Maddened by Mad Men

Hunter, Lynne R CIV SPAWARSYSCEN-PACIFIC, 71700 lynne.hunter at NAVY.MIL
Tue Sep 20 16:46:27 UTC 2011


Recent annoyance from _Mad Men_: "Miss Holloway can hold down the fort."
"Hold _down_ the fort" is irritating enough in the present day (at least
to my particular ear) without its being ascribed to 1962 speakers. (The
phrase conjures up a flighty outpost flimsily moored to some low-gravity
planet.)

Lynne Hunter

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The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org



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