hero etymology

[Dave Wilton]

There is this, which I wrote some years ago: www.verbatimmag.com/28_3.pdf


-----Original Message-----
From: American Dialect Society [mailto:ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU] On Behalf Of
Larry Sheldon
Sent: Sunday, March 18, 2012 5:01 PM
To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
Subject: Re: hero etymology

On 3/18/2012 3:39 PM, Laurence Horn wrote:

> Interestingly (to me, at least), the earlier definitions culled by
> Barry seem to involve an either-or, but by the time I began buying
> and consuming them in the mid 1950s, they were a both- (or rather
> all-) and: not salami *or* prosciutto *or* other ham or cheese or
> both, but always all of the above, plus chopped onions and peppers,
> with a layer of olive oil, and something that was probably sprinkled
> oregano and maybe other herbs.  Mmmm.  (I don't recall tuna being an
> option--but maybe I just never asked.  And yes, we always assumed--in
> both NYC and central Maine (lake district), where the term was also
> used--that the name referred to anyone (e.g. us) who could eat the
> whole thing at a single sitting.

Sounds like what we called "submarine sandwiches" farther down the
Atlantic Coast.

And "subs" just about every place else I've been (Antedating the Subway
chain by a lot).

The one that worries me in areas where "hero" is the nom du jour, what
do I ask for if I want the Grecian delicacy?

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