[Ads-l] New (to me) negative polarity item--"(not) have the bandwidth" as metaphor

[Laurence Horn]

(3) is what I take to be the literal meaning, and (2) is a different metaphorical use.  (1) is the closest to the relevant use (= to lack the time to do something because of too many other commitments), but if I explain "I can't help you send out the mailers because with the new job and the baby I simply don't have the bandwidth" it's not clear I'm talking about information volume, so I do think this is an additional broadening.

LH

> On Jun 20, 2016, at 2:14 PM, Dave Wilton <dave at WILTON.NET> wrote:
> 
> It's at least 20 years old.
> 
> From The Jargon File (4.4.7), 29 Dec 2003 (That's the version that's online
> now; I don't know when this entry was written):
> 
> "bandwidth: n.
> 
> "1. [common] Used by hackers (in a generalization of its technical meaning)
> as the volume of information per unit time that a computer, person, or
> transmission medium can handle. 'Those are amazing graphics, but I missed
> some of the detail - not enough bandwidth, I guess.' Compare low-bandwidth;
> see also brainwidth. This generalized usage began to go mainstream after the
> Internet population explosion of 1993-1994. 
> 
> "2. Attention span. 
> 
> "3. On Usenet, a measure of network capacity that is often wasted by people
> complaining about how items posted by others are a waste of bandwidth."
> 
> 
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: American Dialect Society [mailto:ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU] On Behalf Of
> Laurence Horn
> Sent: Monday, June 20, 2016 1:12 PM
> To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
> Subject: [ADS-L] New (to me) negative polarity item--"(not) have the
> bandwidth" as metaphor
> 
> Here's urban dictionary:
> 
> BANDWIDTH
> ability (or lack of ability) to complete work given the available resources
> (people, time, money, etc.)
> 
> Since we can't afford to replace the guy who just quit, our department
> doesn't have enough bandwidth to take on new projects right now. 
> 
> Joe's so overworked, he doesn't even have the bandwidth to train his new
> assistant.
> 
> #work #time #ability #capacity #workload by amphora October 25, 2006
> 
> ==============
> My daughter (age 31) just used it in referring to a friend who, given her
> 12-hour shifts at her new nursing job, "doesn't have the bandwidth" for
> various other things.  Not being 31 (and not having a boyfriend at Google),
> I'd never encountered metaphorical bandwidth before.  I haven't checked
> "Among The New Words", which probably has a relevant decade-old entry.  
> 
> LH
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