"basket weaving" revisited

James Harbeck jharbeck at SYMPATICO.CA
Fri May 25 22:17:22 UTC 2007


>I'm sure that part of the appeal of referring to frivolous curriculum
>as "underwater basket-weaving" is that it sounds *really* ridiculous
>if you think the weaver has to accompany the basket underwater.

I wonder whether it would sound as ridiculous if it were called
"submerged." I have a vague sense that "underwater" might have a very
slightly silly or ridiculous tone lurking -- perhaps because
"underwater" is not all that far from "underwear."

Semper ubi sub ubi,
James Harbeck.

------------------------------------------------------------
The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org



More information about the Ads-l mailing list