The precise terminology of modern science

[Laurence Horn]

On Feb 16, 2013, at 9:16 PM, Jocelyn Limpert wrote:

> Actually the phrase was "BIGGER than
> a breadbox" and it was coined by Steve Allen when he served as a panelist
> on "What's My Line?" in the 1950's.
>
>

I remember that also being a useful (or at least much-used) clue in Twenty Questions ("Animal, Vegetable, or Mineral?"), a game that did not have its own TV show but was frequently played during long car rides.

LH

>
> On Sat, Feb 16, 2013 at 3:42 PM, Joel S. Berson <Berson at att.net> wrote:
>
>> ---------------------- Information from the mail header
>> -----------------------
>> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
>> Poster:       "Joel S. Berson" <Berson at ATT.NET>
>> Subject:      The precise terminology of modern science
>>
>> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>>
>> From an illustration titled "Fireball" attached to the NYTimes
>> article on the Chelyabinsk meteor:
>>
>> "An _asteroid_ is a rock large than a boulder orbiting in the inner
>> solar system, usually between Mars and Jupiter."
>>
>> In the good old days, it used to be "larger than a breadbox."
>>
>> Joel
>>
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>
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