[Ads-l] "on-court gags =?UTF-8?Q?=E2=80=94_?=or reams, as the players called them "

[George Thompson]

JL gives the two main slang senses of "ream" that I was aware of.  I can't
conjure up a way to explain the sense of "laugh-inducing wizardry".

For the benefit of Gerald and others who take an interest in
names: Meadowlark Lemon's original name seems to be somewhat beclouded, but
his last name was indeed "Lemon", and he had several given names, one of
which was "Meadow".
"The facts of Lemon’s early life are hazy, and evidently he wanted it that
way. His birth date, birthplace and birth name have all been variously
reported. The date most frequently cited — and the likeliest — is April 25,
1932. Many sources say he was born in Wilmington, N.C., but The Wilmington
Star-News reported in 1996 that he was born in Lexington County, S.C., and
moved to Wilmington in 1938. His website says he was born Meadow Lemon,
though many other sources say his name at birth was George Meadow Lemon or
Meadow George Lemon. The Star-News said it was George Meadow Lemon III. He
became known as Meadowlark after he joined the Globetrotters."  (NYTimes)

GAT

On Wed, Dec 30, 2015 at 10:10 AM, Jonathan Lighter <wuxxmupp2000 at gmail.com>
wrote:

> Among other things, to "ream" has long meant to "victimize" in nasty or
> painful ways.  Also to "upbraid" furiously.
>
> The Globetrotters' noun, however, is new to me.
>
> JL
>
> On Tue, Dec 29, 2015 at 1:22 PM, George Thompson <george.thompson at nyu.edu>
> wrote:
>
> > ---------------------- Information from the mail header
> > -----------------------
> > Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> > Poster:       George Thompson <george.thompson at NYU.EDU>
> > Subject:      "on-court gags =?UTF-8?Q?=E2=80=94_?=or reams, as the
> players
> >               called them "
> >
> >
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> >
> > From the obituary of Meadowlark Lemon in today's NYTimes:
> >
> > Within a few years, he had assumed the central role of showman, taking
> over
> > from the Trotters=E2=80=99 long-reigning clown prince Reece Tatum, whom
> > eve=
> > ryone
> > called Goose.
> >
> > Tatum, who had left the team around the time Lemon joined it, was a
> superb
> > ballplayer whose on-court gags =E2=80=94 or reams, as the players called
> > th=
> > em =E2=80=94 had
> > established the team=E2=80=99s reputation for laugh-inducing wizardry at
> a
> > championship level.
> >
> > (This is referring to the Harlem Globetrotters basketball act.)
> >
> > I've tried for years through prayer and fasting to ascend to that
> glorious
> > region where there are complete sets of HDAS, but I remain earthbound.
> So
> > I may never know whether HDAS has this term.
> >
> > GAT
> >
> >
> > --=20
> > George A. Thompson
> > The Guy Who Still Looks Stuff Up in Books.
> > Author of A Documentary History of "The African Theatre", Northwestern
> > Univ. Pr., 1998..
> >
> > ------------------------------------------------------------
> > 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
>



-- 
George A. Thompson
The Guy Who Still Looks Stuff Up in Books.
Author of A Documentary History of "The African Theatre", Northwestern
Univ. Pr., 1998..

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