[Ads-l] "Noun adjective." (UNCLASSIFIED)

Mullins, Bill CIV (US) william.d.mullins18.civ at MAIL.MIL
Mon Nov 10 15:36:38 UTC 2014


Classification: UNCLASSIFIED
Caveats: NONE

2/22/1976 _San Diego [CA] Union_ p. N-7
"Courier.  The fun truck that's Ford-tough."
[from a nationally-run Ford ad]

5/11/1976 _Washington [DC] Star_ p C-4
"Courier . . .  the gutsy little truck that's built Ford tough."
[from a nationally-run Ford ad]


Nov 23 1982 Portland OR _Oregonian_ sec D p 5 col 1
"Their 17-34 drubbing by Atlanta was also a blow to Chrysler, which ran ads during the game telecast that declared, "Dodge Trucks are Ram Tough.""
[An article about a recent LA Rams/Atlanta Falcons game]

A year ago, I recalled "lock tight and bull strong" from a 1974 tv show, which prompted other variants back to the 19th century.
See the thread "Random Note for WOTY: #19":
http://listserv.linguistlist.org/pipermail/ads-l/2013-December/thread.html#130030


> -----Original Message-----
> From: American Dialect Society [mailto:ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU] On
> Behalf Of Yagoda, Ben
> Sent: Sunday, November 09, 2014 9:16 AM
> To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
> Subject: "Noun adjective."
> 
> 
> From a 10/31 news report:  "Five football players from California
> University of Pennsylvania were arrested and suspended from the school after
> police say they beat and stomped a man outside an off-campus restaurant, then
> fled  yelling 'Football strong!'
>
> That brought to mind the slogan the city of Boston adopted after the
> Marathon bombing of 2013: "Boston strong."
> 
> I also recently learned that the city of Barrett, Pennsylvania, the
> center of a recent manhunt for an armed fugitive, has taken the motto "Barrett
> Proud."
> 
> All this made me wonder if anyone on this list has any insights to the
> origin, or grammar, of this construction. The most prominent early use I'm
> aware of is the slogan "Built Ford Tough," which has been around at least
> since 1986.
> (http://books.google.com/books?id=3D_Z0iAQAAMAAJ&q=3D%22Ford+tough%2=
> 2&dq=3D%22Ford+tough%22&hl=3Den&sa=3DX&ei=3DzIRfVPz6AaTfsATorIAQ&ved=3D
> 0CDAQ6AEwAA)
> 
> Ben


Classification: UNCLASSIFIED
Caveats: NONE

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