Sphincter Factor (UNCLASSIFIED)

[Mullins, Bill AMRDEC]

Classification: UNCLASSIFIED
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A little looking through Google Books shows PF is much more common than
SF, and that PF goes back to the mid-1960's at latest.

Also, there appears to be a formal medical sense for "sphincter factor"
in addition to the sense mentioned by Scot below.




> -----Original Message-----
> From: Mullins, Bill AMRDEC
> Sent: Friday, June 12, 2009 8:59 AM
> To: 'American Dialect Society'
> Subject: RE: Sphincter Factor (UNCLASSIFIED)
>
> Classification: UNCLASSIFIED
> Caveats: NONE
>
> I've heard it much more often as "pucker factor".
>
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: American Dialect Society [mailto:ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU] On
> > Behalf Of Scot LaFaive
> > Sent: Friday, June 12, 2009 8:13 AM
> > To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
> > Subject: Sphincter Factor
> >
> > ---------------------- Information from the mail header
-------------
> --
> > --------
> > Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> > Poster:       Scot LaFaive <slafaive at GMAIL.COM>
> > Subject:      Sphincter Factor
> >
---------------------------------------------------------------------
> --
> > --------
> >
> > I recently came across this phrase used to rate the tenseness of a
> > situation
> > (as in, the more tense the situation, the tighter the sphincter),
and
> > it
> > appears to have its roots in the James Cameron movie "The Abyss"
from
> > 1989.
> > I don't ever hear the term used, but it appears to have some play on
> > the
> > web. I'm guessing someone here can probably date it earlier than
> 1989.
> >
> > BTW,  the new ADS search page is very nice!
> >
> > Scot
> >
> > ------------------------------------------------------------
> > The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
> Classification: UNCLASSIFIED
> Caveats: NONE
>

Classification: UNCLASSIFIED
Caveats: NONE

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