[Ads-l] Bammer

[Ben Zimmer]

That sense of "bama" is covered in the new OED entry, with citations back
to 1970. More here:

http://public.oed.com/the-oed-today/recent-updates-to-the-oed/december-2016-update/release-notes-bama-and-shaka-how-two-local-words-went-global/

On Wed, Dec 21, 2016 at 8:45 AM, Margaret Lee <
0000006730deb3bf-dmarc-request at listserv.uga.edu> wrote:

> In the African American community for decades, 'bama' / 'bamma'  has been
> an "unfavorable term to describe a person from the South, who is perceived
> as 'country,' without social refinement, unsophisticated ...Probably
> derived from the shortened version of 'Alabama' "  (Smitherman, G., Black
> Talk, 2000, p. 62).
>
> --Margaret  Lee
>
>
>       From: Bill Mullins <amcombill at HOTMAIL.COM>
>  To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
>  Sent: Saturday, December 17, 2016 12:04 AM
>  Subject: Bammer
>
> The new words in the OED for this quarter include "Bama," as a reference
> to the state of Alabama or the University of Alabama, particularly its
> sports teams.
>
> A variant not yet listed is "Bammer", meaning a fan of the Univ of AL
> sports teams (sometimes derisively).
>
> McComb MS _Enterprise-Journal_ 30 May 2014 p A5 col 5
> "In Birmingham you'd say, "He's an Auburn fan," or "He's a Bammer."
>
> _Montgomery [AL] Advertiser_ 7 Dec 2013 p B3 col 6
>
> "The Auburn Plainsman issued its own apology Friday for an editorial that
> referred to some Crimson Tide fans by the derisive nickname "Bammers." "
>
> _Anniston [AL] Star_ 13 Oct 2011 p 14 col 2
> "The NCAA's standard of proof might even come as a shock to some Auburn
> fans -- that message
> board minority that outshouts itself with paranoid delusions of a Bammer
> world,
> determined to keep little brother in his place."
>

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