"atmospheric," n.

[Dan Goncharoff]

Am I right to assume that "...the single poll number is probably *not*
important by itself..." was intended?

I like the word "atmospherics". It suggests the temporary and ethereal
character of many of the factors that create the political environment
at a point in time, while leaving the possibility that they can
contribute to a longer term political climate.

DanG

On 6/27/2010 5:10 PM, Dave Wilton wrote:
> ---------------------- Information from the mail header -----------------------
> Sender:       American Dialect Society<ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       Dave Wilton<dave at WILTON.NET>
> Subject:      Re: "atmospheric," n.
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Normally you see it in the plural, "atmospherics." It is actually quite
> common in marketing and political circles, and I'm surprised that
> dictionaries haven't picked it up.
>
> Atmospherics are the general ambience, mood, and background that influence
> opinion. So Crowley is saying that the single poll number is probably
> important by itself, but it will be one of many factors contributing to a
> negative opinion of the Democrats.
>
> See:
>
> "Atmospherics [...] elements of store's ambience, which can be studied and
> controlled by a retailer to influence  the consumer's buying mood."
> http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/atmospherics.html
>
> "I've always wanted to get a feel for the physical and psychic landscape of
> the time [...] in other words, the "atmospherics" of a situation.
> http://www.jonhassell.com/atmosindex.html
>
> "Ads and Atmospherics. Outdoor campaigns are suddenly hip."
> http://www.inc.com/magazine/20070201/salesmarketing-advertising.html
>
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: American Dialect Society [mailto:ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU] On Behalf Of
> Douglas G. Wilson
> Sent: Sunday, June 27, 2010 10:09 AM
> To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
> Subject: Re: "atmospheric," n.
>
> Jonathan Lighter wrote:
>
>> ....
>> "An element in the climate of political opinion."
>>
>> CNN's Cindy Crowley this morning referred to a poll number that was "not
>>
> the
>
>> sort of atmospheric that Democrats like." (A close paraphrase.)
>>
>> Cf., of course, "statistic."
>>
> --
>
> I suspect maybe "atmospheric" might be an error for "stratospheric [poll
> number]" meaning "very high [poll number]".
>
> -- Doug Wilson
>
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