[Ads-l] beta

[Laurence Horn]

I distinctly recall Al Gore being disparaged/mocked as a beta male during
the 2000 campaign vs. George W. Bush. I thought it was in Maureen Dowd
columns in the Times, but here I see the "credit" should go to Naomi Wolf:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alpha_and_beta_male

I think it had to do with his wearing brown suits.

LH

On Sat, Aug 16, 2025 at 10:35 AM dave at wilton.net <dave at wilton.net> wrote:

>
> It's a play on "alpha male." I haven't seen "beta" used to mean
> second-rate except in "beta cuck."
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: "Jonathan Lighter" <00001aad181a2549-dmarc-request at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Sent: Saturday, August 16, 2025 10:03am
> To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
> Subject: [ADS-L] beta
>
>
>
> Second-rate?
>
>
> https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/gavin-newsom-fires-fresh-shots-022336853.html
> :
>
> On Thursday, Cheung called Newsom a “coward and beta cuck” for being “too
> chickens---” to answer press questions, following a speech he made that
> day.
>
> JL
> --
> "If the truth is half as bad as I think it is, you can't handle the truth."
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>

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