buck -- more antedatings (UNCLASSIFIED)

Tue Oct 26 15:48:06 UTC 2010

Classification: UNCLASSIFIED
Caveats: NONE

The batting sense:

The Orange County Register - Monday, April 11, 1988 p d01 (Newsbank)
"If he hits a buck-ninety and keeps making plays like that, he's
valuable."

_THE SEATTLE TIMES_ - Tuesday, May 13, 1986 p F1 (Newsbank)
"I've never batted a buck -twenty (.120) in my life."

_Chicago Tribune_ - Tuesday, April 2, 1985 p 3 (Newsbank)
"I mean, I could go to Glens Falls and hit a buck (.100)."

_Syracuse Herald American_, 7/31/1983 p d-4 col 3 (Newspaperarchive)
"I had planned on spending the whole summer in Louisville, but I'm sure
if I was hitting a buck eighty (.180), they might not have traded
Hernandez and I wouldn't be in St. Louis."

_The Washington Post_ (DC) - Sunday, August 8, 1982 p M2 (Newsbank)
" "I'd signed a new contract," he said, "and was hitting a buck
-ninety." "

And I ran across this odd use of "interstate" while searching:

_The Miami Herald_  (FL) - Thursday, February 18, 1993 p 4ST (Newsbank)
"Interstate: When a batter's average falls between .100 and .200 (named
for highways such as I-75, I-95). Also, a buck and change ."

The time sense (one minute):

_Taunton Daily Gazette_ (MA) - Sunday, February 3, 2008 no page # listed
(Newsbank)
" With a buck and change left in the first half, Brady found David
Givens on the right side of the end zone to tie the game."

Patriot-News, The (Harrisburg, PA) - Saturday, October 31, 2009 p T08
(Newsbank)
"Redwood senior playmaker Jeff Davis caught 10 balls for 80 yards and
touchdown, ran for 28 yards for a clinching score with a buck and change
left and recovered a fumble in the end zone on defense."

Patriot-News, The (Harrisburg, PA) - Thursday, December 24, 2009 p T11
(Newsbank)
" Hershey got to within 3-1 in the third, but a pair of late goals by CV
-- including an empty-netter with a buck and change left -- kept the
defending champs at bay. "

Distance sense (100 yards):

Harrisonburg VA _Daily News Record_ 10/3/2005 p 19 col 2
(Newspaperarchive)
"Saturday, he was the designated runner on "read option" and cruised for
a buck sixty-three on only 17 carries."

Philadelphia Inquirer, The (PA) - Tuesday, October 29, 2002 p F02
(Newsbank)
"Take a bow, Donovan McNabb.  He ran for a buck -eleven."

> -----Original Message-----
> From: American Dialect Society [mailto:ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU] On
Behalf Of
> Ben Zimmer
> Sent: Tuesday, October 26, 2010 12:46 AM
> To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
> Subject: Re: buck?
>
> ---------------------- 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: buck?
>
------------------------------------------------------------------------
------
> -
>
> On Tue, Oct 26, 2010 at 12:12 AM, Laurence Horn
<laurence.horn at yale.edu>
> wrote:
> >
> > At 7:39 PM -0400 10/25/10, Laurence Horn wrote:
> > >At 2:57 PM -0400 10/25/10, Jesse Sheidlower wrote:
> > >>It is covered in HDAS, s.v. _buck_ n. sense 2.e.
> > >
> > >And here in an earlier thread (with many examples from athletes
> > >weighing or batting a buck seventy-five).
>
> The lone HDAS cite for the '100 lb.' sense is from The New York Times,
> 3/3/93, quoting John Starks (of the New York Knicks) on Kenny Anderson
> (of the New Jersey Nets): "Kenny weighs about a buck-60." (Anderson
> suffered a season-ending injury from a Starks foul.)
>
>
http://www.nytimes.com/1993/03/03/sports/pro-basketball-starks-is-fined-
but-
> isn-t-banned.html
>
> Some antedatings:
>
> 1985 _Baton Rouge State Times_ 14 Mar. 3-F (Factiva) Murphy was
> convinced his alleged homophobia had been instrumental in the
> establishment of San Francisco's Kill Eddie Murphy Foundation and that
> he can handle any complaints should Michael Jackson want to be
> starting something. "He only weighs a buck and five pounds. I don't
> care."
>
> 1989 _Sacramento Bee_ 21 Nov. D5 (NewsBank) When other teams see him,
> they say, "I hope he plays me; I'll go for 30," Anders said. He
> doesn't look like he weighs a buck-oh-five, but he's a point guard in
> his heart.
>
> 1989 _Worcester Telegram & Gazette_ 25 Nov. 15 (Factiva) "The only
> reason I didn't get the ball up," countered Miller, "was that he
> (Kleine) weighs 290 and I weigh a buck-eighty-five. I felt like I got
> hit by Lawrence Taylor."
>
> 1990 _Orlando Sentinel_ 24 Apr. D1 (NewsBank) McKyer quickly made it
> clear he doesn't consider tackling runners part of his responsibility.
> "I weigh a buck seventy-five (175 pounds)," he said. "If you depend on
> your cornerbacks to make tackles, that's part of your problem."
>
> (There's also the song "Vibes and Stuff" by A Tribe Called Quest on
> their classic 1991 album "The Low End Theory," wherein Phife Dawg
> gives the self-description, "Weigh a buck-fifty, 36 waist.")
>
> > As Al Michaels, announcer on Monday Night (now Tuesday Morning)
> > Football just reminded me by saying "A buck 18 left", bucks in
> > sporting contests can also be minutes as well as .100 of batting
> > average or 100 of pounds.  I think it helps to have the second
> > figure--"a buck 18" works better to convey 'one minute 18 seconds'
> > than just "a buck" would do to convey 'one minute'.
>
> Same goes for weight: the cites above seem to bottom out at "a buck oh
five."
>
> --bgz
>
> --
> Ben Zimmer
> http://benzimmer.com/
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
Classification: UNCLASSIFIED
Caveats: NONE

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The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org