"The stroll"

[Joel S. Berson]

Mr. Doe (and I'm grateful that you're not signing
your messages "John"), if I understand the
original question correctly, Donald McCaig is
asking about "the stroll" meaning a place.  Your
find, while very useful, I think has the sense of an action.

A facetious comment -- perhaps "the stroll"
undertook the sense of a place when "the Mall"
became common usage?  (The OED tells me in the 1660s or 1670s.)

Joel

At 12/25/2013 08:31 PM, John Doe wrote:

>It's been in use for centuries. And a prostitute doesn't simply stand
>there. She literally strolls up and down, so as to show off the goods,
>displaying herself to potential clients who want to "dig that action," i.e,
>see the movement of her lower body as she walks.
>
>An Apology for the Bible: In a Series of Letters, Addressed ... - Pages
>99-100
>books.google.com/books?id=-NoMAAAAIAAJ
>Richard Watson - 1796 - ‎Read - ‎More editions
>"... Mary Magdelene ; she was a woman of a large acquaintance, and it was
>not an ill conjecture that she might be upon _the stroll_."...
>
>The quotes are in the original. The author is citing his correspondent.
>
>-Wilson
>
>
>On Wed, Dec 25, 2013 at 5:33 AM, Donald McCaig <mccaig at mgwnet.com> wrote:
>
> > ---------------------- Information from the mail header
> > -----------------------
> > Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> > Poster:       Donald McCaig <mccaig at MGWNET.COM>
> > Subject:      "The stroll"
> >
> >
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> >
> > Does anyone know when this became common parlance for a prostitute's
> > working corner?
> >
> > ------------------------------------------------------------
> > The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
> >
>
>
>
>--
>-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
>
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