"Needful"? (UNCLASSIFIED)

[Mullins, Bill AMRDEC]

Classification:  UNCLASSIFIED
Caveats: NONE

I read the book when it came out, and if there was a sense of "Of a
person: poor, needy; lacking the necessities of life" it got by me.
Needful explicitly referred to "things" in the book, not people.

There is, however, a strong theme of emotionally needy people (the
villian takes advantage of the wants and desires of the residents of
Castle Rock).

> -----Original Message-----
> From: American Dialect Society
> [mailto:ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU] On Behalf Of Laurence Horn
> Sent: Tuesday, October 21, 2008 9:53 AM
> To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
> Subject: Re: "Needful"?
>
> ---------------------- Information from the mail header
> -----------------------
> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       Laurence Horn <laurence.horn at YALE.EDU>
> Subject:      Re: "Needful"?
> --------------------------------------------------------------
> -----------------
>
> At 10:33 AM -0400 10/21/08, Wilson Gray wrote:
> >My impression is that he used it to mean "things that come
> in handy or
> >are needed, necessities of life," etc.
> >
> >-Wilson
>
> But knowing Stephen King (although I confess not the book in
> question), he may well have intentionally been referencing
> both senses of the term.
>
> LH
>
> >
> >On Mon, Oct 20, 2008 at 11:53 PM, Marc Velasco
> <marcjvelasco at gmail.com> wrote:
> >>  ---------------------- Information from the mail header
> >>-----------------------
> >>  Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> >>  Poster:       Marc Velasco <marcjvelasco at GMAIL.COM>
> >>  Subject:      Re: "Needful"?
> >>
> >>------------------------------------------------------------
> ----------
> >>---------
> >>
> >>  How was it used when Stephen King wrote the book?
> >>
> >>  On Mon, Oct 20, 2008 at 7:42 PM, Joel S. Berson
> <Berson at att.net> wrote:
> >>
> >>>  ---------------------- Information from the mail header
> >>>  -----------------------
> >>>  Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> >>>  Poster:       "Joel S. Berson" <Berson at ATT.NET>
> >>>  Subject:      "Needful"?
> >>>
> >>>
> >>>-----------------------------------------------------------
> ----------
> >>>----------
> >>>
> >>>  In a book published in 1891 (1st ed. 1871), the author writes of
> >>> the  central section of Boston in the early 17th century, that in
> >>> that  area "dwelt the notables of the town,---the governor, the
> >>> elder of  the church, the captain of the artillery
> company, and the
> >>> most  needful of the craftsmen and artificers of the humble
> >>> plantation; and  at a short distance from it were the
> meeting-house,
> >>> the market-house,  the town-house, the school-house, and the
> >>> ever-flowing spring of pure  water."
> >>>
> >>>  Am I right in understanding "needful" here as adj.1, sense 1,
> >>> "Requisite, necessary, indispensable, essential." -- that
> is, where
> >>> one today might say "needed, necessary, essential" --
> rather than
> >>> sense 2, "Of a person: poor, needy; lacking the
> necessities of life."?
> >>>
> >>>  Joel
> >>>
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> >>>  The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
> >>>
> >>
> >>  ------------------------------------------------------------
> >>  The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
> >>
> >
> >
> >
> >--
> >All say, "How hard it is that we have to die"---a strange
> complaint to
> >come from the mouths of people who have had to live.
> >-----
> >-Mark Twain
> >
> >------------------------------------------------------------
> >The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>
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> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>
Classification:  UNCLASSIFIED
Caveats: NONE

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