[Ads-l] St Louis rolling stop; St Louis stop
ADSGarson O'Toole
adsgarsonotoole at GMAIL.COM
Thu Dec 16 06:41:24 UTC 2021
On a separate thread Ben Zimmer mentioned a 1964 citation for
"California stop" (i.e., a rolling stop) presented in his "Boston
Globe" article. Others on the thread commented, and Wilson Gray
mentioned "St. Louis rolling stop". So I performed a few searches at
newspapers.com.
The 1947 citation used the possessive form of St Louis in the phrase
"St. Louis' Rolling Stops". By 1959 "St. Louis rolling stop" and "St.
Louis stop" were in use.
1947 Feb 21: St. Louis' Rolling Stops Taboo On West Coast;
1954 Mar 05: city of the rolling stop, St Louis
1954 Mar 15: brings his car to a rolling, "St. Louis style" stop
1954 May 09: St. Louis's famous rolling stops
1956 Apr 19: St. Louis "the home of the rolling stop."
1959 Jan 10: celebrated St. Louis rolling stop
1959 Jul 02: so-called St. Louis Stop or rolling stop
1959 Aug 10: make the St. Louis "rolling stop"
Date: February 21, 1947
Newspaper: St. Louis Star-Times
Newspaper Location: St. Louis, Missouri
Note
Quote Page 20, Column 4
Database: Newspapers.com
[Begin excerpt]
St. Louis' Rolling Stops Taboo On West Coast;
Reader Offers Some Traffic Control Suggestions
[End excerpt]
Date: March 5, 1954
Newspaper: The Holland Evening Sentinel
Newspaper Location: Holland, Michigan
Article: Press Comment (acknowledges Indianapolis News)
Quote Page 4, Column 2
Database: Newspapers.com
[Begin excerpt]
This is more reasonable than requiring drivers to stop at an empty
intersection and it gives authority to the regular STOP sign. On that
basis alone it might be worthwhile in the city of the rolling stop, St
Louis.
--Indianapolis News
[End excerpt]
Date: March 15, 1954
Newspaper: The Sioux City Journal
Newspaper Location: Sioux City, Iowa
Article: Secret Police in Perry
Quote Page 4, Column 2
Database: Newspapers.com
[Begin excerpt]
So the citizen who brings his car to a rolling, "St. Louis style" stop
at a stop sign, and gets away with it, figures he has put down a
four-spot to the traffic cop's trey.
[End excerpt]
Date: May 9, 1954
Newspaper: St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Newspaper Location: St. Louis, Missouri
Article: 7332 of the Things
Quote Page 2C, Column 3
Database: Newspapers.com
[Begin excerpt]
The police, who have to try to stop St. Louis's famous rolling stops
at our also-famous multitude of stop signs, know better than anyone
else how ridiculous some of the signs are.
[End excerpt]
Date: April 19, 1956
Newspaper: The Montgomery Advertiser
Newspaper Location: Montgomery, Alabama
Article: 'Stop' Vs. 'Yield'
Quote Page 4A, Column 1
Database: Newspapers.com
[Begin excerpt]
This state of affairs, the Post-Dispatch says, has made St. Louis "the
home of the rolling stop."
[End excerpt]
Date: January 10, 1959
Newspaper: St. Louis Globe-Democrat
Newspaper Location: St. Louis, Missouri
Article: Brightening View on Natural Bridge
Quote Page 6, Column 2
Database: Newspapers.com
[Begin excerpt]
Even those few coming from Clark street into Twelfth could make the
entry far more easily while traffic is stopped by the traffic lights
on either side of Clark than under the present circumstances of trying
to pick their way through the celebrated St. Louis rolling stop.
[End excerpt]
Date: July 02, 1959
Newspaper: The News-Times
Newspaper Location: Webster Groves, Missouri
Article: Webster Stop Sign Evasion Apparent In Traffic Commissoner's Survey
Quote Page 1, Column 4
Database: Newspapers.com
[Begin excerpt]
The so-called St. Louis Stop or rolling stop has become such an
established method of driving that out-of-town motorists run the risk
of being bashed in the rear if they obey the law to the letter.
[End excerpt]
Date: August 10, 1959
Newspaper: St. Louis Globe-Democrat
Newspaper Location: St. Louis, Missouri
Article: Resurvey School Crossings!
Quote Page 10, Column 1
Database: Newspapers.com
[Begin excerpt]
The minimum number of Stop signs often is the best. Where there are an
excessive number, motorists ignore them or make the St. Louis "rolling
stop," frequently more dangerous than none at all!
[End excerpt]
Bonus: Here is an instance in 1983 of "California roll" mentioned by
Ben Brainard.
Date: December 16, 1983
Newspaper: The News Tribune
Newspaper Location: Fort Pierce, Florida
Article: Stop!
Author: Jennifer Milelli (News Tribune Writer)
Quote Page B8, Column 1
Database: Newspapers.com
[Begin excerpt]
"In many cases people think they have a clear view of the intersection
and do a 'California roll'" said Port St. Lucie Police Lt Charles
Johnson. "They're in too big a hurry.
[End excerpt]
Garson
On Wed, Dec 15, 2021 at 5:56 AM Wilson Gray <hwgray at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> There was an article on the "rolling stop" in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
> Can't recall the year, but it was most likely between 1945-1955. The
> reference was to the "St. Louis rolling stop."
>
> Back in the '70's, the featured article in the Travel section of the Boston
> Globe was about Los Angeles. The writer wrote that a Bostonian would be
> astonished by the degree to which Angelenos adhered to local traffic laws.
> In the more than 17 years that I lived there, I found that to be the case.
> Because I was a crazy driver, I reached the max of four moving violations,
> after which your license would be suspended, on many an occasion.
> Amazingly, I don't have any experience-of-racism stories to tell about the
> LAPD, even though I was driving to work and backevery day, even during the
> Watts Riot.
>
> On Mon, Dec 13, 2021 at 5:36 PM Andy Bach <afbach at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> > "Idaho stop" - Idaho has had that legal for bicyclists since '82
> > https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Idaho_stop
> >
> >
> >
> > On Thu, Dec 9, 2021 at 8:10 PM Ben Zimmer <bgzimmer at gmail.com> wrote:
> >
> > > See my 2013 Boston Globe column linked below. An excerpt:
> > >
> > > ---
> > > Consider the “rolling stop,” in which the driver treats a stop sign as a
> > > yield. The region most identified with this casual technique is
> > California,
> > > and, like many such traffic insults, it’s especially favored by those in
> > > the immediate vicinity, in this case neighboring states such as Arizona
> > and
> > > Oregon. I found a reference to the “California stop” all the way back in
> > > 1964, when an Arizona state commissioner named John P. Clark was arrested
> > > in Tucson on charges of driving drunk and failing to heed a stop sign.
> > > Clark admitted to newspaper reporters that he had made a “California
> > > rolling stop” but denied being intoxicated. In the late ’70s and ’80s,
> > > “California roll” developed as an alternate term, no doubt helped along
> > by
> > > the popularity of the sushi roll.
> > > ---
> > >
> > >
> > > On Thu, Dec 9, 2021 at 7:44 PM Dan Goncharoff <thegonch at gmail.com>
> > wrote:
> > >
> > > > I think you're getting confused with the inside-out sushi roll.
> > > >
> > > >
> > > > On Thu, Dec 9, 2021, 4:28 PM Benjamin M Brainard <brainard at uga.edu>
> > > wrote:
> > > >
> > > > > I always thought that was called a "California Roll" vs stop
> > > > >
> > > > > ..ben
> > > > >
> > > > > --
> > > > > Benjamin Brainard VMD, Dipl ACVAA, ACVECC
> > > > > Edward H Gunst Professor of Small Animal Critical Care
> > > > > Director of Clinical Research
> > > > > College of Veterinary Medicine
> > > > > University of Georgia
> > > > > 706-542-9383 (v)
> > > > > 706-357-0109 (f)
> > > > >
> > > > >
> > > > > On 12/9/21, 4:17 PM, "American Dialect Society on behalf of Grant
> > > > > Barrett" <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU on behalf of
> > > gbarrett at WORLDNEWYORK.ORG>
> > > > > wrote:
> > > > >
> > > > > [EXTERNAL SENDER - PROCEED CAUTIOUSLY]
> > > > >
> > > > >
> > > > > I've seen it as "Cali sober" on Reddit and there are many hits
> > for
> > > it
> > > > > there. The oldest mentions for both forms of the expression are
> > > from
> > > > > about two years ago.
> > > > >
> > > > > https://www.reddit.com/search/?q=%22cali%20sober%22
> > > > >
> > > > >
> > > > > GB
> > > > >
> > > > > On Mon, Dec 6, 2021 at 5:51 PM Ben Zimmer <bgzimmer at gmail.com>
> > > > wrote:
> > > > > >
> > > > > > Looks like "California sober" is to "sober" as "California
> > stop"
> > > > > (i.e., a
> > > > > > rolling stop) is to "stop." (Larry Horn would call these
> > > > "ironyms.")
> > > > > >
> > > > > > I discuss "California stop" (aka "Hollywood/Michigan/New
> > > > > York/Philly/St.
> > > > > > Louis/American stop") in these 2013 pieces on regional traffic
> > > > terms:
> > > > > >
> > > > > >
> > > > >
> > > >
> > >
> > https://www.bostonglobe.com/ideas/2013/04/06/boston-driving-bad-needs-its-own-lingo/UM7UhGh5qCdZPVukFH37QN/story.html
> > > > > >
> > > > >
> > > >
> > >
> > https://www.vocabulary.com/articles/wordroutes/word-on-the-street-sketchy-traffic-lingo/
> > > > > >
> > > > > > --bgz
> > > > > >
> > > > > > On Mon, Dec 6, 2021 at 5:57 PM Bill Mullins <
> > > amcombill at hotmail.com
> > > > >
> > > > > wrote:
> > > > > >
> > > > > > > "California sober" -- never ran across this before today.
> > > > > > >
> > > > > > >
> > > > > > >
> > > > >
> > > >
> > >
> > https://www.lx.com/entertainment/what-does-california-sober-mean-definition/45920/
> > > > > > >
> > > > > > >
> > > > > >
> > > >
> > >
> > > ------------------------------------------------------------
> > > The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
> > >
> >
> >
> > --
> >
> > a
> >
> > Andy Bach,
> > afbach at gmail.com
> > 608 658-1890 cell
> > 608 261-5738 wk
> >
> > ------------------------------------------------------------
> > The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
> >
>
>
> --
> - Wilson
> -----
> All say, "How hard it is that we have to die!"---a strange complaint to
> come from the mouths of people who have had to live.
> -Mark Twain
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
------------------------------------------------------------
The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
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