[Ads-l] shocked = 'pleasantly surprised'

[Dan Goncharoff]

Meaning shocked has meant pleasantly surprised for decades.
On Jun 18, 2016 7:04 PM, "Jonathan Lighter" <wuxxmupp2000 at gmail.com> wrote:

> Meaning what?
>
> JL
>
> On Sat, Jun 18, 2016 at 5:52 PM, Dan Goncharoff <thegonch at gmail.com>
> wrote:
> > Didn't this ship sail a while ago?
> >
> > DanG
> > PortSide NewYork
> > www.portsidenewyork.org
> > On Jun 18, 2016 4:41 PM, "Jonathan Lighter" <wuxxmupp2000 at gmail.com>
> wrote:
> >
> >> Ah, but your adduced exx. suggest that you recognize subliminally that
> >> this usage is a little weird, especially in this instance.
> >>
> >> Possibly you'll be more impressed when I say that "positive _shock_"
> >> is now everywhere in the media.
> >>
> >> JL
> >>
> >> On Sat, Jun 18, 2016 at 4:20 PM, Laurence Horn <laurence.horn at yale.edu>
> >> wrote:
> >> >> On Jun 18, 2016, at 3:27 PM, Jonathan Lighter <
> wuxxmupp2000 at GMAIL.COM>
> >> wrote:
> >> >>
> >> >> A lady in a commercial has just had her DNA tested so as to discover
> >> >> her true essence.
> >> >>
> >> >> "The most shocking result was I'm 26% Native American!"
> >> >>
> >> >> Time was that would have been an obviously racist remark.
> >> >>
> >> >> JL
> >> >
> >> > Couldn't "shocked" here just be 'very surprised', without affective
> >> content as to pleasantly or not, with the affect coming from the
> context?
> >> I could imagine, for example, Mets' fans in 1969, or U.S. hockey fans in
> >> 1980, describing themselves as being shocked, as well as delighted, at
> the
> >> unexpected (or shocking) results.
> >> >
> >> > Here are a few Google hits (found by googling "I'm shocked that we
> won")
> >> that sound natural enough to me:
> >> >
> >> > ====================
> >> > Esquire's editor in chief, David Granger, said: "I thought we had a
> >> chance to win one [publishing award, in 2004], but I'm shocked that we
> won
> >> four."
> >> >
> >> > "Findlay's a great team," Burnham said, "I'm shocked that we won as
> >> easily as we won, but I'm proud of the way our girls played."
> >> > [coach of girls' high school volleyball team]
> >> >
> >> > “I'm shocked that we won, considering all of the amazing films on the
> >> roster this year.” said Cordero.
> >> > [film-maker whose "Inside a Change" won Best Picture at 2009 HBO
> Latino
> >> Film Festival]
> >> >
> >> > "I'm shocked that we won. Happy, of course, but shocked. The narrative
> >> will be how the Bengals played down to the level of their
> competition...but
> >> credit the defense for playing the way we thought they were capable of
> and
> >> essentially shutting down one of the best offenses in the NFL."
> >> > [Texans fan commenting on blog post after Texans' upset win against
> the
> >> Bengals, Nov. 2015]
> >> > =====================
> >> >
> >> > On the assumption (supported by the OED) that originally "shocked"
> >> always meant 'horrified, upset, scandalized', maybe this is a kind of
> >> intensifier bleaching, not uncommon (cf. "terrific") although not
> >> inevitable (cf. "horrific").
> >> >
> >> > LH
> >> >
> >> >
> >> >>
> >> >> On Tue, Feb 26, 2013 at 7:22 AM, Jonathan Lighter
> >> >> <wuxxmupp2000 at gmail.com> wrote:
> >> >>> ---------------------- Information from the mail header
> >> -----------------------
> >> >>> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> >> >>> Poster:       Jonathan Lighter <wuxxmupp2000 at GMAIL.COM>
> >> >>> Subject:      Re: shocked = 'pleasantly surprised'
> >> >>>
> >>
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> >> >>>
> >> >>>> Although youneverknow.
> >> >>>
> >> >>> In this case I do know. Intonation - affect - and three of four
> >> co-yakkers
> >> >>> agreed that Seth sounded great.
> >> >>>
> >> >>> JL
> >> >>>
> >> >>> On Mon, Feb 25, 2013 at 8:29 PM, 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: shocked = 'pleasantly surprised'
> >> >>>>
> >> >>>>
> >>
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> >> >>>>
> >> >>>> On Feb 25, 2013, at 7:15 PM, Joel S. Berson wrote:
> >> >>>>
> >> >>>>> At 2/25/2013 04:43 PM, Jonathan Lighter wrote:
> >> >>>>>> We've mentioned this before, but here's another good one. A
> yakking
> >> >>>> head on
> >> >>>>>> CNN says he was "shocked" to hear Seth McFarlane's singing voice
> at
> >> the
> >> >>>>>> Acade--- I mean at the Oscars.
> >> >>>>>
> >> >>>>> So was Claude Rains.  Pleasantly surprised, surprised, I mean.  He
> >> >>>>> was expecting his winnings shortly.
> >> >>>>>
> >> >>>>> Joel
> >> >>>>>
> >> >>>> Ah, but the good Captain Louie was *pretending* to be unpleasantly
> >> >>>> surprised, surprised, or even scandalized, scandalized at the
> >> evidence of
> >> >>>> gambling.  The CNN guy presumably was not being ironic at the
> >> evidence of
> >> >>>> holding a tune.  Although youneverknow.
> >> >>>>
> >> >>>> LH
> >> >>>>
> >> >>>> ------------------------------------------------------------
> >> >>>> The American Dialect Society -
> >>
> https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__www.americandialect.org&d=CwIBaQ&c=-dg2m7zWuuDZ0MUcV7Sdqw&r=wFp3X4Mu39hB2bf13gtz0ZpW1TsSxPIWYiZRsMFFaLQ&m=yh6LNTvTp_iHRPoH7B-QdRJ-33hJ04kxg-XjEDEzyOk&s=-VjEdVRUL1Sey0vXZghkLI-1jjwdWbx3D1OGWqLu62c&e=
> >> >>>>
> >> >>>
> >> >>>
> >> >>>
> >> >>> --
> >> >>> "If the truth is half as bad as I think it is, you can't handle the
> >> truth."
> >> >>>
> >> >>> ------------------------------------------------------------
> >> >>> The American Dialect Society -
> >>
> https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__www.americandialect.org&d=CwIBaQ&c=-dg2m7zWuuDZ0MUcV7Sdqw&r=wFp3X4Mu39hB2bf13gtz0ZpW1TsSxPIWYiZRsMFFaLQ&m=yh6LNTvTp_iHRPoH7B-QdRJ-33hJ04kxg-XjEDEzyOk&s=-VjEdVRUL1Sey0vXZghkLI-1jjwdWbx3D1OGWqLu62c&e=
> >> >>
> >> >>
> >> >>
> >> >> --
> >> >> "If the truth is half as bad as I think it is, you can't handle the
> >> truth."
> >> >>
> >> >> ------------------------------------------------------------
> >> >> The American Dialect Society -
> >>
> https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__www.americandialect.org&d=CwIBaQ&c=-dg2m7zWuuDZ0MUcV7Sdqw&r=wFp3X4Mu39hB2bf13gtz0ZpW1TsSxPIWYiZRsMFFaLQ&m=yh6LNTvTp_iHRPoH7B-QdRJ-33hJ04kxg-XjEDEzyOk&s=-VjEdVRUL1Sey0vXZghkLI-1jjwdWbx3D1OGWqLu62c&e=
> >> >
> >> > ------------------------------------------------------------
> >> > 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
> >>
> >
> > ------------------------------------------------------------
> > 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
>

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