Not a teddy bear

[Jesse Sheidlower]

To me, a teddy bear is relatively stiff, with arms
outstretched, and having darkish brown fur. If it is a very
soft plush bear, like a Gund, I would consider it a stuffed
bear, but not a teddy bear.

Jesse Sheidlower
OED

On Mon, Sep 13, 2010 at 07:18:58AM -0400, Barbara Need wrote:
> Can you elaborate? Clearly I have a fairly broad understanding of what
> fits in the category of teddy bear!
>
> Barbara
>
> On 13 Sep 2010, at 6:49 AM, Jesse Sheidlower wrote:
>
>> On Mon, Sep 13, 2010 at 06:42:52AM -0400, Barbara Need wrote:
>>> From a Freecycle posting for stuffed animals:
>>>
>>> "small brown bear (not a teddy bear, a plush bear)"
>>>
>>> What is a stuffed bear if not a teddy bear?
>>
>> A teddy bear is a pretty specific kind of stuffed bear, in my
>> idiolect at least. A soft, floppy, plush bear would not be a
>> teddy bear to me.
>>
>> Jesse Sheidlower
>> OED
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org

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