"atmospheric," n.

[Jonathan Lighter]

Anything in politics is crucially important - at least in the version of
politics retailed by top electronic-media pundojournalists. It is crucially
important because it just might be the straw in the wind leading straight
to the explosive scoop, missed by everyone else, that wins a coveted
Pulitzer for the pundo who first got wise.

Another reason is that if J. Q. Viewer began to suspect that not everything
on cable news is crucially important to that millimeter-wide edge that might
spell the difference between survival and its opposite, he'd soon switch to
the Cartoon Network.

JL

On Mon, Jun 28, 2010 at 10:40 AM, Dan Goncharoff <thegonch at gmail.com> wrote:

> ---------------------- Information from the mail header
> -----------------------
> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       Dan Goncharoff <thegonch at GMAIL.COM>
> Subject:      Re: "atmospheric," n.
>
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Thanks for clearing up the context.
>
> I am still not sure whether anyone thinks this single poll is
> "important", even if it is a "pretty good indicator", this far in
> advance of the election. Just how important does an atmospheric have to
> be to be "important"?
>
> DanG
>
> On 6/28/2010 9:14 AM, Jonathan Lighter wrote:
> > ---------------------- Information from the mail header
> -----------------------
> > Sender:       American Dialect Society<ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> > Poster:       Jonathan Lighter<wuxxmupp2000 at GMAIL.COM>
>  > Subject:      Re: "atmospheric," n.
> >
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> >
> > Here's a presumably accurate transcript of the entire quote from Candy
> > Crowley:
> >
> >
> http://newamericatoday.com/na/2010/06/062710-cnn-state-of-the-union-transcript.html
> >    :
> >
> > I know pollsters, and certainly we at CNN have always looked at the right
> > track, wrong track poll, as a pretty good indicator of how an election is
> > going to go. And here's the NBC/"Wall Street Journal" right track/wrong
> > track. Right direction, 29 percent, wrong track, 62 percent. That's not
> the
> > best atmospheric for Democrats.
> >
> > JL
> >
> > On Sun, Jun 27, 2010 at 6:18 PM, Dan Goncharoff<thegonch at gmail.com>
>  wrote:
> >
> >
> >> ---------------------- Information from the mail header
> >> -----------------------
> >> Sender:       American Dialect Society<ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> >> Poster:       Dan Goncharoff<thegonch at GMAIL.COM>
> >> Subject:      Re: "atmospheric," n.
> >>
> >>
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> >>
> >> 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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> >>>
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> >>>
> >>>
> >> ------------------------------------------------------------
> >> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
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> >>
> >
> >
> > --
> > "If the truth is half as bad as I think it is, you can't handle the
> truth."
> >
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> > The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
> >
> >
>
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> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>



--
"If the truth is half as bad as I think it is, you can't handle the truth."

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