Melons

[Wilson Gray]

Needless to say, that use was certainly available to the spoken
language *long* before 1957. As for tracing the use to 1862, who
knows? Words come into style and go out of style all of the time.

Back in 1950, nobody would have thought shit about putting "nigger"
down on paper. OTOH, nobody would have written "shit" down without
first studying hard over it. Today, of course, matters have taken an
opposite turn.

-Wilson

On Fri, Sep 11, 2009 at 3:01 PM, David Bowie <db.list at pmpkn.net> wrote:
> ---------------------- Information from the mail header -----------------------
> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       David Bowie <db.list at PMPKN.NET>
> Organization: Organized? Me?!
> Subject:      Melons
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> A student here is trying to figure out how far back "melons" for female
> breasts goes. The OED has 1957 as the earliest use for that sense, but
> he thinks he may have found something that plays on that sense from
> 1862--but only maybe. Is there any other evidence that the term was used
> that way that early?
>
> --
> David Bowie                                  http://www.pmpkn.net/lx/
>    Jeanne's Two Laws of Chocolate: If there is no chocolate in the
>    house, there is too little; some must be purchased. If there is
>    chocolate in the house, there is too much; it must be consumed.
>
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>



--
-Wilson
–––
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

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