"Sesame Aware"

[Charles C Doyle]

I suppose it's deemed important to acknowledge that peanuts, notwithstanding the name, are not (technically speaking) nuts.  (Nor are they sesame.)

--Charlie

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From: American Dialect Society [ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU] on behalf of Laurence Horn [laurence.horn at YALE.EDU]
Sent: Friday, October 04, 2013 9:38 AM
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On Oct 4, 2013, at 9:23 AM, Martin Kaminer wrote:

> "REMINDER: The Heschel School is a nut/peanut/sesame aware school.
> Students should not bring or eat food items containing these
> ingredients.  Please make sure your child's school snacks are nut,
> peanut, and sesame free.  Many thanks for your attention to this
> matter."
>
> I must admit it sounds more mellifluous than the alternative "Nut-Free Zone"
>
Perhaps so, but it does seem as though "aware" is a bit of an understatement (or even euphemism) for what amounts to a banning.  "Sesame-wary"?

I suppose "nut/sesame-free" zone, besides the unwanted ambiguity you rightly suggest, is too insulting to the offending items (and indirectly to those who consume them), alluding to smoke-free, drug-free, et al. But I see there are lots of hits for "nut-free" in other contexts, the first hit being for the Nut-Free Mom blog.

LH

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