[Ads-l] Query from Huffington Post: "Dumpster Fire" (UNCLASSIFIED)

Laurence Horn laurence.horn at YALE.EDU
Wed May 11 20:12:47 UTC 2016


I can't answer the query but I wanted to register my skepticism at the claim that "dumpster fire" in this sense is more "evocative" that the alternative metaphors Mr. Sherwood provides, such as "clusterfuck" and "shitstorm", both of which strike me as quite evocative enough.

LH

> On May 11, 2016, at 4:05 PM, Mullins, Bill CIV (US) <william.d.mullins18.civ at MAIL.MIL> wrote:
> 
> CLASSIFICATION: UNCLASSIFIED
> 
> Of possible interest:
> https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__blog.oxforddictionaries.com_2016_05_dumpster-2Dfire_&d=AwIGaQ&c=-dg2m7zWuuDZ0MUcV7Sdqw&r=wFp3X4Mu39hB2bf13gtz0ZpW1TsSxPIWYiZRsMFFaLQ&m=0oxcH4ScD2KNByYiKwfajjNNp8dNYcp_Byatl2glj_c&s=OX4074ZH2E0Sng3FuJXSQO6eKrPW-SZYrCUVbo0p3qs&e= 
> 
> 
> 
>> ----
>> 
>> Today I received the request below about "dumpster fire"  but don't have an answer.
>> Would someone else perhaps be able to help?
>> 
>> Gerald Cohen
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> From: Claire Fallon [claire.fallon at huffingtonpost.com]
>> Sent: Wednesday, May 11, 2016 1:59 PM
>> To: Cohen, Gerald Leonard
>> Subject: HuffPost interview query: "Dumpster fire"
>> 
>> Hi Gerald,
>> 
>> I'm a Books and Culture writer at HuffPost, and I'm working on an article about the phrase "dumpster fire" and its rather sudden ubiquity as
>> an insult. I'm interested in speaking to lexicographers like yourself who might have some insight on its rise to popularity.
>> 
>> Please let me know if you'd be interested in speaking to me for the article; I'd love to hear your thoughts!
>> 
>> Best,
>> Claire
>> 
>> --
>> Claire Fallon
>> Books & Culture Writer | THE HUFFINGTON POST claire.fallon at huffingtonpost.com
>> 
>> ------------------------------------------------------------
> CLASSIFICATION: UNCLASSIFIED
> 
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> The American Dialect Society - https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__www.americandialect.org&d=AwIGaQ&c=-dg2m7zWuuDZ0MUcV7Sdqw&r=wFp3X4Mu39hB2bf13gtz0ZpW1TsSxPIWYiZRsMFFaLQ&m=0oxcH4ScD2KNByYiKwfajjNNp8dNYcp_Byatl2glj_c&s=NXnsf9klF_10JBE9-lOekibzqb6h7URQcAJ3G0rPj0Q&e= 

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