[Ads-l] fantastic -- SFF sense (UNCLASSIFIED)

[MULLINS, WILLIAM D (Bill) CIV USARMY CCDC AVMC (USA)]

CLASSIFICATION: UNCLASSIFIED


> 
> Bill Mullins wrote:
> > The OED SF project has an entry for "fantastic" (adj) in the SF/F
> > sense, earliest cite 1934
> >
> > _Science Fiction Digest_ Feb 1933 p 18 col 2 "We are considering
> > enlarging the field of our service, thereby covering the so-called 'fantastic' magazines."
> > http://www.fanac.org/fanzines/SF_Digest_2/SF_Digest_0106-18.jp
> > eg
> 
> Bill: What is the desired definition of "fantastic" in the SFF domain?

The short answer is "whatever an SF/F (science fiction/fantasy) fan is pointing at when he uses the term".

A better answer might be, "having the characteristics of the Science Fiction and/or Fantasy genres of literature."

> Currently, attempting to access webpages on jessesword.com generates errors (for me).

For me, too. However, the OED SF Database doesn't seem to have been significantly updated in quite some time, so any recent archived entry on the Wayback Machine will do as well.

> 
> The raw match below is in the SF domain. "The Machine Stops" is a famous early SF story by E. M. Forster.
> 
> Year: 1928
> Periodical: The Texas Outlook
> Volume 12
> Quote Page 47
> Google Books snippet match; data may be inaccurate; search for "1928"
> shows that 1928 issues are in the target book. Volume number 12 matches the year.
> 
> [Begin excerpt]
> "The Machine Stops" is a fantastic picture of what existence will have become some ages hence when every phase of human life is
> dominated by machine [End excerpt]
> 
> Garson

Given that this cite was written by (presumably) a non-SFF person (a "mudane"), it is ambiguous at best as to whether it was intended to be read in the SFF sense, or in a conventional sense (OED entry A.1.a. ) of "fantastic."  
So I'm not sure I'd include it as a citation for this sense.

> 
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> The American Dialect Society - Caution-http://www.americandialect.org
CLASSIFICATION: UNCLASSIFIED

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