[Ads-l] "Drop"

[James Eric Lawson]

'Drop' is rarely used nowadays, but there was (for example) a midwifery 
business near my home called "Babycatchers, Ltd."

OED drop, v., 14:

14. To let fall in birth; to give birth to (young); to lay (an egg). The 
usual word in reference to sheep. Also absol

On 5/22/23 08:58, Laurence Horn wrote:
> Yes, as in ‘give birth to’, but one doesn’t (yet) hear of women in the delivery room dropping a baby.  Good ol' taboo avoidance strikes again!
> 
> LH
> 
>> On May 22, 2023, at 10:23 AM, Jonathan Lighter <wuxxmupp2000 at GMAIL.COM> wrote:
>>
>> Yes. But it's lately been taking off among journalists in non-entertainment
>> contexts.
>>
>> The other day I heard of a company "dropping" some new cyber-thingie or
>> other.
>>
>> Cf. the sense "give birth to."
>>
>> JL
>>
>> On Mon, May 22, 2023 at 10:18 AM Bill Mullins <amcombill at hotmail.com> wrote:
>>
>>> I probably first ran across this usage in reference to musicians
>>> "dropping" a new album, track, etc.
>>>
>>> 1994 NY Daily News 23 Feb 19/4
>>> Salt-n-Pepa just dropped a new album, which is all over the charts.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> -----Original Message-----
>>> From: American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU> On Behalf Of
>>> Jonathan Lighter
>>> Sent: Monday, May 22, 2023 7:35 AM
>>> To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
>>> Subject: "Drop"
>>>
>>> To release to the public; announce.
>>>
>>> I've been seeing and hearing this a whole lot in the past few months .
>>>
>>> <goog_1644883552>
>>> https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/walmart-deals-dyson-samsung-191003952.html
>>> :
>>>
>>> Walmart just dropped 50+ incredible early Memorial Day deals, starting at
>>> $8.
>>>
>>> Old people will think this means Walmart rescinded those deals, but they'd
>>> be wrong.
>>>
>>> JL
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> ------------------------------------------------------------
>>> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>>>
>>
>>
>> -- 
>> "If the truth is half as bad as I think it is, you can't handle the truth."
>>
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> 
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> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org

-- 
James Eric Lawson

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