[Ads-l] to ------ drive (fill in blank)

Tue Jul 21 14:14:41 UTC 2015

As Grandma explained it, the earlier locution (which she thought came
during WW2) was the fairly straightforward to "sit with the baby."  Hence
"babysitter," "babysitting," and finally "babysit."

"Babysit" actually seems more radical to me than "word vomit," because
"babysit" can be thought of as eliding a preposition, while "word vomit"
doesn't have to.

To "low-crawl," BTW, is a standard technique for moving with your head down
while flat on the ground. Am surprised it does not appear in any WW2
writings, AFAIK.

JL

On Tue, Jul 21, 2015 at 10:02 AM, Laurence Horn <laurence.horn at yale.edu>
wrote:

> ---------------------- Information from the mail header
> -----------------------
> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       Laurence Horn <laurence.horn at YALE.EDU>
> Subject:      Re: to ------ drive (fill in blank)
>
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> > On Jul 21, 2015, at 9:52 AM, Jonathan Lighter <wuxxmupp2000 at GMAIL.COM> =
> wrote:
> >=20
> > Here's what a Republican "strategist" just told CNN...at least up to =
> the
> > point where my brain shut down:
> >=20
> > "Donald Trump never apologizes for anything.  He just word vomits and
> > then...."
> >=20
> > I imagine that the now standard "babysit" is an early cousin of this
> > tendency.
>
> A cousin but I think not a parent.  I was going to mention "baby-sit" =
> when we were discussing "drunk-drive", but then I realized that in the =
> former case there's no obvious alternative option to the back-formed =
> verb, since "baby-sitting" has a specific meaning that would be lost in, =
> say "I baby-sit to supplement my income as a hedge fund investor":  "I =
> sit for babies to supplement my income..."?  "sit on babies"?  Nope, =
> only "baby-sit" will do.  For "drunk drive", as you were pointing out =
> earlier, "drive drunk" isn't *that* distant, although if I'm right it's =
> not quite the same conceptually.  I think "word-vomit" is somewhere in =
> between, given the at least plausible alternative form, "He just vomits =
> words and then..."=20
>
> >=20
> > A direct antecedent of "to reckless drive" is "to low-crawl," which is
> > universal in the armed forces. I don't know if it antedates the VN =
> War,
> > though.
>
> Interesting.  That one I (not having been in the military) haven't =
> heard.
>
> LH
> >=20
> > Wilson?
> >=20
> > JL
> >=20
> > On Sat, Jul 18, 2015 at 5:25 PM, Jonathan Lighter =
> <wuxxmupp2000 at gmail.com>
> > wrote:
> >=20
> >> ---------------------- Information from the mail header
> >> -----------------------
> >> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> >> Poster:       Jonathan Lighter <wuxxmupp2000 at GMAIL.COM>
> >> Subject:      Re: to ------ drive (fill in blank)
> >>=20
> >> =
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------=
> -----
> >>=20
> >>> So I don't think it's really "to ___-drive (fill in the blank)", =
> unless
> >> it gets you a new category of actions.
> >>=20
> >> Actually the header was a challenge, not a theoretical postulate. I =
> agree
> >> that to "fast drive" is currently unlikely.
> >>=20
> >> Or is it? =46rom 2002:
> >>=20
> >> =
> https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=3Dhttp-3A__cgee.hamline.edu_riv=
> ers_MA_expedition_expedition2002_Alexjournal.htm-3D&d=3DAwIBaQ&c=3D-dg2m7z=
> WuuDZ0MUcV7Sdqw&r=3DwFp3X4Mu39hB2bf13gtz0ZpW1TsSxPIWYiZRsMFFaLQ&m=3Dc8e1vP=
> oHnZHSrUZFlkxpWQErqeEwanMDMNbwmLu3obs&s=3D4R6S5jLZ4FAUSvBl-YVLt3TKNw69f6FC=
> GiTbfYSHJoI&e=3D=20
> >> l
> >>=20
> >>=20
> >> "We fast drove to Wabasha, our next stop."
> >>=20
> >> =46rom 2005:
> >> pages.intnet.mu/servas/Archives/.../No%2013%20-%20June%202005.do...
> >>=20
> >> In the end Demelza had to fast-drive home to fetch her TV.
> >>=20
> >> 2007:
> >> *www.roadtripamerica.com =3DE2=3D80=3DBA ... =3DE2=3D80=3DBA Topics =
> =3DE2=3D80=3DBA
> >> RoadTrip =3D
> >> Field Reports*
> >> =
> <
> https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=3Dhttp-3A__www.roadtripamerica=
> .com-20-3DE2-3D80-3DBA-20...-20-3DE2-3D80-3DBA-20Topics-20-3DE2-3D80-3DBA-=
> 0A&d=3DAwIBaQ&c=3D-dg2m7zWuuDZ0MUcV7Sdqw&r=3DwFp3X4Mu39hB2bf13gtz0ZpW1TsSx=
> PIWYiZRsMFFaLQ&m=3Dc8e1vPoHnZHSrUZFlkxpWQErqeEwanMDMNbwmLu3obs&s=3DfsdhP9P=
> KiWB-awMtPhWgOTGke4bLPWMjQpZq1xT8R54&e=3D > Ro=3D
> >> adTrip Field Reports>
> >>=20
> >> We slow-drove through the heart of the park to see all the weird =
> rock.
> >>=20
> >> And the piece of resistance (2014): www.sau.com.au =3DE2=3D80=3DBA =
> ...
> >> =3DE2=3D80=3DBA =3D
> >> Forced Induction
> >> Performance
> >>=20
> >> I had to reckless drive it to get any acceleration and when the =
> torque was
> >> there cops were the main problem because of the vastly illegal speed.
> >>=20
> >> JL
> >>=20
> >> On Sat, Jul 18, 2015 at 2:37 PM, Wilson Gray <hwgray at gmail.com> =
> wrote:
> >>=20
> >>> ---------------------- Information from the mail header
> >>> -----------------------
> >>> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> >>> Poster:       Wilson Gray <hwgray at GMAIL.COM>
> >>> Subject:      Re: to ------ drive (fill in blank)
> >>>=20
> >>>=20
> >> =
>
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------=3D=
>
> >> ------
> >>>=20
> >>> On Sat, Jul 18, 2015 at 1:03 PM, Laurence Horn =
> <laurence.horn at yale.edu>
> >>> wrote:
> >>>=20
> >>>> in the minority
> >>>=20
> >>>=20
> >>> Been there, lived that, agree with you entirely. Use hyphenation and =
> use
> >> =3D
> >> it
> >>> *correctly*, for heaven's sake! No more "You're up-to-date!" but, =
> "An up
> >> =3D
> >> to
> >>> date version..."! Bring back the comma! That unnecessary nanosecond =
> of
> >>> double-take really "bugs my head," as we said, back in the day of my =
> lost
> >>> youth.
> >>>=20
> >>> Peeves being extremely idiosyncratic and essentially nonsense, I =
> must add
> >>> that dropped apostrophes don't annoy me nearly so much as missing =
> commas
> >>> do.
> >>>=20
> >>> Youneverknow.
> >>>=20
> >>>=20
> >>> --
> >>> -Wilson
> >>> -----
> >>> All say, "How hard it is that we have to die!"---a strange complaint =
> to
> >>> come from the mouths of people who have had to live.
> >>> -Mark Twain
> >>>=20
> >>> ------------------------------------------------------------
> >>> The American Dialect Society - =
> https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=3Dhttp-3A__www.americandialect.=
> org&d=3DAwIBaQ&c=3D-dg2m7zWuuDZ0MUcV7Sdqw&r=3DwFp3X4Mu39hB2bf13gtz0ZpW1TsS=
> xPIWYiZRsMFFaLQ&m=3Dc8e1vPoHnZHSrUZFlkxpWQErqeEwanMDMNbwmLu3obs&s=3Di6HeSN=
> fKpw2JpH9tOvm9tjsmeKUGnXpg9lgiIq6byaU&e=3D=20
> >>>=20
> >>=20
> >>=20
> >>=20
> >> --=3D20
> >> "If the truth is half as bad as I think it is, you can't handle the =
> truth."
> >>=20
> >> ------------------------------------------------------------
> >> The American Dialect Society - =
> https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=3Dhttp-3A__www.americandialect.=
> org&d=3DAwIBaQ&c=3D-dg2m7zWuuDZ0MUcV7Sdqw&r=3DwFp3X4Mu39hB2bf13gtz0ZpW1TsS=
> xPIWYiZRsMFFaLQ&m=3Dc8e1vPoHnZHSrUZFlkxpWQErqeEwanMDMNbwmLu3obs&s=3Di6HeSN=
> fKpw2JpH9tOvm9tjsmeKUGnXpg9lgiIq6byaU&e=3D=20
> >>=20
> >=20
> >=20
> >=20
> > --=20
> > "If the truth is half as bad as I think it is, you can't handle the =
> truth."
> >=20
> > ------------------------------------------------------------
> > The American Dialect Society - =
> https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=3Dhttp-3A__www.americandialect.=
> org&d=3DAwIBaQ&c=3D-dg2m7zWuuDZ0MUcV7Sdqw&r=3DwFp3X4Mu39hB2bf13gtz0ZpW1TsS=
> xPIWYiZRsMFFaLQ&m=3Dc8e1vPoHnZHSrUZFlkxpWQErqeEwanMDMNbwmLu3obs&s=3Di6HeSN=
> fKpw2JpH9tOvm9tjsmeKUGnXpg9lgiIq6byaU&e=3D=20
>
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> 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."

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