Etymology at the Volokh Conspiracy

[Baker, John]

        I don't usually read Volokh, but I thought the discussion was
interesting, although it was odd to see that the participants seemed to
think that the significant vector for the further dissemination of
"Romanette" would be the blog posting, rather than the well-publicized
discussion of the term at oral argument before the Supreme Court.  It
was a new term to me.  The discussion implied that it's widely used by
transactional lawyers.  I was a transactional lawyer through 1994 and
never heard it.  Since then I've done transactional work only
occasionally, which apparently was not enough to evoke the term.

        For a lawyer, the term is supremely useful.  Previously we had
to say "little I I" or "little Roman two."  Now we can just say
"Romanette two."  Just saying "two" is rarely sufficient; disambiguation
normally is required.

        I know we've talked about "short strokes" here before.  Was
there a consensus as to its origin?


John Baker


-----Original Message-----
From: American Dialect Society [mailto:ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU] On Behalf
Of Mullins, Bill AMRDEC
Sent: Wednesday, November 19, 2008 12:21 AM
To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
Subject: Etymology at the Volokh Conspiracy

See:
http://volokh.com/posts/1226638091.shtml

for discussions of "romanette," "opening the kimono", "getting to the
short strokes" (is it from golf, painting, or doing the dance with no
steps?), "money shot" (when Katie Couric used the phrase on the Today
Show, was she alluding to a porn movie?)

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