"block" ~= street, and the OED?

Fri Apr 29 12:51:56 UTC 2011

In Vietnam-era writings, "back on the block" is frequently used to mean,
"back in the old (usu. inner-city) neighborhood."

But "*get back to the block" sounds impossible to me.  It would have to be
"on."

JL

On Fri, Apr 29, 2011 at 8:48 AM, Jonathan Lighter <wuxxmupp2000 at gmail.com>wrote:

> As one who grew up among blocks, I agree that the OED def. is not quite
> adequate.
>
> Every day one would go "up" or "down" the "block."  Location X was "just
> down (or 'up') the block" from Y.
>
> Strangely, I can't recall whether it was possible to go "across the block"
> (i.e., straight across the street), but I doubt it. My ambivalence may
> reflect a childhood usage that I had to abandon as too advanced for society
> at that time.
>
> JL
>   On Fri, Apr 29, 2011 at 3:28 AM, victor steinbok <aardvark66 at gmail.com>wrote:
>
>> ---------------------- Information from the mail header
>> -----------------------
>> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
>> Poster:       victor steinbok <aardvark66 at GMAIL.COM>
>> Subject:      Re: "block" ~= street, and the OED?
>>
>> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>>
>> A few other "blocks" that are missing. (Also some "busts".)
>>
>> Yes, "block-buster" is there for the bombs, but not for the derivative
>> meaning--e.g., blockbuster deal, blockbuster trade, blockbuster story,
>> etc.
>> Not even a hint that I found. OK, I'm lying--there is hint"
>>
>> > 1957    G. Smith Friends vi a. 114   One day I had what seemed to me
>> like
>> a block~buster of an idea for a musical play.
>>
>> Right meaning, wrong function in a sentence (part of speech? It's still
>> N-N=
>> ,
>> right?). "Block-buster of an idea" is not the same as "blockbuster idea".
>>
>> On the other hand, the other "block-buster" and "block-busting"
>> appearances
>> seem to be quite distinct:
>>
>> > 1967    Spectator 6 Oct. 394/2   The =E2=80=98block-buster=E2=80=99 is a
>> =
>> figure in
>> American urban life who has yet to emerge in this country. He is a
>> property
>> dealer who by subterfuge introduces black residents into all-white
>> neighbourhoods.
>>
>> > 1959    Economist 31 Jan. 415/2   Once a single negro moves into a
>> block=E2=80=A5the houses on both sides of the street from corner to corner
>> =
>> are bound
>> to become=E2=80=A5Negro.=E2=80=A5 Such =E2=80=98block-busting=E2=80=99
>> [etc=
>> .].
>> > 1961    Nation 7 Oct. 223/2   The block-busting real-estate men show
>> home=
>> s
>> in integrated districts=E2=80=A5only to prospective Negro buyers.
>>
>> It's the same sense of "block", but a different sense of "bust" that these
>> expressions rely on. IMO it seems closer to "breaking in[to]" than
>> "destroying".
>>
>> Speaking of "bust", "busted"--discovered, uncovered--is not in OED. It
>> seem=
>> s
>> to be a variant of bust v.2 e., but it's a variant that's not mentioned.
>> "Jailed, arrested" is not the same thing as "uncovered, discovered,
>> unmasked", etc. In fact, I'm wondering which came first. The other
>> meanings
>> listed under e. are "dismissed, demoted". These seem to be unrelated to
>> "jailed, arrested"--if anything, the latter are closer to the "discovered"
>> sense (again, not sure what came first).  I also suspect that people had
>> been "busted in rank" long before 1918, which is the earliest citation.
>> But
>> being "busted"=3D=3D"in jail" or "arrested" is likely later. But is it
>> real=
>> ly
>> only post-WWII? And, if so, was it derived from "busted in rank"? Both
>> seem
>> unlikely--just by looking at  bust n.3 f., which shows up at least as of
>> 1938.
>>
>> And when someone says, in isolation, "You are going to get busted," does
>> that mean "discovered" or "busted in rank" or "arrested"?
>>
>> Then, there is bust v.2 d. --breaking into a house. What about "breaking
>> out"--"busting out of prison"? To make matters worse, transitivity is at
>> stake here--"He is going to bust his brother out [of prison]" vs. "His
>> brother is going to bust out of prison". Nor does it need to be a prison
>> to
>> get "bust out of".
>>
>> Also, when someone "is busting X's balls", I don't think he's either
>> breaking or bursting the aforementioned "balls"--not even squeezing them.
>> Sure, it's figurative, but what literal meaning is it attached to? And
>> does
>> it deserve a separate sub-entry. It gets worse when someone "is busting
>> X's
>> chops".
>>
>> And I am not even going to get into all the gym senses of "bust" and
>> "busted".
>>
>> Back to "block".
>>
>> Block letter, capital, print, printing is also very limited--in fact,
>> limited to literal meaning of being printed with a block and an alternate
>> o=
>> f
>> sans-serif type that's printed or written. But the main use of "block
>> letters, caps, print, type", etc., today--at least, in the US--is to
>> hand-print something in capital letters (although this is is hardly a
>> requirement, just like being sans-serif) for legibility. This sense
>> certainly does not come across from reading the definitions under "block".
>>
>> "Down the block", which is a derivative--if idiomatic--expression from the
>> one Joel identifies appears in two citations, neither one under "down" or
>> "block". This seems to be a serious omission. Note that the last citation
>> under 14.b. gives "cruised around the block". What about metaphorical
>> "been
>> around the block"? Furthermore, when someone say, "You drive seven blocks,
>> then look for ...", does this not mean "pass seven streets" before
>> looking?
>> Or does it literally refer to seven city blocks that you have to "pass"?
>>
>> There is a "football" use of "block" in 19.f., but not basketball
>> (although
>> the two are similar, the effect is different--in football, both American
>> an=
>> d
>> soccer/association, this is something you want to do; in basketball, it's
>> a
>> foul; both are derived from the verb; not sure about hockey). Speaking of
>> American football--do blocking dummies deserve an entry? It's not an
>> obviou=
>> s
>> construct.
>>
>> I strongly suspect 19.d. gets the derivation wrong. It's not derived from
>> the verb "block" or from "blocking up". "Nerve block" is short for
>> "blockade", but it's listed under "Senses from BLOCK v.". This is
>> completel=
>> y
>> different. I would venture to say that this use of "block" as a verb was
>> in
>> fact back-derived. Furthermore, you still hear "blockade" as a verb in
>> medical jargon (sorry, my father is an anesthesiologist--I hear too much
>> of
>> this). It's not going to be obvious without going to early medical
>> literature on nerve-blocking, but I am pretty confident that I am right.
>>
>> VS-)
>>
>>
>> On Fri, Apr 29, 2011 at 12:20 AM, Wilson Gray <hwgray at gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>> >
>> > "The bombs called 'blockbusters' were given that name because one of
>> > them was powerful enough to destroy an entire block"
>> >
>> > wherein _block_ easily meets the definition:
>> >
>> > "A compact or connected mass of houses or buildings, with no
>> > intervening spaces; (esp. in U.S. and Canada) the
>> > quadrangular mass of buildings included between four streets, or two
>> > 'avenues' and two streets at right angles to them"
>> >
>> > to a greater degree than does the _block_ in Joel's example.
>> >
>> > FWIW, IMO, Joel is correct WRT the need for additional definition. In
>> > Joel's example, _two blocks_ can be represented simply by two lines
>> > joined so as to form an angle of any kind or even by two lines joined
>> > so as to form a straight line and not only so as to express a right
>> > angle. That's not possible, if we're restricted to the OED definition.
>> >
>> >
>> > --
>> > -Wilson
>>
>>  ------------------------------------------------------------
>> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>>
>
>
>
> --
> "If the truth is half as bad as I think it is, you can't handle the truth."
>

--
"If the truth is half as bad as I think it is, you can't handle the truth."

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