[Ads-l] Take a knee

[Dan Goncharoff]

You just had to remind me of the Miracle in the Meadowlands, didn't you.


On Dec 24, 2017 12:50 AM, "Wilson Gray" <hwgray at gmail.com> wrote:

> Wasn't there once a time when there was only a trivial amount of time left
> and the winning team had the ball and, though, officially, there was time
> left for one more play, running that play would be pointless? So, the
> winning team would go into the spread formation, the ball would be snapped
> and the quarterback, instead of trying needlessly to run a useless play,
> would simply "take a knee" - i.e. drop to one knee - thereby ending the
> play and, consequently, the game.
>
> On Sat, Dec 23, 2017 at 10:44 AM, Amy West <medievalist at w-sts.com> wrote:
>
> > On 12/23/17 12:00 AM, ADS-L automatic digest system wrote:
> >
> >> Date:    Fri, 22 Dec 2017 21:45:22 -0200
> >> From:    David Daniel<dad at COARSECOURSES.COM>
> >> Subject: Take a knee
> >>
> >> I would like to know why NFL players are "taking a knee" all over the
> >> media
> >> instead of "kneeling." I mean, "take is knee" is like: Guy walks into a
> >> prosthetics shop. The salesman comes over and says, "Welcome, take a
> >> seat."
> >> Guy says, "Already got one, thanks, but I'll take a knee."
> >> DAD
> >>
> >
> > From my soccer mom experience:
> >
> > When a kid is injured on the field and the coaches and refs want to halt
> > the action, the ref will blow a whistle and the coaches will shout "take
> a
> > knee!" and the players will go down on one knee (in effect making the
> kids
> > stay in one place so that all attention can be directed to the injured
> > player).
> >
> > "Kneeling" can be ambiguous: It can refer to being on both knees. "Take a
> > knee" is clear: have one knee down on the ground, and the other bent at
> 90
> > degrees so that foot is on the ground. Also, there would be overtones to
> > shouting "kneel!" as opposed to "take a knee."
> >
> > So, I think "take a knee" has been extended from that usage because of
> > ambiguity and connotations of "kneel".
> >
> > ---Amy West
> >
> >
> >
> > ------------------------------------------------------------
> > The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
> >
>
>
>
> --
> -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 - http://www.americandialect.org
>

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