[Ads-l] "landscraper" (not in OED)

[ADSGarson O'Toole]

Interesting topic, Nancy.
A building was called a "landscraper" in a newspaper advertisement in
1952. The word was constructed via wordplay from "skyscraper". This
"landscraper" was a large home, not an office building or factory.

Date: December 14, 1952
Newspaper: The New York Times (Sunday)
Newspaper Location: New York, New York
Section 8: Real Estate
Advertisement Title: You can own a landscraper
Advertiser: Kern Realty, Kew Gardens
Quote Page R2, Column 5
Database: Internet Archive

[Begin excerpt]
You can go out and buy a skyscraper if you want to, but we're pretty
sure you're looking for a landscraper.

A landscraper is a dwelling 75' from end-to-end, with a living room 24
1/2' x 15 1/2' and a master bedroom 18' x 12' ... you'll find three
homes designed to these magnificent proportions at Bar Harbour.

There is no doubt that these homes are big. They must be. There is no
other way to build a landscraper. At Bar Harbour they are built on a
full quarter acre of land.
[End excerpt]

Garson

On Wed, Aug 12, 2026 at 4:23 PM Nancy Friedman
<00001b7f50001087-dmarc-request at listserv.uga.edu> wrote:
>
> "An imposingly long building, particularly one that houses a commercial
> enterprise, such as a factory or hotel."
>
> Word Spy's entry gives citations going back to 1986.
> https://wordspy.com/words/landscraper/
>
> From July 2022:
> "Behold London's 'landscraper'! Google's new UK HQ -- as long as the Shard
> is tall"
> https://www.theguardian.com/business/2022/jul/01/behold-londons-landscraper-googles-new-uk-hq-as-long-as-the-shard-is-tall
>
> And from today, August 12 (where I discovered it):
> *>>Speaking of DeepMind: Its new home is London’s ultimate
> “landscraper.” *DeepMind
> is based inside Google’s enormous new £1 billion King’s Cross HQ
> <https://blog.google/company-news/inside-google/around-the-globe/google-europe/united-kingdom/platform-37-the-ai-exchange/>,
> a super-long, low-rise building—essentially a skyscraper turned on its
> side.<<
> https://www.readfeedme.com/p/feed-me-london-edition
>
> If this word has appeared previously in the listserv, my apologies; I
> couldn't find it when I searched the archives.
>
>
> Nancy Friedman
> Chief Wordworker
> web: wordworking.com <http://www.wordworking.com>
> substack https://fritinancy.substack.com/
> Medium <https://medium.com/@wordworking>
>
> tel 510 652-4159
> cel 510 304-3953
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>
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