"preppers"

[Laurence Horn]

On Jan 21, 2012, at 12:15 PM, Ben Zimmer wrote:

> It's the latest (or is it the last?) of the paranoid "-er" groups:

Plus "preppie" was already taken.  That would make a nice image, though--a bunch of survivalists with their shotguns wearing penny loafers and camouflage pashminas…

LH

>
> ---
> http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/01/21/us-usa-civilization-collapse-idUSTRE80K0LA20120121
> When Patty Tegeler looks out the window of her home overlooking the
> Appalachian Mountains in southwestern Virginia, she sees trouble on
> the horizon.
> "In an instant, anything can happen," she told Reuters. "And I firmly
> believe that you have to be prepared."
> Tegeler is among a growing subculture of Americans who refer to
> themselves informally as "preppers." Some are driven by a fear of
> imminent societal collapse, others are worried about terrorism, and
> many have a vague concern that an escalating series of natural
> disasters is leading to some type of environmental cataclysm.
> ---
>
> --bgz
>
> --
> Ben Zimmer
> http://benzimmer.com/
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org

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