[Ads-l] Heard on the radio

[Benjamin Barrett]

I was thinking about this the other day. I think "proverbial" often 
means "you know the sort I'm talking about," "the typical" or some sort 
of cliche.

It's also used for aphorisms and other expressions like that, though 
perhaps aphorisms are proverbs. BB

> Dan Goncharoff <mailto:thegonch at GMAIL.COM>
> April 1, 2015 at 2:06 PM
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> Sender: American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster: Dan Goncharoff <thegonch at GMAIL.COM>
> Subject: Heard on the radio
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>
> during an ad for boxing on CBS, there was a commentary from a previous
> fight:
> "...going in for the 'proverbial' kill"
>
> Doesn't 'proverbial' require an actual proverb?
>
> I guess it sounds better than 'idiomatic' kill"...
>
> DanG
>
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