Maddened by Mad Men

[Jonathan Lighter]

Yeah, but "holding" a fort isn't the same as "holding down" a job.

Also, "hold down the fort" unintentionally reveals a sad lack of familiarity
with historical and hymnodical trivia.

JL

On Tue, Sep 20, 2011 at 4:57 PM, Shapiro, Fred <fred.shapiro at yale.edu>wrote:

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> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       "Shapiro, Fred" <fred.shapiro at YALE.EDU>
> Subject:      Re: Maddened by Mad Men
>
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Isn't this just an example of the phrasal verb "to hold down," documented
> by the OED back to 1891 and by now well established in phrases such as "to
> hold down a job"?
>
> Fred
>
>
>
> ________________________________________
> From: American Dialect Society [ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU] on behalf of
> Hunter, Lynne R CIV SPAWARSYSCEN-PACIFIC, 71700 [lynne.hunter at NAVY.MIL]
> Sent: Tuesday, September 20, 2011 12:46 PM
> To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
> Subject: Maddened by Mad Men
>
> 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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