down economy

[Jonathan Lighter]

It's kind of a "depressed" economy, but they don't want to say that because

1. that sounds like an economic depression

2. strictly speaking, the economy isn't even "depressed"; it's just growing
very slowly and there's a lot of unemployment

3. "depressed" sounds too depressing

4. "depressed" has too many letters and syllables.

"Sluggish" is a frequent choice, but that also has too many letters and
syllables. What's more, "sluggish" implies limited, occasional progress,
whereas "down" suggests a dead stall. It sounds like your computer.  Only a
geek or something from the cloud can fix it.

But it's still less depressing than "depressed," which may suggest a
long-term condition.

JL

On Wed, Aug 24, 2011 at 4:58 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:      down economy
>
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> "Down economy" seems to be a fairly common phrase right now. For example,
> this is the latest headline in Corporate Counsel:
>
> Down Economy and Increased Regulation Impact Corporate Fraud, Reports Say
>
> http://goo.gl/wDk8m
>
> This seems to have a somewhat archaic sound. Of course, there is little
> formality to stop the use of "up" and "down" as adjective in reporting. The
> Corporate Counsel article compounds that illusion by citing Walter Scott in
> the very first line: "Oh, what a tangled web we weave when first we
> practic=
> e
> to deceive."
>
> All the related down adj. subentries in the OED lack recent examples:
>
> 1. a. Directed downwards; descending. Also fig.
>
> > [1647-1894]
> >  b. Of looks or aspect: Directed downwards.
> > [1565-1716]
> >  2. In a low condition of health or vitality. rare.
> > [1690-1885]
> > =E2=80=A03. Downcast, dejected. Obs. (exc. predicatively: see down adv.
> 1=
> 8).
> > [1644]
>
>
> There are also two entries that mention "down trip"--one direct (1.e.) and
> one more expansive, under "draft additions)--certainly they are related and
> may need to be merged. Both are linked to down n.3 Draft Additions 1993 a.,
> but in opposite directions--one points TO it, the other is pointed to from
> there.
>
> But it is one of these that "down economy" appears to most closely
> resemble=
> :
>
>  U.S. slang. Causing or characterized by depression, despondency, or lack
> > of vigour; down trip, an unpleasant or depressing hallucinatory
> experienc=
> e
> > induced by the drug LSD. Cf. down n.3 Additions a.
>
>
> I just can't get past the disconnect between "down economy" and "down
> trip"--they certainly don't feel related. ;-) One is depressed, the other
> one's depressing.
>
> VS-)
>
> PS: Totally off-topic, but the article mentions an interesting conclusion
> o=
> n
> profiles of "typical fraudsters":
>
> > * A 36- to 45-year-old male in a senior management role in the finance
> un=
> it
> > or in a finance-related function;
> > * An employee for more than 10 years who usually would work in collusion
> > with another individual.
>
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