sauce (UNCLASSIFIED)

Fri Nov 12 16:09:59 UTC 2010

Classification: UNCLASSIFIED
Caveats: NONE

WEAK SAUCE

San Jose Mercury News (CA) - Saturday, August 19, 1989 p 1E [Newsbank]
"And not only is the attempt usually weak sauce when a grown- up tries
to sound totally fresh, kids don't like to hear their own lingo coming
out of the mouths of their elders anyway. . . .  And "weak sauce" has
stepped in for "lame." "

_Los Angeles Times_ Aug 27, 1993. pg. 12 [ProQuest]
"He taunts his opponent, jeering him throughout the match ("Come on with
that weak sauce! Come on!")"

The News Tribune [Tacoma WA] - Thursday, February 22, 1996 p A1
[Newsbank]
"Led by Perot and U.S. Rep. Linda Smith (R-Hazel Dell), the panel told
the crowd in the Highline Community College gym that any alternative to
legislation proposed by Smith is weak sauce."

_Electronic Gaming Monthly_ 10/2002 p. 190 col 2
"It's just too bad the game is still weak sauce when it comes to
character design."

AWESOME SAUCE

Laurinburg Exchange, The (NC) - Friday, April 6, 2007 p B003 [Newsbank]
""It was just a week full of awesome sauce and probably the best spring
break of college I've had so far," she continued."

Rockford Register Star (IL) - Thursday, May 3, 2007 p 10M [Newsbank]
"Describe yourself in one word: Awesome sauce. Isn't that one word? "

> -----Original Message-----
> From: American Dialect Society [mailto:ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU] On
Behalf Of
> Ben Zimmer
> Sent: Thursday, November 11, 2010 9:16 AM
> To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
> Subject: Re: Query: Slang "Awesome sauce!"
>
> ---------------------- Information from the mail header
----------------------
> -
> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       Ben Zimmer <bgzimmer at BABEL.LING.UPENN.EDU>
> Subject:      Re: Query: Slang "Awesome sauce!"
>
------------------------------------------------------------------------
------
> -
>
> My impression is that "awesome sauce" (along with similar "X sauce"
> formations) was originally modeled on "weak sauce" (meaning 'lame,
> disappointing'). Urban Dictionary has entries for "weak(-)sauce" going
> back to 2003:
>
>
http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=weak%20sauce&defid=115176
> http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=weak-sauce&defid=331879
>
> --bgz
>
>
Classification: UNCLASSIFIED
Caveats: NONE

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