[Ads-l] sexist "crazy"

[Laurence Horn]

> On Mar 25, 2016, at 6:55 AM, Jonathan Lighter <wuxxmupp2000 at GMAIL.COM> wrote:
> 
> A related development:
> 
> Ted Cruz has called Donald Trump "petty" and "small" for his brainless
> attack on Mrs. Cruz.  He also said that Trump's nomination would be "a gift
> wrapped in a pink little ribbon for the Democratic party."
> 
> In discussing these remarks, MSNBC's Nicolle Wallace (who used to work for
> George W. Bush) asserted that there were "Lots of [gender-]coded words in
> here: 'small,' 'petty,' 'pink.'"
> 
> Since the Democrat Trump would supposedly be the biggest "gift" to would be
> Hillary Clinton, "pink" might be described as "coded" for gender, though
> I'm not sure why that would be significant in this case.
> 
> What is more interesting, however, is how on earth "small" and "petty" are
> "coded words" for anything, particularly when directed at Donald Trump.
> 
> JL

It's the fingers, and all they may or not signify.  In fact, putting aside the thumb, the others have taken on the characterization of "petty fours".

LH


> 
> 
> 
> 
> On Fri, Mar 25, 2016 at 3:15 AM, Arnold M. Zwicky <zwicky at stanford.edu>
> wrote:
> 
>> ---------------------- Information from the mail header
>> -----------------------
>> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
>> Poster:       "Arnold M. Zwicky" <zwicky at STANFORD.EDU>
>> Subject:      Re: sexist "crazy"
>> 
>> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>> 
>>> On Mar 24, 2016, at 11:52 PM, Mark Mandel <thnidu at gmail.com> wrote:
>>> =20
>>> ---------------------- Information from the mail header
>> -----------------=
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>>> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
>>> Poster:       Mark Mandel <thnidu at GMAIL.COM>
>>> Subject:      Re: sexist "crazy"
>>> 
>> -------------------------------------------------------------------------=
>> ------
>>> =20
>>> Hey, Arnold, a terminological question: what's wrong with "restrictive"
>> a=
>> nd
>>> "nonrestrictive"?
>> 
>> the terminology is traditional, and it's not evil, but people tend to have
>> =
>> trouble using it appropriately. so some people in the syntax business have
>> =
>> proposed other terminology.
>> 
>> arnold
>> 
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> 
> 
> 
> -- 
> "If the truth is half as bad as I think it is, you can't handle the truth."
> 
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