fodder

[Ben Zimmer]

On Sun, May 22, 2011 at 5:56 PM, <ronbutters at aol.com> wrote:
>
> On May 22, 2011, at 5:25 PM, Jonathan Lighter wrote:
>
> > Commentary? Wisecracks? Other?
> > Today at
> > http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/149845/20110522/camping-doomsday-rapture.htm
> > :
> > Indeed, discussions about May 21, 2011 being the "end of the world" were
> > met with worldwide fodder -- a bonanza for American late-night television
> > comedians.
>
> Maybe somebody has something to say about LANGUAGE? American English?
> Dialects? Or is this just a list-serv for wisecracks and arch comments about other
> folks' putative stupidity?

I presume the (linguistic) point here is the rather bizarre use of
"fodder" to mean... I'm not sure, exactly. My best guess is that this
is the result of poor editing -- the "end of the world" discussions
could be fodder for the comedians (as well as a bonanza), but another
word is needed after "worldwide" -- "derision" or "mirth" or some
such.

--bgz

--
Ben Zimmer
http://benzimmer.com/

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