[Ads-l] "To soft-open"

[Barretts Mail]

Thank you for double-checking. I can’t find it either, so it must be a figment of my imagination.

Wiktionary has it: https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/soft_opening <https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/soft_opening>, and Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soft_launch <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soft_launch>) does, too, with the bonus of the verb form “soft-launching."

BB

> On 17 Jan 2017, at 14:13, ADSGarson O'Toole <adsgarsonotoole at GMAIL.COM> wrote:
> 
> Here are the results of quick search restricted to newspapers.com. The
> term "soft opening" was in use by 1972. The verb form "soft opened"
> was employed in an Australian newspaper in 1996.
> 
> [ref] 1972 February 29, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, New Innkeepers Are
> Learning at Marriott by John M. McGuire (Post-Dispatch Staff), Quote
> Page 7B, Column 1, St. Louis, Missouri. (Newspapers_com)[/ref]
> 
> [Begin excerpt]
> A "soft" opening, explained hotel manager Roland D. Roush, a
> six-foot-six former Ohio State University basketball player, is a
> quiet, unannounced opening, which allows employes to polish new found
> skills in an atmosphere without the pressure brought on by a grand
> opening rush.
> [End excerpt]
> 
> 
> [ref] 1996 March 26, The Sydney Morning Herald, Queensland casino
> deals out poor early results by Tony Grant-Taylor (in Brisbane), Quote
> Page 28, Column 6, New South Wales, Australia. (Newspapers_com)[/ref]
> 
> [Begin excerpt]
> The Reef Casino had only "soft-opened" on January 31 and its "grand
> opening" was not scheduled until April 18, with the high season for
> north Queensland beginning in May.
> [End excerpt]
> 
> There were no pertinent matches for "soft open" or "soft opening" in
> the OED although I am sure some sense of "soft" listed in the OED fits
> this expression.
> 
> Benjamin Barrett remarked that John Baker discussed "soft opening" on
> the list back in 2005 which was before I joined. A quick search with
> site:linguistlist.org did not uncover the post. The search did find a
> discussion back in 1999.
> 
> http://listserv.linguistlist.org/pipermail/ads-l/1999-August.txt
> 
> Garson
> 
> On Tue, Jan 17, 2017 at 4:44 PM, Barretts Mail <mail.barretts at gmail.com> wrote:
>> It’s come up on this list at least once. BB
>> 
>>> On 17 Jan 2017, at 12:11, Laurence Horn <laurence.horn at YALE.EDU> wrote:
>>> 
>>> http://www.thestorestarters.com/5-reasons-to-soft-open-your-new-store-2/
>>> 
>>> I had never even heard of the source, a soft opening, before getting an invitation to participate in one a few minutes ago.
>>> 
>>> LH
>> 
>> ------------------------------------------------------------
>> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
> 
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org


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