[Lexicog] semantic extension

[Fritz Goerling]

Chaz,

Does the following "stiff upper lip" joke make you laugh?

          A young British officer was severely wounded in a fight with
Afghans on the Khyber Pass.
          Lying on stretcher with a huge spear sticking out of his chest he
was asked,

          "Are you in great pain, sir?"" Only when I laugh," he replied
gallantly!!

What happened to "lip" in the expression "stiff upper lip"? How is this
semantic

process called? Metaphorical extension?

Fritz



  Ja, Fritz, I keep a straight face until I laugh.

  -Chaz
    ----- Original Message -----
    From: Fritz Goerling
    To: lexicographylist at yahoogroups.com
    Sent: Friday, May 21, 2004 10:06 AM
    Subject: RE: [Lexicog] semantic extension



      Chaz, I wonder whether you wonder with a dead pan face because there
is no ;-)
      Fritz  ;-)


      Fritz, I wonder if there is a negative connotation built into the
German word for stock market Börse. Take out the R and you have the word for
"evil."

      -Chaz

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