the nit and gritty

[Laurence Horn]

On Aug 7, 2013, at 4:08 PM, Wilson Gray wrote:

> On Wed, Aug 7, 2013 at 1:13 PM, Laurence Horn <laurence.horn at yale.edu> wrote:
>> "tender lovin' care"

>
> Wal, ya got me, thar, young feller! Wherein lies the gaffe, beyond my
> having to request assistance?


Apparently "tender love an(d) care" was the original.  Granted, sometimes (e.g. "hand and glove"/"hand in glove", "puss in boots"/"puss and boots") it's hard to tell for sure. I'd always misparsed "I like smoke and lightning" (from Steppenwolf fame) as "smokin' lightning", and then there's also the Supremes' rhetorical (or maybe non-rhetorical) question, "Is her sweet expression/Worth more than my lovin'/love an' affection?"

LH
>
>
> OT: During my days as a California Aggie, East Sac[ramento] was
> regarded as the Combat Zone of the capital city; "LIVE NUDE COLLEGE
> GIRLS! FULLY TOPLESS AND BOTTOMLESS!" I.e., no pasties (= "nipple
> covers") or G-strings. And, of course, full bush and not full
> Brazilian. That reference to "a cute little ice cream shop" suggests
> nearly-complete gentrification. The East Sac of my day was motels,
> nudie bars, working-mens' bars (Is this term used anywhere outside of
> StL?), and industry.
>
> Just heard "Indian _sunburn_" used for what I know as simply "Indian
> burn" like unto "Indian giving": not really a burn.
> --
> -Wilson
> -----
> All say, "How hard it is that we have to die!"---a strange complaint
> to come from the mouths of people who have had to live.
> -Mark Twain
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org

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