[Ads-l] nod

[Jesse Sheidlower]

FWIW, the full OED has

4. _fig_. Usually with _to, toward(s)_. An acknowledgement of or concession to the importance or influence of something; (esp. in the arts) a use of or allusion to one or more of the elements characteristic of a particular genre, artist, work, etc.

with examples from 1935 onwards.

Jesse Sheidlower

On Mon, Aug 20, 2018 at 01:25:56PM -0700, Barretts Mail wrote:
> In "QOTY nominee: "Truth isn't truth” on this list (today), Peter Reitan writes:
> 
> "It was Sharknado VI - It's About Time (with nods to Back to the Future, Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure and Monty Python and the Holy Grail) that debuted this past weekend.”
> 
> The English Oxford Living Dictionaries (https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/nod <https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/nod>) says: "A gesture of acknowledgement or concession to.”
> 
> I don’t think there is any gesture here, but the example sentences include similar uses:
> 
> —— 
> ‘There even appears to be a nod to her own back pages in ‘Push’, which confirms Europe as a major musical influence.’
> ‘In a nod to health, a minor one, they had margarine instead of butter.’
> ——
> 
> I suppose “gesture” can be considered some abstract reference, but such a definition is not provided (https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/gesture <https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/gesture>).
> 
> Wiktionary (https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/nod <https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/nod>) has, "A reference or allusion to something”, which I think better covers this meaning of “nod”.
> 
> Benjamin Barrett
> Formerly of Seattle, WA
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org

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