slash

[Laurence Horn]

At 9:33 PM +0800 8/27/10, Randy Alexander wrote:
>For those who missed it on Language Log, Brett Reynold's of the blog
>_English, Jack_, has identified a new coordinator, "slash", as in
>"There is also a study slash guest bedroom".
>
>You can see Geoff Pullum's LL post here:
>
>http://languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu/nll/?p=2584
>
>Maybe some of the antedating aficionados can track down earlier instances.
>
>--
>Randy Alexander
>Xiamen, China
>Blogs:
>Manchu studies: http://www.sinoglot.com/manchu
>Chinese characters: http://www.sinoglot.com/yuwen
>Language in China (group blog): http://www.sinoglot.com/blog
>
I'm surprised neither Geoff (well, maybe not that surprised) nor
(especially) the commenters mentioned the role of football in the
evolution of "Slash" as a sobriquet, in particular the original
Slash, Kordell Stewart, who was a quarterback in college at the U. of
Colorado but was converted to a multipurpose receiver/back-up
quarterback/running back/kick returner for the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Here's a brief bio: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kordell_Stewart.
Longtime Steelers color announcer Myron Cope, who had an inimitable
on-air style, dubbed him Slash and it stuck, now being occasionally
applied (as a noun!) to other all-purpose players.

LH

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