[Ads-l] Is mother of all bombs sexist?

[Laurence Horn]

> On Apr 15, 2017, at 6:53 PM, Peter Reitan <pjreitan at HOTMAIL.COM> wrote:
> 
> The answer is no, unless it is sexist against men.  Why not Father of all bombs

It’s a smart bomb that knows its own father.

LH

> , or Father Nature, or the more euphonious Parent of all Bombs. Or the less presumptuous bio/adoptive/temporary guardian in the parental role?
> 
> But of course if it is sexist it's only because Saddam Hussein was sexist when he said the Gulf War would be the Mother of All Battles (a former ADS word of the year) the expression to which the bomb's nickname is clearly an allusion.
> 
> Or, if it is sexist it is only because the Qur'an, or author if the Qur'an, is sexist in describing Mecca as the "Mother of all settlements," which is apparently the ultimate inspiration for Saddam's expression.
> 
> Or, of course it could just be based on the neutral and well known fact that everyone springs from a "mother" and idiomatically it means the thing from which all other similar things are indebted to. And if the "mother of" means it is better than all others, perhaps it's honorary.
> 
> It's debates like this may have encouraged otherwise reluctant Trump voters to vote for a pragmatist over someone whose followers are more likely to seriously debate this issue.
> 
> http://www.businessinsider.com/what-does-mother-of-all-bombs-mean-iraq-saddam-hussein-2017-4
> ________________________________
> From: Baron, Dennis E<mailto:debaron at ILLINOIS.EDU>
> Sent: ‎4/‎15/‎2017 15:32
> To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU<mailto:ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Subject: Is mother of all bombs sexist?
> 
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> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       "Baron, Dennis E" <debaron at ILLINOIS.EDU>
> Subject:      Is mother of all bombs sexist?
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