[Ads-l] "Oscar" article at the Early Sports and Pop Culture History Blog

[Shapiro, Fred]

Yes, Peter's article is outstandingly thorough and well-executed.  He also avoids the temptation, which can be found even among the most scholarly researchers of words and quotations, of latching onto a clever pet theory and pushing it way beyond its actual plausibility.


Fred Shapiro



________________________________
From: American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU> on behalf of ADSGarson O'Toole <adsgarsonotoole at GMAIL.COM>
Sent: Saturday, February 23, 2019 1:53 AM
To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
Subject: "Oscar" article at the Early Sports and Pop Culture History Blog

Congratulations to Peter who has crafted a very impressive article
about the origin of the appellation "Oscar" applied to the Academy
Award. His essay includes an extensive list of citations together with
intriguing illustrations. The piece is a boon to the public and to
research colleagues. It also includes valuable material that was
originally identified by Peter.

Envelope Please - Unwrapping Oscar's Origin Stories
https://nam05.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fesnpc.blogspot.com%2F2019%2F02%2Fenvelope-please-unwrapping-oscars.html&data=02%7C01%7Cfred.shapiro%40yale.edu%7C2fab0ab769df4f90856c08d6995ba59d%7Cdd8cbebb21394df8b4114e3e87abeb5c%7C0%7C0%7C636865016243996697&sdata=vIBF29CsiOuBiqx55DKQk9em7mn92q7K%2B9FKsXqMq7E%3D&reserved=0

Garson

On Fri, Feb 22, 2019 at 12:48 PM ADSGarson O'Toole
<adsgarsonotoole at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> Fantastic work, Ben. You elegantly packed an enormous amount of
> information into limited number of column inches.
> Garson
>
> On Fri, Feb 22, 2019 at 12:09 PM Ben Zimmer <bgzimmer at gmail.com> wrote:
> >
> > My latest column is on the origins of "Oscar" as the nickname for the
> > Academy Awards statuette. I drew on some fruitful recent discussion on the
> > list and off, especially from Barry Popik, Fred Shapiro, Garson O'Toole,
> > Peter Reitan, and Stephen Goranson. My space was limited, so I wasn't able
> > to fit all of the various theories and bits of early evidence that have
> > come up, but I tried to hit the key points of recent research. Thanks to
> > all.
> >
> > https://nam05.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.wsj.com%2Farticles%2Fhow-did-the-academy-award-become-the-oscar-11550852995&data=02%7C01%7Cfred.shapiro%40yale.edu%7C2fab0ab769df4f90856c08d6995ba59d%7Cdd8cbebb21394df8b4114e3e87abeb5c%7C0%7C0%7C636865016243996697&sdata=prm4NVZG%2FzlDjBhfUIoVcSjfZsvk0LRzCfqyhZmykzE%3D&reserved=0
> > text on Outline (no paywall): https://nam05.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Foutline.com%2FYEPzU9&data=02%7C01%7Cfred.shapiro%40yale.edu%7C2fab0ab769df4f90856c08d6995ba59d%7Cdd8cbebb21394df8b4114e3e87abeb5c%7C0%7C0%7C636865016243996697&sdata=7UkduUneIHQ1Lmj0gvC8R3iqCbqzg27EQyYGBziEVm0%3D&reserved=0
> >
> > --bgz
> >
> > ------------------------------------------------------------
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