Whiz & names (UNCLASSIFIED)

[Dennis Preston]

Making us Yanks not give one.

dInIs

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>Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
>Poster:       Jonathan Lighter <wuxxmupp2000 at YAHOO.COM>
>Subject:      Re: Whiz & names (UNCLASSIFIED)
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>
>Those odd Brits don't "take" 'em so much as "have" 'em.
>
>   JL
>
>Laurence Horn <laurence.horn at YALE.EDU> wrote:
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>Sender: American Dialect Society
>Poster: Laurence Horn
>Subject: Re: Whiz & names (UNCLASSIFIED)
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>At 5:59 PM -0500 9/25/07, Mullins, Bill AMRDEC wrote:
>>Classification: UNCLASSIFIED
>>Caveats: NONE
>>
>>And why, for that matter, is it "take" a whiz? I always _leave_ one,
>>myself . . .
>>
>
>Same reason one takes a piss, a shit, a dump,... (Leaving any of
>these would be quite different, implying inter alia failure to flush.)
>
>LH
>
>>  >
>>>  FWIW, though I've heard it since ca.1960 and understand "take a whiz,"
>>>  what I say is, "take a leak." Now, if we all switched to the
>>>  latter, it would obviate the problem. ;-)
>>>
>>>  -Wilson
>>>
>>>
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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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