[Ads-l] WOTY candidate

[Jonathan Lighter]

GB has a 1977 ex. of "course of least regret" in a NOAA publication and in
ref. to hurricanes.

Early exx. (incl.mine) are in a meteorological/ public safety context.

GB data suggests that more euphonious "path of least regret" (which appears
to be widely applied) is a later development.

JL

On Wed, Aug 30, 2017 at 8:26 AM, Jonathan Lighter <wuxxmupp2000 at gmail.com>
wrote:

> Ah, yes. From  _Get Smart_, ca1966.
>
> An actual, not figurative, cone, however.
>
> JL
>
> On Tue, Aug 29, 2017 at 9:52 PM, David Metevia <djmetevia at chartermi.net>
> wrote:
>
>> I know about the "cone of silence."
>>
>> On Tue, Aug 29, 2017 at 9:14 PM, Jonathan Lighter <wuxxmupp2000 at gmail.com
>> >
>> wrote:
>>
>> > The first (more or less) that I encountered was probably "the course of
>> > least regret," in the late '80s.
>> >
>> > JL
>> >
>> > On Tue, Aug 29, 2017 at 8:59 PM, Chris Waigl <chris at lascribe.net>
>> wrote:
>> >
>> > > Well there's the circle of security, the line of duty and the
>> triangle of
>> > > opportunity. I'm sure there are more expressions that fit the template
>> > "the
>> > > [geometric object] of [noun ending in -ty]".
>> > >
>> > > On Tue, Aug 29, 2017 at 2:33 PM, Jonathan Lighter <
>> > wuxxmupp2000 at gmail.com>
>> > > wrote:
>> > >
>> > > > How about "cone of uncertainty"?
>> > > >
>> > > > Originally a mystery flavor at Baskin-Robbins.
>> > > >
>> > > > JL
>> > > >
>> > > > ​
>> > > >
>> > > --
>> > > Chris Waigl . chris.waigl at gmail.com . chris at lascribe.net
>> > > http://eggcorns.lascribe.net . http://chryss.eu
>> > >
>> > > ------------------------------------------------------------
>> > > The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>> > >
>> >
>> >
>> >
>> > --
>> > "If the truth is half as bad as I think it is, you can't handle the
>> truth."
>> >
>> > ------------------------------------------------------------
>> > The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>> >
>>
>> ------------------------------------------------------------
>> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>>
>
>
>
> --
> "If the truth is half as bad as I think it is, you can't handle the truth."
>



-- 
"If the truth is half as bad as I think it is, you can't handle the truth."

------------------------------------------------------------
The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org