"butt-dial," adj.

Joel S. Berson Berson at ATT.NET
Sun May 13 15:17:12 UTC 2012


Can one definitively assert this is an adjective, as contrasted with
a noun used as the name for a category?  Compare "7% of North
Americans are Canadians".  And the word has been put in quotes,
suggesting to me "are called 'butt-dial'" as contrasted with "are
butt-dialed".

Joel

At 5/13/2012 09:34 AM, Jonathan Lighter wrote:
>CNN caption a day or so back:
>
>"40% of 911 calls are 'butt-dial.'"
>
>That is, accidentally dialed from a seated back pocket.  The narration
>  spoke of "butt-dial[ed] calls."
>
>JL
>
>--
>"If the truth is half as bad as I think it is, you can't handle the truth."
>
>------------------------------------------------------------
>The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org

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



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