tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26129073.post2608471414208535656..comments2023-12-06T19:46:26.522-05:00Comments on The Greenbelt: Perry Mason and language changingThe Ridger, FCDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01538111197270563075noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26129073.post-61125842140481881322013-03-14T20:37:56.120-04:002013-03-14T20:37:56.120-04:00"On the dinner" would have meant "a..."On the dinner" would have meant "as opposed to a la carte" -- i.e., with salad, soup, vegetables, and dessert included in one price.<br /><br />Some old-school restaurants in Los Angeles still maintain this distinction.Nancyhttp://nancyfriedman.typepad.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26129073.post-47513806894907439612013-03-14T16:53:44.982-04:002013-03-14T16:53:44.982-04:00Yes, they do sound odd, no matter how I try to twi...Yes, they do sound odd, no matter how I try to twist them into something more familiar. It really would be nice to find out how representative of California/other slang they are.Mark Phttp://www.caniconfidimus.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26129073.post-8693322145421902922013-03-14T13:58:20.977-04:002013-03-14T13:58:20.977-04:00"Fill" could have been a typo for "..."Fill" could have been a typo for "full" though we'd spell that "an earful". "I ate the steak on the menu" sounds very odd to me, too.The Ridger, FCDhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01538111197270563075noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26129073.post-75463406822373586932013-03-14T13:46:35.603-04:002013-03-14T13:46:35.603-04:00I was trying to reconfigure those expressions into...I was trying to reconfigure those expressions into something that seemed more contemporary and didn't have much luck. I thought "fill" could have been a typo for "full." I read "on the dinner" as short for "on the dinner menu."Mark Phttp://www.caniconfidimus.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26129073.post-47359661551171404302013-03-12T13:19:51.410-04:002013-03-12T13:19:51.410-04:00As I said, a linguistics dissertation in the makin...As I said, a linguistics dissertation in the making!Kathienoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26129073.post-18608141338972208412013-03-12T09:39:57.343-04:002013-03-12T09:39:57.343-04:00I suppose the one could have been "Here we ar...I suppose the one could have been "Here we are in a jam, and bull, your operator..." but using "bull" like that is weird to me, too!The Ridger, FCDhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01538111197270563075noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26129073.post-68770736736563564992013-03-12T08:46:49.761-04:002013-03-12T08:46:49.761-04:00I'm not sure what they'd be typos for, is ...I'm not sure what they'd be typos for, is the thing. There are some OCR problems, of course, but "jam and bull" is pretty elaborate for that, and "check out" too. "On the dinner" would be hard to get from "for dinner".<br /><br />I think casual language - all of these are from dialog - changes pretty rapidly. Plus, this is LA, where they say weird things ('that's the hell of a thing' is something that always struck me when I read in in books by Dell Shannon, who also set her stuff in LA). The Ridger, FCDhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01538111197270563075noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26129073.post-44228382383564138042013-03-11T21:45:30.308-04:002013-03-11T21:45:30.308-04:00No chance some of those are typos? (Not that I re...No chance some of those are typos? (Not that I recall them from reading the books as a teen). Oh well, if the language usage is as Gardner intended, perhaps someday a linguist will write a doctoral dissertation on the matter ;-)Kathienoreply@blogger.com