pristine = 'faultless; perfectly executed'

[Jonathan Lighter]

A nationally-known attorney tells CNN that Amanda Knox "has to be *pristine*
when she speaks to these people [on the jury]."

He means absolutely perfect in performance. Not virginal or anything.

JL

On Fri, Sep 2, 2011 at 10:07 AM, Joel S. Berson <Berson at att.net> wrote:

> ---------------------- Information from the mail header
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> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       "Joel S. Berson" <Berson at ATT.NET>
> Subject:      Re: pristine = 'faultless; perfectly executed'
>
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> At 9/2/2011 08:15 AM, Jonathan Lighter wrote:
> >Good cites, Garson.
>
> However, for somersaults executed by members of
> the Peking Opera (1980) I can take "pristine" as
> "unspoilt by human interference, untouched; pure"
> -- having seen somersaults performed by Chinese acrobatic troupes.
>
> Joel
>
>
> >JL
> >
> >On Thu, Sep 1, 2011 at 11:02 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: pristine = 'faultless; perfectly executed'
> > >
> > >
> >
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> > >
> > > Perhaps the part of the conventional definition associated with "pure"
> > > and "unspoiled" has facilitated a shift to "faultless" "perfect" and
> > > "beautiful". I think I may have heard pristine used with this sense
> > > for decades.
> > >
> > > 1980 August 15, Peking Opera
> > > The Christian Science Monitor [Boston, Mass], Page 19.
> > > Author: Nancy Goldner (ProQuest)
> > >
> > > We've all seen somersaults, but you haven't seen elegant ones till
> > > you've seen the Chinese. The force and clarity and speed of their
> > > maneuvers are something to behold. In its pristine execution, and in
> > > the almost austere conception of its choreography, the acrobatics
> > > become the Peking Opera's most eloquent form of expression.
> > >
> > >
> > > 1985 May 6, Sockers do a number on Strikers
> > > Evening Tribune (San Diego, CA) -
> > > Author: Rick Davis, Tribune Sportswriter (NewsBank)
> > >
> > > EXCEPT for the fan interest -- which team majority owner Bob Bell says
> > > he is beginning to wonder about after a gathering of 8,494 showed up
> > > at the Sports Arena -- it was an occasion when everything seemed to go
> > > right for the Sockers. For those who like efficiency and pristine
> > > execution, check out some of the numbers from last night's MISL
> > > semifinal series opener against the Minnesota Strikers.
> > > The final score, 8-1 in favor of San Diego, was the club's most
> > > lopsided playoff victory since shutting out Baltimore 7-0 in Game 2 of
> > > a MISL championship series two years ago.
> > >
> > >
> > > The Encyclopedia of Greeting Card Tools & Techniques - Page 232
> > > books.google.com
> > > Susan Pickering Rothamel - 2008 - 304 pages - Preview
> > >
> > > Too many folks get hung up on exact, pristine execution, and we forget
> > > that art, like life, is a messy, sloppy, gooey infusion of enthusiasm
> > > and creativity. The idea behind spritzing uses these 'tactually
> > > interactive vulcanized tools ...
> > >
> > >
> > > On Thu, Sep 1, 2011 at 9:38 PM, Wilson Gray <hwgray at gmail.com> wrote:
> > > > ---------------------- Information from the mail header
> > > -----------------------
> > > > Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> > > > Poster:       Wilson Gray <hwgray at GMAIL.COM>
> > > > Subject:      Re: pristine = 'faultless; perfectly executed'
> > > >
> > >
> >
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> > > >
> > > > On Thu, Sep 1, 2011 at 9:21 PM, Jonathan Lighter <
> wuxxmupp2000 at gmail.com>
> > > wrote:
> > > >> ---------------------- Information from the mail header
> > > -----------------------
> > > >> Sender: Â  Â  Â  American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> > > >> Poster: Â  Â  Â  Jonathan Lighter <wuxxmupp2000 at GMAIL.COM>
> > > >> Subject: Â  Â  Â pristine = 'faultless; perfectly executed'
> > > >>
> > >
> >
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> > > >>
> > > >> 2011 Louis P. Masur _The Civil War: A Concise History_ (N.Y.: OUP)
> 38:
> > > But
> > > >> there is so much in war that no on can control....Only [Stonewall]
> > > Jackson's
> > > >> campaign [in the Shenandoah Valley] seemed pristine, a model of a
> > > general in
> > > >> perfect command, executed with bravado.
> > > >>
> > > >> JL
> > > >>
> > > >> --
> > > >> "If the truth is half as bad as I think it is, you can't handle the
> > > truth."
> > > >>
> > > >> ------------------------------------------------------------
> > > >> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
> > > >>
> > > >
> > > > Jon, you're going to have a nervous breakdown!
> > > >
> > > > Or, I am.;-)
> > > >
> > > > --
> > > > -Wilson
> > > > -----
> > > > All say, "How hard it is that we have to die!"---a strange complaint
> > > > to come from the mouths of people who have had to live.
> > > > -Mark Twain
> > > >
> > > > ------------------------------------------------------------
> > > > The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
> > > >
> > >
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> > >
> >
> >
> >
> >--
> >"If the truth is half as bad as I think it is, you can't handle the
> truth."
> >
> >------------------------------------------------------------
> >The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>



-- 
"If the truth is half as bad as I think it is, you can't handle the truth."

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