Engineering amazing

[Benjamin Barrett]

A series of excellent finds that also demonstrate that the being-deletion theory doesn't hold. 

The effect seems to be giving the active feeling of an adjective while using nouns.

One interesting property most of these examples seem to share is that the noun forms are unwieldy, such as requiring a -ness suffix. One token has the property that the noun form does not adequately express the meaning that the adjective does.

Going backward through the list:

crazy - craziness
interesting - interest doesn't express the meaning of interesting, leaving interestingness which is even worse
ordinary - actually, this is a noun; however, this example feels like it fits in this category
tired - tiredness
rich - richness doesn't cut it
big - bigness doesn't cut it
original - originality is an exception as it has a cachet and is a regular-sounding form
fresh - freshness
smart - smartness doesn't cut it
amazing - amazingness 

Benjamin Barrett
Seattle, WA

On Nov 5, 2011, at 2:47 PM, Jonathan Lighter wrote:

> Turner Classic Movies promises "a castleful of crazy in _Dementia 13_!"
> 
> JL
> 
> On Thu, Nov 3, 2011 at 4:26 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:      Re: Engineering amazing
>> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>> 
>> TV commercials just this week:
>> 
>> "Chex Mix is a bag of interesting!"
>> 
>> "Leave behind ordinary!" [Visit South Africa.]
>> 
>> JL
>> 
>> On Sun, Oct 23, 2011 at 12:25 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:      Re: Engineering amazing
>>> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>>> 
>>> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9DNexGfaUVA :
>>> 
>>> "Tired sucks. Not end of a long day tired. But middle of the day,
>>> places to go, things to do, deadlines to meet. But all I want to do is
>>> close my eyes tired. 5-hour ENERGY fixes tired fast."
>>> 
>>> Also on TV.
>>> 
>>> JL
>>> 
>>> On Wed, Oct 5, 2011 at 12:51 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:      Re: Engineering amazing
>>>> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>>>> 
>>>> Re adj. > n.
>>>> 
>>>> Michael Moore explained today that the banks are filthy rich.
>>>> 
>>>> "But filthy rich isn't good enough."
>>>> 
>>>> All of these forms may be characterized as simple (though novel)
>>>> "being"-deletion.
>>>> 
>>>> (Apologies if someone has already suggested that.)
>>>> 
>>>> JL
>>>> 
>>>> On Tue, Sep 27, 2011 at 11:31 AM, Ben Zimmer
>>>> <bgzimmer at babel.ling.upenn.edu>wrote:
>>>> 
>>>>> ---------------------- Information from the mail header
>>>>> -----------------------
>>>>> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
>>>>> Poster:       Ben Zimmer <bgzimmer at BABEL.LING.UPENN.EDU>
>>>>> Subject:      Re: Engineering amazing
>>>>> 
>>>>> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>>>>> 
>>>>> On Tue, Sep 27, 2011 at 11:23 AM, Jonathan Lighter wrote:
>>>>>> 
>>>>>> The commercial I mentioned is for Grant Thornton, management consultants.
>>>>>> 
>>>>>> As the words materialize on the screen, a voice tells you,
>>>>>> 
>>>>>> "Big doesn't win....
>>>>>> 
>>>>>> "Original wins.
>>>>>> 
>>>>>> "Fresh wins.
>>>>>> 
>>>>>> "Smart wins."
> 

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