Reverse graffito/graffiti

[W Brewer]

I recorded We "B" Toys (op.cit.1987), apocryphal franchise in the Watts
area of Los Angeles. Heard only, so spelling is mine. Maybe times have
changed, but it didn't seem offensive back then.


On Sat, Mar 30, 2013 at 9:26 PM, Charles C Doyle <cdoyle at uga.edu> wrote:

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> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       Charles C Doyle <cdoyle at UGA.EDU>
> Subject:      Re: Reverse graffito/graffiti
>
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>
> Off the topic, but the mention of "Toys-R-Us" spin-offs is an occasion to
> record a racist "language" joke heard in "white" parts of Georgia:  There's
> a new toy-store chain opening in Atlanta:  We-B-Toys.
>
> --Charlie
>
> ________________________________________
> From: American Dialect Society [ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU] on behalf of W
> Brewer
> Poster:       W Brewer <brewerwa at GMAIL.COM>
> Subject:      Re: Reverse graffito/graffiti
>
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Well, not exactly a case of reverse graffito in sensu stricto, but similar,
> was the solution of a retail chain store in Nevada & Southern California in
> the '70s. LAMPS R US changed its name to LAMPS PLUS, in the wake of
> litigation by Toys R Us. I wrote it up in American Speech 62:177-180
> (1987).
>
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