _Showdown at Area 51_
>(2007). At one point, a character says, "Don't put me in a
>position!"
>
> I.e., a difficult or unpleasant relational position with respect
>to somebody else. (The speaker was reluctant to have to place the
>hero under arrest.) Cf. the earlier and precisely parallel
>narrowing of "situation" into "bad situation."
>
> Another character had occasion to exclaim later, "Holy
>crapsticks!" which is a new one on me.
>
> JL
>
>
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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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