dinging (solicit a quick quotable statement)

[Dan Goncharoff]

One thought -- when cars were made from steel, dinging the car did
require a heavy blow.

DanG

On Wed, Sep 22, 2010 at 9:01 PM, Victor Steinbok <aardvark66 at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> A tangentially related question: when did "ding" reverse its meaning?
>
>> 1. intr. (or absol.) To deal heavy blows; to knock, hammer, thump
>>
>> 2. trans. To beat, knock, strike with heavy blows; to thrash, flog.
>> b. To crush with a blow, smash. Obs.
>> c. To thrust through, pierce (with a violent thrust). Sc. Obs.
>>
>> 3. fig. To 'beat', overcome, surpass, excel.
>
>
> Now compare that to the more recent expression "ding[ed] the car door".
> "Dings" in a car outer shell are minor dents that are annoying but do
> not represent serious structural damage (although they may detract from
> the value of the car). More generally, a "ding" is essentially a minor
> indentation or pit in the surface, and "to ding" is to make such an
> impression in a surface. It appears to be precisely the opposite of
> "striking a heavy blow".
>
>     VS-)
>
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> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>

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