[Ads-l] Twitter exchange: Merriam Webster vs Slate

Laurence Horn laurence.horn at YALE.EDU
Sat Sep 10 17:34:26 UTC 2016


> On Sep 10, 2016, at 7:30 AM, Jonathan Lighter <wuxxmupp2000 at GMAIL.COM> wrote:
> 
> "Don't get mad, get even."
> 
> JL

For me, at least, to "get mad" disambiguates for the 'angry' sense, while to "go mad" disambiguates for 'crazy'.  Not surprising, I guess, given "get [not "go"] angry" and "go [not "get"] crazy/bonkers/bananas/..."  Probably some cognitive linguistics type has things to say about these gettings and goings.

LH
> 
> On Fri, Sep 9, 2016 at 8:58 PM, Wilson Gray <hwgray at gmail.com> wrote:
> 
>> "If you're trying to get mad, then you'd better get glad!"
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> On Fri, Sep 9, 2016 at 1:57 AM, ADSGarson O'Toole <
>> adsgarsonotoole at gmail.com
>>> wrote:
>> 
>>> BuzzFeed posted an article about a sharp exchange on twitter between
>>> an editor at Slate and the
>>> official Merriam Webster twitter account. Further below are the germane
>>> tweets.
>>> 
>>> Website: BuzzFeed News
>>> Timestamp: Sept. 7, 2016, at 3:04 p.m.
>>> Article: People Can’t Get Over The Dictionary’s — Yes, The
>>> Dictionary’s — Savage Clapback
>>> Author: Tasneem Nashrulla (BuzzFeed News Reporter)
>>> 
>>> https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__bzfd.it_2cCGf0f&d=CwIFaQ&c=-dg2m7zWuuDZ0MUcV7Sdqw&r=wFp3X4Mu39hB2bf13gtz0ZpW1TsSxPIWYiZRsMFFaLQ&m=1wUy4uGpmC2LACgLWJ7p9nSOaYDuZerHJOVwBTyZFQk&s=6aXv5XIbnUl1caw3oQ6R5XpUedznJauleHRnkkmA_U8&e= 
>>> 
>>> [Begin tweets]
>>> Merriam-Webster ‏@MerriamWebster Sep 6
>>> It's fine to use mad to mean "angry"—even if doing so makes some people
>>> mad.
>>> 
>>> Gabriel Roth ‏@gabrielroth Sep 6
>>> I feel like @MerriamWebster is turning into the “chill” parent who
>>> lets your friends come over and get high
>>> 
>>> Gabriel Roth ‏@gabrielroth Sep 6
>>> It’s great at first, it’s nice to have friends and a place to get
>>> high, but something about it starts to feel wrong
>>> 
>>> Gabriel Roth ‏@gabrielroth Sep 6
>>> If no one’s making rules for us, it means we’re responsible for our
>>> own decisions, and we feel kind of ambivalent about that tbqh
>>> 325 retweets 513 likes
>>> 
>>> Merriam-Webster ‏@MerriamWebster Sep 7
>>> @gabrielroth No one cares how you feel.
>>> 14,909 retweets  26,059 likes
>>> 
>>> Ziwe ‏@ziwe Sep 7
>>> @MerriamWebster @gabrielroth this is an iconic drag
>>> [End tweets]
>>> 
>>> ------------------------------------------------------------
>>> The American Dialect Society - https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__www.americandialect.org&d=CwIFaQ&c=-dg2m7zWuuDZ0MUcV7Sdqw&r=wFp3X4Mu39hB2bf13gtz0ZpW1TsSxPIWYiZRsMFFaLQ&m=1wUy4uGpmC2LACgLWJ7p9nSOaYDuZerHJOVwBTyZFQk&s=76l6XZ0iOqqEoqx3BFKQP3TyKcK-N23v-h-Ah366oUg&e= 
>>> 
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> --
>> -Wilson
>> -----
>> All say, "How hard it is that we have to die!"---a strange complaint to
>> come from the mouths of people who have had to live.
>> -Mark Twain
>> 
>> ------------------------------------------------------------
>> The American Dialect Society - https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__www.americandialect.org&d=CwIFaQ&c=-dg2m7zWuuDZ0MUcV7Sdqw&r=wFp3X4Mu39hB2bf13gtz0ZpW1TsSxPIWYiZRsMFFaLQ&m=1wUy4uGpmC2LACgLWJ7p9nSOaYDuZerHJOVwBTyZFQk&s=76l6XZ0iOqqEoqx3BFKQP3TyKcK-N23v-h-Ah366oUg&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=CwIFaQ&c=-dg2m7zWuuDZ0MUcV7Sdqw&r=wFp3X4Mu39hB2bf13gtz0ZpW1TsSxPIWYiZRsMFFaLQ&m=1wUy4uGpmC2LACgLWJ7p9nSOaYDuZerHJOVwBTyZFQk&s=76l6XZ0iOqqEoqx3BFKQP3TyKcK-N23v-h-Ah366oUg&e= 

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