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

[Jonathan Lighter]

Junkman's usage sounds normal to me, for whom "musty" = "(of a smell)
moldy."

JL

On Tue, Sep 26, 2017 at 9:06 PM, Wilson Gray <hwgray at gmail.com> wrote:

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



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