thesp

[Laurence Horn]

On Mar 10, 2012, at 5:02 PM, Victor Steinbok wrote:

> Perhaps I'm late noticing this, but this seems to be one of the newsy
> shortenings: thespian-->thesp
>
> http://goo.gl/9sGZn
>
> Entertainment gossip reporters love speaking in code--mostly cut up
> words, not anything innovative. I guess, they think it makes them sound hip.
>
Alternatively, the truncation "thesp" may be yet another instance of runaway taboo avoidance (cf. pussy).  I know we're some decades since a politician (Nixon, perhaps? Huey Long?) revealed that his opponent in the campaign was (or had a sister who was) an admitted thespian.  (I tried googling for it, but I see too many hits for "admitted thespian" for my patience.)

LH

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