[Ads-l] "Drop"

Mon May 22 16:30:47 UTC 2023

Excellent citation, Bill. Here is an instance of "drop an album" from 1988.

Date: Jun 8, 1988
Newspaper: USA TODAY
Newspaper location: McLean, Virginia
Article title: Run-D.M.C. fight their bad rap
Author: James T. Jones IV.
Page Number: 04D.

[Begin excerpt]
"We were doing so many other things," Run says, "making a movie,
touring. And when we were ready to drop an album, we had trouble with
our record company."
[End excerpt]

Below is "drop an album" with a very different meaning in 1987. Below
"drop an album" means stop promoting.

Date: May 1, 1987
Periodical: Musician
Periodical location: Gloucester, UK
Article title: FACES: CROWDED HOUSE
Author: Charles M. Young
Issue 103,
Start Page 18, Quote Page 20

[Begin excerpt]
"Success has kind of stunned me too," says Finn. "Capitol has been
just amazingly committed to the record. In Split Enz I saw just how
fast a record company can drop an album. If something doesn't go right
in the first few weeks, they think something's odd and they stop
working it.
[End excerpt]

Garson

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 Old people will think this means Walmart rescinded those deals, but they'd be wrong.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

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