hot dog article in NY Times

[David A. Daniel]

When I read the response from BH I had a feeling he wasn't aware of the
relationship between ADS-L and hotdogs (and hamburgers too). I, personally,
have found the whole thing fascinating, as I think most on the list have as
well. And the "Hot Frankfurter" sign only adds to the mystique of the whole
affair.
DAD



Message from Brian Hitchcock, Fri 8/12/2011 1:04 PM:

I read the entire article, and I still have no clue what on earth it has =
to
do with language -- Hasn't a hot dog always been a hot dog no matter how =
you
cook it?
______________________________________
=20
Reply:=20
The main point of linguistic interest is the picture accompanying the =
article in the link below (mentioned in my Aug. 10 message). =20
IAC, ads-l has treated the origin of "hot dog" in considerable detail, =
and I thought that some ads-l members might be interested in this latest =
article. Usually, long articles on the hot dog say something (albeit =
incorrect) about the origin of the term, and the absence of such an =
attempt in the recent NY Times article may be meaningful.  I.e., the =
absence might reflect an awareness on the part of the author that it =
would be better to sidestep the issue of the term's origin than risk =
getting it wrong.
=20
Gerald Cohen
(co-author with Barry Popik and the late David Shulman of the book =
Origin Of The Term "Hot Dog", 2004;
additional, very valuable information has since surfaced thanks to Fred =
Shapiro, Ben Zimmer,
and Barry Popik)

________________________________


: hot dog article in NY Times


For "hot dog" afficionados:=20
Barry Popik has drawn my attention to a recent NY Times article on the =
New York hot dog:
=20
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/10/dining/the-hot-dog-redefined-one-cart-a=
t-a-time.html
=20
The article does not treat the origin of the term "hot dog." But a =
picture accompanying the article in the above link caught my attention.  =
It shows a hot dog vendor, "ca. 1910," but the sign on his cart doesn't =
say "Hot Dogs";
it says "Hot Frankfurters."
=20
The term "hot dog" had not yet become a generally accepted term (still a =
bit akin in its semantic nuance to "roadkill"), and vendors wishing to =
entice passers-by to purchase their comestible no doubt felt they would =
have better luck by having their signs proclaim "Hot Frankfurters."=20
=20
G. Cohen
=20
=20

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