deadly vs. killer

[Jonathan Lighter]

Now you're just playing with words. We frown on that around here.

JL

On Sat, Jan 12, 2013 at 1:31 AM, Wilson Gray <hwgray at gmail.com> wrote:

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> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       Wilson Gray <hwgray at GMAIL.COM>
> Subject:      Re: deadly vs. killer
>
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> On Fri, Jan 11, 2013 at 3:31 PM, Laurence Horn <laurence.horn at yale.edu>
> wrote:
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> > Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> > Poster:       Laurence Horn <laurence.horn at YALE.EDU>
> > Subject:      Re: deadly vs. killer
> >
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> >
> > On Jan 11, 2013, at 3:20 PM, Joel S. Berson wrote:
> >
> >> At 1/11/2013 01:11 PM, Laurence Horn wrote:
> >>> Yes, my intuition is that "deadly" is for things like poison that
> >>> will get you dead if you don't manage to avoid them, but "killer" is
> >>> for things that chase you down and make you dead.  Whence "killer
> >>> bees" as well as "killer whales".  This is why there are
> >>> significantly more hits for "killer tornado(es)" than "killer
> >>> earthquake(s)", and why "deadly curve" sounds more natural to me
> >>> than "killer curve", although they're both attested.  Or "deadly
> >>> pileup" ("about 16,000")  vs. "killer pileup" (15 actual g-hits,
> >>> with duplication).
> >>>
> >>> YMMV.
> >>
> >> So a tornado can chase someone (getting back at the
> >> tornado-chasers?), but a pileup can't (even though it could be caused
> >> by a chasing -- such as speeding -- vehicle)?
> >>
> >> Joel
> >>
> > Exactly--as I said, YMMV, but that's how my mileage works.  Also "deadly
> accident/crash" vs. #"killer accident/crash".
> >
> > LH
> >
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> This thread is deadly, but the topic is killer.
>
> --
> -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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