[Ads-l] WOTY watch: "meat proxy"

Thu Aug 27 22:49:53 UTC 2026

 I second Dave's suggestion of "They're Made out of Meat" as a vector for this usage -- it was very net-popular for many years after publication.

Gibson's "meat puppet" specifically refers to prostitutes who have had parts of their brains suppressed -- they're puppets in that their clients can manipulate them however they want without their input.  Cf. https://williamgibson.fandom.com/wiki/Meat_puppet. But that sense doesn't seem to get used outside of his work. 

BNW has another sense, also, of a biological organism whose body is controlled by another entity.

Jeff Prucher    On Thursday, August 27, 2026 at 10:04:24 AM PDT, Emily Gordon <0000205244c4ee9d-dmarc-request at listserv.uga.edu> wrote:  

 Entirely Jesse’s find via Bill Mullins!

Forgot that in The Tin Woodman of Oz, the Woodman becomes a Tin Owl for a
time. A jaguar asks for a snack in Chapter 8:

“How about a plump owl?" asked the beast. "Not a tin one, you know, but a
real meat owl."

On Thu, Aug 27, 2026 at 8:00 AM Charles C Rice <charles.rice at louisiana.edu>
wrote:

> Great catch on meat person in Oz, Emily. Until you mentioned it I had
> completely forgotten about "meat dog" from the first book (1900). This is
> from Chapter 6 where the Lion makes his entrance:
>
> “Is he stuffed?” asked the Lion in surprise, as he watched her pick up
> the Scarecrow and set him upon his feet, while she patted him into
> shape again.
>
> “Of course he’s stuffed,” replied Dorothy, who was still angry.
>
> “That’s why he went over so easily,” remarked the Lion. “It astonished
> me to see him whirl around so. Is the other one stuffed also?”
>
> “No,” said Dorothy, “he’s made of tin.” And she helped the Woodman up
> again.
>
> “That’s why he nearly blunted my claws,” said the Lion. “When they
> scratched against the tin it made a cold shiver run down my back. What
> is that little animal you are so tender of?”
>
> “He is my dog, Toto,” answered Dorothy.
>
> “Is he made of tin, or stuffed?” asked the Lion.
>
> “Neither. He’s a—a—a meat dog,” said the girl.
>
> “Oh! He’s a curious animal and seems remarkably small, now that I look
> at him. No one would think of biting such a little thing, except a
> coward like me,” continued the Lion sadly.
> -----
>
> Clai Rice
>
> ________________________________
> From: American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU> on behalf of
> Emily Gordon <0000205244c4ee9d-dmarc-request at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Sent: Thursday, August 27, 2026 3:25 AM
> To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Subject: Re: WOTY watch: "meat proxy"
>
> Thanks to Jesse for reminding me of that funny phrase "meat person" in "The
> Tin Woodman of Oz." I revisited the novel and
> am fascinated by how the Tin Man (né Nick Chopper) explains how, because of
> an enchanted axe, he lost his flesh one part at a time. (I think this is
> all explained in the first book as well.) A mechanic friend replaced each
> part until Nick was all tin, which proved to be superior in every way.
> Furthermore:
>
> [Begin excerpt]
> "In the Land of Oz," replied the Emperor [of the Winkies, a.k.a. the Tin
> Woodman], "no one can ever be killed. A man with a wooden leg or a tin leg
> is still the same man; and, as I lost parts of my meat body by degrees, I
> always remained the same person as in the beginning, even though in the end
> I was all tin and no meat."
> [End excerpt]
>
> Which brings me to a line from a song by the musical comedy duo Flanders &
> Swann, "The Reluctant Cannibal."
>
> Father cannibal to abstinent son: "If the Juju had meant us not to eat
> people, he wouldn't have made us of meat!"
>
> Juju is the name of a male god in this very fictional scenario, while a
> "juju man" is a serious term. I don't see an entry in the ADS archive, but
> this 1983 paper is a start. I would love to see a more recent reference if
> anyone has time to find it.
>
> Bever, Bep Oliver. 1983. “The West African Juju Man and the Tools of His
> Trade.” International Journal of Crude Drug Research 21 (3): 97–120.
> doi:10.3109/13880208309070623
>
> [Begin excerpt]
> What is a "juju man"? To many Africans a "juju man" is someone who has been
> initiated into tribal rituals allowing him to be instrumental in promoting
> recovery from adversities - and, for most primitive people, disease is an
> adversity imposed upon them by outside forces that they do not comprehend.
> Many ""juju men" have acquired a knowledge of the medicinal use of local
> plants, although, as will be shown later, the use they make of them often
> differs basically in its conception from that of the doctor in Western
> medicine. But few of them are only herbalists.
> [End excerpt]
>
> Britannica contributor Ibo Cbanga, defining "juju," begins (
>
> https://nam12.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.britannica.com%2Ftopic%2Fjuju-magic&data=05%7C02%7Ccharles.rice%40LOUISIANA.EDU%7C43614cf0313b40b6a5d608df0414e17c%7C13b3b0cecd7549a4bfea0a03b01ff1ab%7C1%7C0%7C639234164684532762%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C60000%7C%7C%7C&sdata=KDfjdRsbj9ozucxGJOiPZ1LFBxSuVL9E1VpfDGbq8DY%3D&reserved=0)
> :<https://www.britannica.com/topic/juju-magic>
>
> [Begin excerpt]
> juju, an object that has been deliberately infused with magical power or
> the magical power itself; it also can refer to the belief system involving
> the use of juju. Juju is practiced in West African countries such as
> Nigeria, Benin, Togo, and Ghana, although its assumptions are shared by
> most African people. It is neither good nor bad, but it may be used for
> constructive purposes as well as for nefarious deeds. A monkey’s head is
> probably the most common juju in West Africa. The word juju is believed to
> be derived from the French joujou (“plaything”), though some sources claim
> it is from the Hausa language, meaning “fetish” or “evil spirit.”
> [End excerpt]
>
> Live recording of "The Reluctant Cannibal" (YouTube):
>
> https://nam12.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DqjAHw2DEBgw&data=05%7C02%7Ccharles.rice%40LOUISIANA.EDU%7C43614cf0313b40b6a5d608df0414e17c%7C13b3b0cecd7549a4bfea0a03b01ff1ab%7C1%7C0%7C639234164684560356%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C60000%7C%7C%7C&sdata=D7AeJRrS8hvT%2BDZRTtSI2EMeFoS8Kc%2BUxdnyF511ofU%3D&reserved=0
> <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qjAHw2DEBgw>
>
> Text of The Tin Woodman of Oz (Project Gutenberg EBook):
>
> https://nam12.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.gutenberg.org%2Ffiles%2F30852%2F30852-h%2F30852-h.htm&data=05%7C02%7Ccharles.rice%40LOUISIANA.EDU%7C43614cf0313b40b6a5d608df0414e17c%7C13b3b0cecd7549a4bfea0a03b01ff1ab%7C1%7C0%7C639234164684579778%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C60000%7C%7C%7C&sdata=oACy0Rwfp7%2B1T0PZbT%2B4S9HNQrCeAl0z8mHB3qKJ1v0%3D&reserved=0
> <https://www.gutenberg.org/files/30852/30852-h/30852-h.htm>
>
>
>
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>

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