new -er

[Benjamin Zimmer]

On Wed, Dec 23, 2009 at 9:02 AM, <ronbutters at aol.com> wrote:
>
> From: Victor Steinbok
>
> > "kill billers"--those on the left who advocate voting down the current
> > version of the health-care reform bill.
> >
> > http://www.fivethirtyeight.com/2009/12/insidious-myth-of-reconciliation.html
> >
> > Don't know how widespread this is, but the term certainly falls into the
> > pattern of other recent "-ers".
>
> There is NOTHING new about this -er. It simply means 'agent' or 'instrument'.
> Agents may be good, indifferent, or bad. The intended meaning depends on
> context. It always has. My father always said "New Dealer" with a sneer. I
> have friends who say "recycler" with scorn. My usage is essentially positive
> for both words. The same ambiguity of implication is inherent in "kill biller."

For me, the novelty here is that the expected N-Ver form,
"bill-killer," is inverted under the influence of Quentin Tarantino's
"Kill Bill."


--Ben Zimmer

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