looking for a new word to go with the story

[Benjamin Zimmer]

On Thu, Aug 12, 2010 at 5:10 AM, Victor Steinbok <aardvark66 at gmail.com> wrote:
>
>  NYPost has been leading the way in looking for a coinage to describe
> the 38 year old flamboyant flight attendant who had gone berserk on the
> tarmac. Yesterday, they referred to him as a "wing nut"
> (http://bit.ly/c4sHHN). Now it's a "plane-iac" (http://bit.ly/dgI8pd).
> And, of course, he's also a "bag Nazi", having "ranted" in the past
> about passengers with oversize carry-ons (just like the one that sparked
> the incident).
>
> None of these are likely to stick or to spread to other publications.
> So, I am wondering where this verbal meandering will eventually lead.

For further coinages stemming from the incident ("pull a Slater," "hit
the slide," etc.), see my latest Word Routes column:

http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/wordroutes/2389/

--bgz


--
Ben Zimmer
http://benzimmer.com/

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