Pronoun [was Finally!]

[Dennis Preston]

Edmund Wilson?

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>Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
>Poster:       Jonathan Lighter <wuxxmupp2000 at YAHOO.COM>
>Subject:      Re: Pronoun [was Finally!]
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>Re Creoles: I agree.  I look forward to some elucidation of this. It
>may imply that the English practice underlies them (except
>coincidently), which would suggest that the bluff-talking sailors
>and traders of an earlier age used the forms then as often as we'd
>expect them to  now.
>
>   But to quote Wilson quoting Waller, "One never knows, do one?"
>
>   (Fats, I think: not Edmund.)
>
>   JL
>
>Laurence Horn <laurence.horn at YALE.EDU> wrote:
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>Sender: American Dialect Society
>Poster: Laurence Horn
>Subject: Re: Pronoun [was Finally!]
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>At 9:01 AM -0400 9/27/07, Benjamin Zimmer wrote:
>>On 9/26/07, Laurence Horn wrote:
>>>
>>>  At 6:04 PM -0700 9/26/07, Jonathan Lighter wrote:
>>>  >Am disappointed to see that the authors of that article did not find
>>>  >the historical perspective in HDAS of any use or interest.
>>>
>>>  ...and a very rich entry, or set of entries, it is. I was just
>>>  thinking of "Don't let your mouth write a check your ass can't cash",
>>>  and that's in there with a couple of hits, under the 'ability and
>>>  determination' entry. Wilson's friend's greeting ("How's your ass?")
>>>  makes an appearance too, from 1960 ("usu. considered vulgar"--like
>>>  virtually every other entry for _ass_, curiously enough!).
>>
>>HDAS also has excellent coverage of a related usage, "(one's) balls":
>>
>>-----
>>ball, n.
>>6. pl. [cf. identical use of ASS] one's body, person, or self --
>>sometimes functions as an intensifier of pronouns; one's life or
>>wel-being, "hide," "skin," "neck," -- usu. considred vulgar. [Used
>>only by men.]
>>-----
>>
>>In some parts of the country, at least, "How's your balls?" or "How's
>>your nuts?" would be the equivalent of the "How's your ass?" greeting
>>Wilson mentioned. But I gather that "X's balls/nuts" isn't nearly as
>>pronominally flexible as "X's ass".
>>
>Right, even controlling for the role of sex of referent. I don't
>think "Get your balls some help" would be construed as a suggestion
>to seek out a therapist--at least not a psychotherapist.
>
>The metonymic use of "X's ass" and similar body parts in Creole
>languages, as mentioned by dInIs, does appear to be relevant to the
>English construction.
>
>LH
>
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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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