service = 'benefit afforded by animal activity'; synchronicity = 'conjunction; intertwining'

[Dan Goncharoff]

I think equating "services" with "benefits" misses the point.

In many companies (and in the military) essential functions are
performed by contractors. The functions are often called "services". I
take the NPR comment to be consistent with this sense of the word.

DanG

On Sat, Sep 11, 2010 at 7:27 PM, Jonathan Lighter
<wuxxmupp2000 at gmail.com> 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: service = 'benefit afforded by animal activity';
>              synchronicity = 'conjunction; intertwining'
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> I suppose the exx. are theoretically identical, but today's plurality
> of number, the collocation with "provide" and the construction "X services"
> conveys a very different image, at least to me/
>
> Also, the 1919 quote has a literary flavor that the young lady's remarks did
> not. My impression was that she and her colleagues talk about "providing
> services" all the time.
>
>
> JL
> On Sat, Sep 11, 2010 at 6:54 PM, Garson O'Toole
> <adsgarsonotoole at gmail.com>wrote:
>
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>> -----------------------
>> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
>> Poster:       Garson O'Toole <adsgarsonotoole at GMAIL.COM>
>> Subject:      Re: service = 'benefit afforded by animal activity';
>>              synchronicity = 'conjunction; intertwining'
>>
>> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>>
>> Jonathan Lighter wrote
>> > On _All Things Considered_ this evening an ecologist explained that wild
>> > insects in the rain forest "provide many services, such as pollination."
>> > Later she spoke again of various such "services," including "pollination
>> > services."
>>
>> In 1919 insects were even paid to provide this service.
>>
>> Cite: 1919, The New Knowledge Library: Science, Invention, Discovery,
>> Progress: Eight Great Books in One Volume, Page 561, Column 1, The S.
>> A. Mullikin company, Chicago, Illinois.
>>
>> Plants in order to do well need to exchange their pollen with other
>> plants of like species. Insects are the flowers' messenger boys in
>> this service. Yes, all varieties of bees, ants, moths, butterflies and
>> even humming birds are Nature's assistants in this work. To pay
>> insects for this great service, plants developed flowers beautiful to
>> the eye, showing to attract attention, secreted pleasing perfume, and
>> especially drops of honey on which insects feed.
>>
>>
>> http://books.google.com/books?id=JaAOAAAAYAAJ&q=%22pay+insects%22#v=snippet&
>>
>> Garson
>>
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>
>
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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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