moon substance

[Laurence Horn]

At 6:10 PM -0500 3/8/11, Jonathan Lighter wrote:
>The long esses show that the date is probably more or less correct.
>
>"Green cheese" is the only version I'm faniliar with.
>
>JL

My theory about this has always been that the original version of the
theory did indeed involve the moon being made of "cream cheese", but
pronounced "cream CHEESE", as I assumed (without any evidence) was
the standard British pronunciation, but that when it crossed the
pond, where "cream cheese" (at least when you shmear it on a bagel)
always gets compound (CREAM cheese) stress, it was reinterpreted as a
theory about the moon being made of green CHEESE.

As I say, idle speculation, but that's always the best kind, even on the moon.

LH

>
>On Tue, Mar 8, 2011 at 5:57 PM, Garson O'Toole
><adsgarsonotoole at gmail.com>wrote:
>
>>  ---------------------- Information from the mail header
>>  -----------------------
>>  Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
>>  Poster:       Garson O'Toole <adsgarsonotoole at GMAIL.COM>
>>  Subject:      Re: moon substance
>>
>>
>>-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>>
>>  Sorry, that link will probably be chopped during transport. These
>>  links are shorter:
>>
>>  You would make be believe the moon is made of cream cheese.
>>  To make one believe the moon is made of green cheese.
>>
>>  A Dictionary of English and Spanish and Spanish and English
>>
>>  http://books.google.com/books?id=KWn1OHPnJnsC&q=%22moon+is%22#v=snippet&
>>
>>  http://goo.gl/b4Hbo
>>
>>  On Tue, Mar 8, 2011 at 5:03 PM, Jonathan Lighter <wuxxmupp2000 at gmail.com>
>>  wrote:
>>  > ---------------------- Information from the mail header
>>  -----------------------
>>  > Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
>>  > Poster:       Jonathan Lighter <wuxxmupp2000 at GMAIL.COM>
>>  > Subject:      moon substance
>>  >
>>
>>-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>>  >
>>  > _All Things Considered_ mentions that people think the "moon is made of
>>  > cream cheese."
>>  >
>>  > JL
>>  >
>>  > --
>>  > "If the truth is half as bad as I think it is, you can't handle the
>>  truth."
>>  >
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>
>
>
>--
>"If the truth is half as bad as I think it is, you can't handle the truth."
>
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