impactful, below-the-line, etc.

Wed Jan 15 16:43:05 UTC 2014

"Currency" wasn't only paper, of course.  Was "buck" used out west to
refer to a dollar coin?  The OED says its earliest use was 1856, and
in Sacramento.

Has anyone ever suggested that the "obscure" origin (OED) of buck =
dollar might arise from the substitution of a dollar coin for the
buck handle in poker?

Is that what Gail Collins was imagining when she wrote
"currency"?  Unlikely, I suppose.

Joel

At 1/15/2014 10:33 AM, Laurence Horn wrote:
>Speaking of bucks, there was this in yesterday's Gail Collins op-ed
>column in the Times:
>
>========
>Christie expressed confidence that the voters would conclude:
>"Mistakes were made; the governor had nothing to do with that, but
>he's taking responsibility for it." Here we have an echo of Harry
>Truman's announcement that "the buck stops here." However, Christie
>took the more modern approach, which is to make it clear that while
>you're responsible, you are totally not at fault. The buck that
>stopped at Christie's desk was not his buck, just an errant piece of
>currency that wound up in the office because of treacherous fools
>over whom he had no actual control whatsoever.
>========
>
>I always assumed that the buck that was supposed to stop with Truman
>(according to the sign he mounted on the Oval Office desk that
>apparently remained there at least through Carter's administration,
>from a web-posted photo) is the same buck that gets passed, either
>in a poker game (to indicate whose responsibility the deal rests
>with) or metaphorically to whoever is down the line.  This is,
>according to the lore I'm familiar with, a buck handle from a knife
>when the game was played out west, and in any case not a "piece of
>currency" in the form of a dollar bill.  And while Truman certainly
>popularized "the buck stops here" pledge, did he originate it?
>
>LH
>
>
>
>On Jan 15, 2014, at 8:12 AM, Jonathan Lighter wrote:
>
> > Big bucks, not bug bucks.
> >
> > This *is* getting serious.
> >
> > JL
> >
> >
> > On Tue, Jan 14, 2014 at 8:43 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:      Re: impactful, below-the-line, etc.
> >>
> >>
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> >>
> >> At 1/14/2014 04:54 PM, Jonathan Lighter wrote:
> >>>> Am I too tolerant?
> >>>
> >>> Of course - unless you're trying to make bug bucks as a
> motivational guru.
> >>> In that case, the suc - I mean, your clients, will admire you for
> >>> expressing yourself this way.  But the point is only that these
> senses and
> >>> constructions are not in the OED, regardless of how familiar they may be
> >> in
> >>> certain circles.
> >>
> >> Aha -- you're not criticizing current usage, just the OED.  But you
> >> didn't say what your point was.
> >>
> >>
> >>> BTW, the cited "attach" might be defined more precisely as 'to bind one's
> >>> hopes or beliefs to.'
> >>>
> >>> BONUS: CNN reports today that the company that released pollutants into
> >> the
> >>> WV water supply is not granting any more live interviews.
> >>>
> >>> The phrase used was "They are radio-silent."
> >>
> >> That's what one of Chris Christie's minions texed or tweeted or
> >> emailed or said about other of his minions' not replying to someone's
> >> complaints or a reporter's request for comment or something.  I
> >> suspect it's in the 1,000-message disclosure.
> >>
> >> Joel
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >>> JL
> >>>
> >>>
> >>> On Tue, Jan 14, 2014 at 4:23 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:      Re: impactful, below-the-line, etc.
> >>>>
> >>>>
> >>>
> >>
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> >>>>
> >>>> Some of these I don't find repugnant -- impactful; attach
> >>>> ("individuals attach to fantasies" seems clearly enough reflexive in
> >>>> the absence of a direct object); power ("ability and influence" are
> >>>> at least kinds of power); gut (common in casual speech?).
> >>>>
> >>>> Am I too tolerant?
> >>>>
> >>>> Joel
> >>>>
> >>>> At 1/14/2014 11:56 AM, Jonathan Lighter wrote:
> >>>>> Impactful, adj.  'effective and influential'
> >>>>>
> >>>>> "In my work, I've been fortunate to learn from amazingly successful,
> >>>>> impactful professionals and entrepreneurs."
> >>>>>
> >>>>> Share, v. 'to say sincerely or in confidence':
> >>>>>
> >>>>> "I've heard from corporate professionals who share, 'Kathy, I really
> >> hate
> >>>>> my job and desperately want to leave.  I've been wanting to write a
> >> book
> >>>>> and become a motivational speaker for several years now.  What's your
> >>>>> advice?'  I'll respond, 'OK, great. '"
> >>>>>
> >>>>> Below-the-line, adj.  'insufficiently ambitious or optimistic':
> >>>>> "'Below the line' thinking refers to a particular mindset that shapes
> >> how
> >>>>> you view the world in a limiting way."
> >>>>>
> >>>>> Attach, v. 'to attach oneself'
> >>>>> "Unsuccessful individuals attach to fantasies that may relieve them
> >>>>> momentarily of their situational pain but have no basis in reality."
> >>>>>
> >>>>> Power, n. 'ability and influence.'
> >>>>> "Successful people are in touch with their power, and are not afraid
> >> to
> >>>> use
> >>>>> it and express it.  They advocate and negotiate strongly...."
> >>>>>
> >>>>> Gut, n. 'innermost feelings'
> >>>>> "Those who doubt themselves, lack trust in their own gut or
> >> instincts...."
> >>>>>
> >>>>> Power gap, n. 'area of weakness or ineffectuality, as in business or
> >>>>> personal relationships'
> >>>>>
> >>>>> "Sure, they acknowledge they have 'power gaps' or blind spots, and
> >> areas
> >>>>> that need deep development."
> >>>>>
> >>>>> Deep, adj. special
> >>>>>
> >>>>> [See "power gap"]
> >>>>>
> >>>>> Thought for the day:
> >>>>> "Successful people ...go with the flow.  They follow the trends, and
> >>>>> embrace them... make bold moves...and won't be waylaid by the
> >> priorities
> >>>>> and values of others."
> >>>>>
> >>>>> All of the above (unfortunately not all of it new) is in one handy
> >> place
> >>>>> at
> >>>>>
> >>>>
> >>>
> >>
> http://smallbusiness.yahoo.com/advisor/successful-people--the-8-self-limiting-behaviors-they-avoid-184436770.html
> >>>>>
> >>>>> JL
> >>>>>
> >>>>> --
> >>>>> "If the truth is half as bad as I think it is, you can't handle the
> >>>> truth."
> >>>>>
> >>>>> ------------------------------------------------------------
> >>>>> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
> >>>>
> >>>> ------------------------------------------------------------
> >>>> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
> >>>>
> >>>
> >>>
> >>>
> >>> --
> >>> "If the truth is half as bad as I think it is, you can't handle the
> >> truth."
> >>>
> >>> ------------------------------------------------------------
> >>> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
> >>
> >> ------------------------------------------------------------
> >> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
> >>
> >
> >
> >
> > --
> > "If the truth is half as bad as I think it is, you can't handle the truth."
> >
> > ------------------------------------------------------------
> > The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>
>------------------------------------------------------------
>The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org

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The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org