another euphemism

[Wilson Gray]

But that's not a euphemism, is it?

I, too, like _rocking_ = "sporting," as in the blues line:

"Here come my baby, _sportin'_ a new gold tooth"

When I was a teen, back in the 'Fiddies, a stud with a girl as his
date that he was proud to be seen with could say that he was
"sporting" her or that could be said about him by the envious.

That use feels rather sexist today, but, back then, it was neither
here nor there.

-Wilson

On Mon, Jul 12, 2010 at 10:23 PM, Ann Burlingham
<ann at burlinghambooks.com> wrote:
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> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       Ann Burlingham <ann at BURLINGHAMBOOKS.COM>
> Subject:      Re: another euphemism
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> On Wed, Jun 16, 2010 at 9:06 PM, Benjamin Zimmer
> <bgzimmer at babel.ling.upenn.edu> wrote:
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>> Poster: Â  Â  Â  Benjamin Zimmer <bgzimmer at BABEL.LING.UPENN.EDU>
>> Subject: Â  Â  Â Re: another euphemism
>> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>>
>> On Wed, Jun 16, 2010 at 6:44 PM, victor steinbok <aardvark66 at gmail.com> wrote:
>>>
>>> é„­lthough it seems clear that she's either going commando or rocking
>>> an itsy-bitsy thong."
>> [...]
>>> Having lived a sheltered life, I am also unfamiliar with this meaning
>>> of "rocking" (==sporting or is there more?).
>>
>> You'll want to check out the draft entry for "rock" (v.1) in the OED's
>> latest quarterly update, particularly sense 12.c.: "To wear, esp. with
>> panache; to display, flaunt, or sport (as a personally distinctive
>> style, accessory, possession, etc.)" (with cites back to 1987).
>
> I think "sporting" is a particularly apt synonym. I passed this
> billboard on my way to the Buffalo airport last week:
>
> http://www.flickr.com/photos/35702024@N00/4788929172/
>
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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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