Snowpeople

[Benjamin Barrett]

Having trouble with that image :)

No problem with calling them snowwomen or snowmen, but in general, it seems odd to call them snowmen.

BTW, it seems like words like "snow dog" are an extension rather than actual nouns.

BB

On Jan 18, 2012, at 12:07 PM, George Thompson wrote:

> Snow figures are not necessarily sexless.  Much depends on where the carrot
> is placed.
>
> GAT
>
> On Wed, Jan 18, 2012 at 2:10 PM, Benjamin Barrett <gogaku at ix.netcom.com>wro=
> te:
>
>> With Seattle under a huge blanket of snow (for Seattle), I turned to the
>> OED to find out about snowpeople. Neither the OED nor the AHD have
>> "snowperson." Wiktionary has it, along with snowman and snowwoman though
>> without citations.
>>
>> While we don't see snowpeople on a yearly basis here in Seattle, I've use=
> d
>> "snowperson" for many years when applicable because it seems odd to
>> identify sexless and female figures as men. I believe my twelve-year-old
>> niece uses the word as well. My dog walker did, though, advise me this
>> morning to make a snowman.
>>
>> The query ("snowperson" OR "snowpeople") gets 1.1 million raw Googits.
>>
>> According to
>> http://www.neighborhoodarchive.com/mrn/episodes/1245/index.html, Mister
>> Rogers' Neighborhood introduced a Snow People opera in 1972 (not likely I
>> watched it as Mr. Rogers was pass=E9 then for my age group). Searching on
>> that site reveals other snow people episodes.
>>
>> According to
>> http://christmas-specials.wikia.com/wiki/Frosty's_Winter_Wonderland, the
>> 1976 "Frosty's Winter Wonderland" discusses snowpeople.
>>
>> The word does not get many hits until the period between 1995 and 2000 an=
> d
>> usage skyrockets after that.
>>
>> For ("snow person" OR "snow people"), there is a book "Snow Magic"
>> published in 1988 that talks about snow people (
>> http://www.worldcat.org/title/snow-magic/oclc/018622345). The
>> chronological use of this spelling patterns in a way similar to the
>> spelling without the space.
>>
>> Benjamin Barrett
>> Seattle, WA
>>

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