gephyrophobia -- WOTY?
Dan Goncharoff
thegonch at GMAIL.COM
Mon May 27 23:11:25 UTC 2013
The answer, I have no doubt, is here:
http://monk.wikia.com/wiki/List_of_Adrian_Monk's_Phobias
DanG
On Mon, May 27, 2013 at 6:48 PM, Joel S. Berson <Berson at att.net> wrote:
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> Sender: American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster: "Joel S. Berson" <Berson at ATT.NET>
> Subject: gephyrophobia -- WOTY?
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> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Meaning, I learn, "fear of bridges". Not in the OED yet, but found
> elsewhere.
>
> One of Adrian Monk's phobias -- in one episode he refused to take a
> job across the Bay because he would have to travel over a
> bridge. While Monk once asked Dr. Kroger if a particular phobia of
> his had a name, and was told "I don't think so", to my recollection
> it wasn't fear of bridges.
>
> Why word of the year? With the recent spate of bridge collapses
> (Seattle and in Missouri), gephyrophobia may become epidemic.
>
> Joel
>
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