Pickle

[David Metevia]

I don't think it is common, but I hear it often enough to have
noticed, mostly with those who garden or sell vegetables.

On Fri, Aug 21, 2009 at 12:59 PM, Tony Au<todeau at gmail.com> wrote:
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> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       Tony Au <todeau at GMAIL.COM>
> Subject:      Re: Pickle
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> I'm from the Tri Cities area myself, but I've never noticed people saying
> pickles for cucumbers, although admittedly I never really paid much
> attention to this either.
>
>
> On Fri, Aug 21, 2009 at 11:44 AM, Laurence Horn <laurence.horn at yale.edu>wrote:
>
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>> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
>> Poster:       Laurence Horn <laurence.horn at YALE.EDU>
>> Subject:      Re: Pickle
>>
>> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>>
>> At 9:25 AM -0400 8/21/09, Jonathan Lighter wrote:
>> >Garfield is on a dude ranch in this TV cartoon, and somebody says, "Care
>> for
>> >some burgers?"
>> >
>> >Suddenly, in one of those fatal twists that make fact stranger than
>> >fiction, there's a thundering stampede of maddened cattle.  Garfield
>> thinks,
>> >"Those burgers are *too rare*!"
>> >
>> >Same principle.
>> >
>> >JL
>>
>> So we're talking pickles on the hoof.  FWIW, a couple of my Michigan
>> informants (with much experience in produce aisles in the Lansing,
>> suburban Detroit, and Traverse City areas) are not familiar with this
>> usage, but it strikes me as being not infrequent in Madison, WI, if
>> memory serves.  (Can't recall if it correlates with positive
>> "anymore".)
>>
>> LH
>>
>> >
>> >On Fri, Aug 21, 2009 at 9:12 AM, Steve Kl. <stevekl at gmail.com> wrote:
>> >
>> >>  ---------------------- Information from the mail header
>> >>  -----------------------
>> >>  Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
>> >>  Poster:       "Steve Kl." <stevekl at GMAIL.COM>
>> >>  Subject:      Re: Pickle
>> >>
>> >>
>>
>> >>-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>> >>
>> >>  Thanks!
>> >>
>> >>  My mom grew up in Chesaning (Saginaw County). I'm going to see if she
>> has
>> >>  this.
>> >>
>> >>  (Then again, she spoke Czech at home, not English, so she probably just
>> >>  called them *okurky*.)
>> >>
>> >>  - Steve
>> >>
>> >>  On Fri, Aug 21, 2009 at 8:43 AM, David Metevia <
>> djmetevia at chartermi.net
>> >>  >wrote:
>> >>
>> >>  > ---------------------- Information from the mail header
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>> >>  > Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
>> >>  > Poster:       David Metevia <djmetevia at CHARTERMI.NET>
>> >>  > Subject:      Re: Pickle
>> >>  >
>> >>  >
>> >>
>>
>> >>-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>> >>  >
>> >>  > I live in the Tri City area (Midland, Bay City, Saginaw).  There are
>> >>  > many cucumber farms in northern Bay County, although the local
>> >>  > pickling plants are long gone.
>> >>  >
>> >>  > On Fri, Aug 21, 2009 at 8:21 AM, Steve Kl.<stevekl at gmail.com> wrote:
>> >>  > > ---------------------- Information from the mail header
>> >>  > -----------------------
>> >>  > > Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
>> >>  > > Poster:       "Steve Kl." <stevekl at GMAIL.COM>
>> >>  > > Subject:      Re: Pickle
>> >>  > >
>> >>  >
>> >>
>>
>> >>-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>> >>  > >
>> >>  > > Out of curiosity, what part of Michigan are you from (I assume
>> Michigan
>> >>  > > because of 'chartermi')?
>> >>  > > I grew up southwest of Flint, my grandparents were farmers. My
>> father
>> >>  had
>> >>  > a
>> >>  > > huge garden and we grew tons of cukes, but I never heard any of
>> them
>> >>  call
>> >>  > > small cucumbers pickles. Are you up near the Thumb? For some reason
>> I
>> >>  > have a
>> >>  > > vague recollection that were large cucumber crops up that way, and
>> I'm
>> >>  > > wondering if this is a term that people who deal with cucumbers in
>> >>  large
>> >>  > > quantities used.
>> >>  > >
>> >>  > > On Fri, Aug 21, 2009 at 8:03 AM, David Metevia <
>> >>  djmetevia at chartermi.net
>> >>  > >wrote:
>> >>  > >
>> >>  > >> ---------------------- Information from the mail header
>> >>  > >> -----------------------
>> >>  > >> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
>> >>  > >> Poster:       David Metevia <djmetevia at CHARTERMI.NET>
>> >>  > >> Subject:      Pickle
>> >>  > >>
>> >>  > >>
>> >>  >
>> >>
>>
>> >>-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>> >>  > >>
>> >>  > >> I don't have access to the OED at the moment, but looked at
>> m-w.com
>> >>  > >> for a definition of pickle.  In my part of the world, folks
>> regularly
>> >>  > >> refer to small size cucumbers as pickles.  A gardener grows these
>> >>  > >> pickles; the farmer's market sells these pickles.  They are
>> referring
>> >>  > >> to the raw vegetable. Presumably this is an extension of the word
>> as
>> >>  > >> the intent is that the cucumbers will be further processed into
>> >>  > >> pickles.
>> >>  > >>
>> >>  > >> Yet, the MW definition only gets as close to that meaning as the
>> final
>> >>  > >> product:
>> >>  > >>
>> >>  > >> 3 : an article of food that has been preserved in brine or in
>> vinegar;
>> >  > > >> specifically : a cucumber that has been so preserved
>> >>  > >>
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>> >
>> >
>> >--
>> >"There You Go Again...Using Reason on the Planet of the Duck-Billed
>> >Platypus"
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