"Cock"

[Jonathan Lighter]

Of course you're both right. But the point that interests me isn't the
expression's apparent formal origin; it's the psychological impetus behind
it.

Had I not been frowned on, possibly by a lunatic, for the use of "up and
coming,"  the idea might not have occurred to me at all. But maybe she
wasn't a lunatic, or at least not a lone lunatic. If "moist" is horrific to
some speakers, perhaps "up and coming" is as well.

It's a universally known formula and there's no obvious reason for so many
people to change it.

JL

On Fri, Feb 11, 2011 at 9:56 AM, Joel S. Berson <Berson at att.net> wrote:

> ---------------------- Information from the mail header
> -----------------------
> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       "Joel S. Berson" <Berson at ATT.NET>
> Subject:      Re: "Cock"
>
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> At 2/11/2011 08:51 AM, Amy West wrote:
> >On 2/11/11 12:04 AM, Automatic digest processor wrote:
> >>Date:    Thu, 10 Feb 2011 22:33:00 -0500
> >>From:    Jonathan Lighter<wuxxmupp2000 at GMAIL.COM>
> >>Subject: Re: "Cock"
> >>
> >>Not to encourage you two, but CNN described self-disgraced Rep.
> Christopher
> >>Lee (who sent a "flirty" picture of his shirtless self to some woman at
> >>Craig's List), as a once "up and rising" young Republican.
> >
> >Just seems like a blend of "up and coming" with "rising (star?)" . . .
>
> Or did CNN mean that he had now become impotent?  (But I'd bet with Amy.)
>
> Joel
>
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