authentic seed overload

[Scot LaFaive]

In addition to meaning "New and Improved," it seems that "Extreme" is also
being used to suggest that this new and improved version is also somehow so
explosive and mind-bending that your senses will reel. I've seen many good
parodies of this advertising tool, such as extreme quilting. I'm a little
tired of extreme everything. Extreme toothpaste just might kill me.

Scot

On Wed, Feb 13, 2008 at 4:36 PM, Brenda Lester <alphatwin2002 at yahoo.com>
wrote:

> ---------------------- Information from the mail header
> -----------------------
> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       Brenda Lester <alphatwin2002 at YAHOO.COM>
> Subject:      Re: authentic seed overload
>
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> EXTREME has replaced NEW AND IMPROVED.
>
>  the toothpaste phrase is moronic as well as oxymoronic.
>
>  bl
>
>
>
> Matthew Gordon <gordonmj at MISSOURI.EDU> wrote:
>  ---------------------- Information from the mail header
> -----------------------
> Sender: American Dialect Society
> Poster: Matthew Gordon
> Subject: Re: authentic seed overload
>
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> This example reminds me of a recent toothpaste encounter. I had
> inadvertently bought a tube of Crest whose flavor was "extreme herbal
> mint."
> This label struck me as a phrase that is both redundant and oxymoronic b/c
> of the semantics of 'herbal.' Mint is an herb so 'herbal mint' is
> redundant.
> But, herbal also has connotations, for me at least, of being natural,
> soothing etc. (e.g. herbal tea) and so it's odd to have an 'extreme
> herbal'
> anything (well, maybe not anything....).
>
>
> On 2/13/08 9:56 AM, "Jonathan Lighter" wrote:
>
> > In our kitchen this morning I discovered a package of hors-d'oeuvre type
> > crackers whose label boasted "Authentic Seed Overload."
> >
> > After remonstrating with my wife for bringing such an evidently unstable
> and
> > hazardous product into our home, I discovered - to my chagrin - that the
> > phrase was equivalent to what used to be called "Real Sesame Seed
> Topping!"
> >
> > Surely this is a novel, and misleading, use of "overload."
> >
> > JL
> >
> >
> >
> >
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