semantic drift: "swath"

[Mark Mandel]

How about "swatch" as a partial source, or as another change from "swath"?
Google has "about 1,860" for "huge swatch". Some are irrelevant, but there
are a bunch (a swatch?) like these:

www.columbusing.com/index.php?s=columbustibles
But, believe me, shoes are very sexy to a huge swatch of the general
population. So, listen up shoe professionals… Once the Shoe District gets
off the ...

www.perspectives.com/forums/view_topic.php?id=163737&forum_id=91
There is a huge swatch (not all however) of conservatives that actually do
believe these ten things you have written.

www.topix.com/forum/source/indianapolis-star/T1CHEMDQO0QFMKKJJ/p3
From that same window I see a huge swatch of the black community aimlessly
wandering about all day long.

www.topix.com/forum/who/hugo-chavez/T4DT7I45RG3A8I7N9
The student movement was a huge swatch of Venezuelan society including
people from all social strata.

www.derkeiler.com/Newsgroups/comp.security.firewalls/2007-07/msg00308.html
That's a heck of a "huge swatch" of spectrum. ... consider that the
bandwidth will be used by thousands or more users. ... (rec.radio.shortwave)


www.haloscan.com/comments/farlio/9171343124702366618/
And it's not like Obama won't mobilize a huge swatch of GOP voters who have
been let's say swayed by the Southern Strategy over the last 40 years.

http://forums.slickdeals.net/showthread.php?sduid=0&t=718926&page=2
Well one thing about the article it just restates the old skepticism which
is common with a large swatch of disorders and criticism of pharma --- which
is old news by the way.

http://www.businessweek.com/technology/ByteOfTheApple/blog/archives/2006/02/cutting_off_the.html
And I think a huge swatch of those folks will gravitate to this $150 model.



There are also a number of possible substitutions for "swath".

m a m

On Tue, Feb 26, 2008 at 11:42 AM, Baker, John <JMB at stradley.com> wrote:

>        So it feels natural to me, but not to Jon.  If there are further
> insights to be had, I don't have them.  I can, however, produce a few
> examples of this metaphoric extension.  This is from a Westlaw search of
> news sources using "huge swath" in 1991 or earlier:
>
>
>        L.A. Times, 1/13/1991:  "[T]he market for HDTV equipment is
> expected to be so large that it will control the development of a huge
> swath of the electronics business."
>
>        Houston Chronicle, 4/16/1991:  "Wide receivers cut huge swath
> through NFL draft Class of '91" [headline].
>
>        Newsday, 9/10/1989:  "He's completely without that huge swath of
> ego so many pro athletes carry with them as their protective shell."
>
>        N.Y. Times, 11/16/1988:  "Except for a brief autobiographical
> prologue, however, "La Capital" is a dispassionate, prodigiously
> researched primer on Mexico, summarizing huge swaths of history and
> containing little new reporting."
>
>        Boston Herald, 9/26/1980:  "Instead of teaching his class
> separate subjects, Swanton incorporates learning into a huge swath of
> music, art, reading, and writing, his Estabrook School students said."
>
>
>        Jon probably would feel more comfortable with the Houston
> Chronicle example because, even though it does not suggest a strip of
> land or a two-dimensional surface, it keeps the cutting metaphor
> explicit.
>
>
> John Baker
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: American Dialect Society [mailto:ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU] On Behalf
> Of Jonathan Lighter
> Sent: Tuesday, February 26, 2008 10:25 AM
> To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
> Subject: Re: semantic drift: "swath"
>
> A metaphoric extension in this case results in new. or at least
> unrecorded,  meaning. A "huge swath" of resources does not seem to me to
> be much like either an agricultural swath or the swath one may
> metaphorically cuts in social situations.
>
>  JL
>
> "Baker, John" <JMB at STRADLEY.COM> wrote:
>  ---------------------- Information from the mail header
> -----------------------
> Sender: American Dialect Society
> Poster: "Baker, John"
> Subject: Re: semantic drift: "swath"
> ------------------------------ ------------------------------------------
> -------
>
> Is this semantic drift or just metaphoric extension? It sounds fine to
> me, though not in any literal sense, of course. I think we may actually
> have used "swath" in this metaphoric sense when I was a farm boy, though
> of course we weren't talking about Hollywood resources or soul-searching
> films.
>
>
> John Baker
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: American Dialect Society [mailto:ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU] On Behalf
> Of Jonathan Lighter
> Sent: Saturday, February 23, 2008 6:38 PM
> To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
> Subject: semantic drift: "swath"
>
> "(Large) amount." Not in OED.
>
> 1998 Mitch Potter in _Toronto Star_ (Aug. 8) K1 [Lexis/Nexis]:
> Hollywood did, of course, dedicate a huge swath of resources to an
> endless parade of soul-searching films on Vietnam.
>
> JL
>