Oympic sport "contested"

[Jonathan Lighter]

I don't believe any of those defs. apply.

AFAICT,  "The sport was previously contested" means that it was _presented_
as an Olympic contest before an audience.

Strange but true.


JL

On Sun, Feb 21, 2010 at 7:32 PM, Joel S. Berson <Berson at att.net> wrote:

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> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       "Joel S. Berson" <Berson at ATT.NET>
> Subject:      Re: Oympic sport "contested"
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>
> I've heard it.  And the OED has
>
> 6. intr. To strive or contend (in a general
> sense).  With e.g. 1733 POPE Ess. Man III. 303
> For Forms of Government let Fools contest.
>
> 7.[a] trans. To contend, struggle, or fight for;
> to dispute with arms.a1626 BACON Polit. Fables
> ix, The matter was contested by single combat.
> 1818 SOUTHEY Fun. Song P'cess Charlotte, Mournful
> was that Edward's fame, Won in fields contested
> well. 1868 FREEMAN Norm. Conq. (1876) II. x. 480
> Every defensible spot of ground was stoutly
> contested by the Britons. 1874 GREEN Short Hist.
> ii. §4. 77 There was none of the house of Godwine to contest the crown.
>
>  9. trans. To contend for in emulation.  1725
> POPE Odyss. XXI. 144 Accept the tryal, and the
> prize [JSB: Olympic gold?] contest. 1832 LANDER
> Adv. Niger I. vi. 244 The race was well
> contested. 1888 MORLEY Burke 16 That he contested
> Adam Smith's chair of moral philosophy at Glasgow along with Hume.
>
> Joel
>
> At 2/21/2010 04:12 PM, Eric Nielsen wrote:
> >This seems an unusual use of "contested".
> >
> >Skeleton returned to the Olympics in 2002 after a 54-year hiatus. The
> sport
> >was previously contested in both 1928 and 1948, the two times the Winter
> >Games were held in St. Moritz, Switzerland. The resort town in the Swiss
> >Alps is widely considered birthplace of the sport. So when the Olympics
> came
> >to St. Moritz, skeleton was added to the Olympic program and contested on
> >the famed Cresta Run in St. Moritz. Only a men's event was held. Since the
> >Winter Games never returned to St. Mortiz, skeleton never returned to the
> >Olympic program.
> >
> >
> http://www.nbcolympics.com/skeleton/insidethissport/history/newsid=260523.html#skeleton+history
> >
> >Eric
>  >
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