[Ads-l] "snow farm", not in OED; 1970--? Bostonism?

[Laurence Horn]

> On Feb 16, 2017, at 4:12 PM, Peter Reitan <pjreitan at HOTMAIL.COM> wrote:
> 
> The surprising thing to me about "snow farm" as used in Boston snowplow business is that it is where the snow is taken to die - not a place where snow is taken from, as in most of the other "... farms”.

Exactly--whence my suggestions below (jocular though they may have been) of car farms, garbage farms, and underwater waste farms.  (One could add tire farms and no doubt others.). Are there any actual examples of the snow farm pattern?   (Of course in my examples, the X farm isn’t necessarily where X is taken to die, but at least in some cases to live forever…)

LH 
> 
> 
> A 1998 example relating to the Monarch ski area in Colorado uses "snow farm" as a place where they dig up snow to build roads and ramps for their snow-cats. Santa Fe New Mexican, February 26, 1998, page 16 (newspapers.com).
> 
> 
> And before electrical distribution and refrigeration became widespread, there was "ice farming". Numerous examples in chroniclingamerica.loc.gov, for example: The Diamond Drill (Crystal Falls, MI, MI), March 28, 1896, page 4: "Ice harvesting here is finished, and all available space has been filled with fine clear ice.  Trippley and Trombley did most of the ice farming."
> 
> 
> ________________________________
> From: American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU> on behalf of ADSGarson O'Toole <adsgarsonotoole at GMAIL.COM>
> Sent: Thursday, February 16, 2017 11:30 AM
> To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
> Subject: Re: "snow farm", not in OED; 1970--? Bostonism?
> 
> ---------------------- Information from the mail header -----------------------
> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       ADSGarson O'Toole <adsgarsonotoole at GMAIL.COM>
> Subject:      Re: "snow farm", not in OED; 1970--? Bostonism?
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> 
> John Baker initiated a thread on "snow farm" back in March 2015 when
> he offered the term as 2015 Word of the Year and listed some
> citations:
> 
> http://listserv.linguistlist.org/pipermail/ads-l/2015-March/136151.html
> 
> Other phrases were mentioned: ice farm, body farm, fuel farm.
> 
> Garson
> 
> 
> On Thu, Feb 16, 2017 at 11:37 AM, Joel Berson <berson at att.net> wrote:
>> Does it go back to the older sense of "to farm" as "to collect taxes, fee=
> s, etc."?
>> 
>> Joel
>> 
>> 
>>      From: Laurence Horn <laurence.horn at YALE.EDU>
>> To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
>> Sent: Thursday, February 16, 2017 11:28 AM
>> Subject: Re: [ADS-L] "snow farm", not in OED; 1970--? Bostonism?
>> 
>> Is this a productive euphemism process?  Can we reconceptualize automobil=
> e junkyards =E2=80=9Ccar farms=E2=80=9D?  And town dumps =E2=80=9Cgarbage f=
> arms=E2=80=9D?  And sewers =E2=80=9Cunderwater waste farms=E2=80=9D?  Who s=
> ays farming is in trouble?
>> 
>> LH
>> 
>>> On Feb 16, 2017, at 11:23 AM, Joel Berson <berson at ATT.NET> wrote:
>>> 
>>> A quick peek into the Boston Globe shows an instance on Jan. 21,1970, in=
> a picture caption:
>>> 
>>> "Boston's snow farm in the Seaport District kept getting bigger."
>>> 
>>> Another winter storm slams Boston (Photo 4 of 57) - Pictures - The Bosto=
> n Globe
>>> 
>>> 
>>> |
>>> |
>>> |
>>> |  |    |
>>> 
>>> |
>>> 
>>> |
>>> |
>>> |  |
>>> Another winter storm slams Boston (Photo 4 of 57) - Pictures - The Bosto=
> n ...
>>> |  |
>>> 
>>> |
>>> 
>>> |
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> And there are many instances from the notorious season of 2014--2015.
>>> 
>>> Google Books seems tedious, since (as far as I know) it doesn't respect =
> capitalization.
>>> 
>>> 
>>> The "Lexicon" column in today's Boston Globe defines it as "Where blizza=
> rds go to die."  Is it a Bostonism?
>>> 
>>> 
>>> Joel
>>> 
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>> 
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