[Ads-l] maters and toms

[Ben Zimmer]

On Mon, Aug 3, 2015 at 12:46 AM, Wilson Gray wrote:
>
> On Mon, Aug 3, 2015 at 12:32 AM, Benjamin Barrett wrote:
>
>> Mater is new to me.
>
> Not to me. But, "tom" is.
>
> Youneverknow.

Some may know "Mater" as the name of the car voiced by Larry the Cable
Guy in the "Cars" movies.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mater_(Cars)

The car's name and personality were inspired by a NASCAR enthusiast
named Douglas "Mater" Keever.

http://www.ew.com/article/2006/06/19/cars-man-who-inspired-mater
"Cars director John Lasseter first met Keever at the Lowe’s Speedway
in 2001, while on a fact-finding research trip... When Lasseter first
walked up to him, Keever offered a brewski and introduced himself the
way he always does to new folks in his life: 'My name's Mater,' he
said. Mater? asked Lasseter. 'Yeah, like tuh-mater, but without the
tuh.' (Does that exchange sound familiar? It should -- it's exactly
the way Mater the tow truck introduces himself to the Lightning
McQueen character in Cars.) Keever got the nickname as a kid, chucking
'tuh-maters' around a farm run by his mom’s parents."

--bgz

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