[Ads-l] Heard: _musty_ “smelling of decay or rot”

[Wilson Gray]

The owner of a junkyard in Bethel, NY, is telling the police about finding
the remains of a dead newborn in the trunk of a junked car:

"After I popped the trunk, I saw a plastic bag in it. I opened up the bag
and there was another plastic bag in that. I opened that up and saw a third
bag. I started to open up the third bag and a _musty_ odor came out. I
opened it up a little more and saw what looked like a leather doll. I told
my wife, ‘Call 911.’”

In BE, _musty_ means “smelling of _must_” or  “funky” and _must_ means
“B.O.” or “funk.”

FWIW, I once read somewhere - Wentworth & Flexner? - somewhen - 1962? -
that _must_ < _musk_.

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