tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post1746253001797498058..comments2024-03-28T16:11:36.465+00:00Comments on Separated by a Common Language: maverickslynneguisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10171345732985610861noreply@blogger.comBlogger19125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-31723121916704633822009-12-14T14:53:13.198+00:002009-12-14T14:53:13.198+00:00What a delightful blog! Thanks for another inimita...What a delightful blog! Thanks for another inimitable GBS quote as well, new to me (there are so very many good ones from that mischievous master of maverickocity...)<br />best to you in all languages or approximations thereof,<br />SidUnknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02942696016798219207noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-35922457973284792032007-04-04T01:51:00.000+01:002007-04-04T01:51:00.000+01:00For more on the word's derivation—http://amaverick...For more on the word's derivation—http://amaverickamerican.blogspot.com/2007/03/x-my-father-is-quiet-man-term-maverick.html, and http://mavericks.nu.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-7354617975818635632007-04-03T19:08:00.000+01:002007-04-03T19:08:00.000+01:00This comment has been removed by the author.Peter Maverickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10112022768644685401noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-91992958887188234842007-01-03T18:50:00.000+00:002007-01-03T18:50:00.000+00:00The traditional story makes Samuel Maverick the vi...The traditional story makes Samuel Maverick the victim rather than the perpetrator of false branding.John Cowanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11452247999156925669noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-17683026496705092332006-12-19T15:38:00.000+00:002006-12-19T15:38:00.000+00:00Thanks for all the informative commenting on Maver...Thanks for all the informative commenting on Mavericks in history (and on the highway/motorway).lynneguisthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10171345732985610861noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-22237920524877564902006-12-14T15:50:00.000+00:002006-12-14T15:50:00.000+00:00The American sense of "maverick" may have been sha...The American sense of "maverick" may have been shaped, at least in part, by the career of Samuel A. Maverick's grandson, Maury Maverick (1895-1954). <br /><br />As a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from 1935 through 1938, Maverick led a group of liberal Democratic congressmen who advocated more rapid implementation of the New Deal and who, during their clashes with the more conservative House leadership, became nationally known as "the Mavericks."<br /><br />As mayor of San Antonio from 1939 to 1941, Maverick was instrumental in developing La Villita and the River Walk; La Villita in particular seems to have been his idea and his project.<br /><br />During World War II, he made one of his most famous contributions, coining the word "gobbledygook," which he used in a 1944 memo he wrote as chairman of the Smaller War Plants Corporation. <br /><br />Richard B. Henderson wrote a good biography of Maverick, "Maury Maverick: A Political Biography" (University of Texas Press, 1970).Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-21679365628590145712006-12-11T21:28:00.000+00:002006-12-11T21:28:00.000+00:00I'm probably the only person who didn't know this,...I'm probably the only person who didn't know this, but until I found myself parked next to one on a ferry crossing this morning, I didn't know that there was a car called the <a href="http://uk.cars.yahoo.com/car-reviews/car-and-driving/ford-maverick-2002366.html">Ford Maverick</a>.<br /><br />The marketing wallahs at Ford, who decided to promote a car with this name in the UK, obviously didn't feel that <B>Maverick</B> had negative connotations, but maybe the UK car-buying public, who apparently never really took this car to their hearts, disagreed. Or maybe they just didn't like the car. It looked pretty nice to me.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-58849390047070160942006-12-11T19:32:00.000+00:002006-12-11T19:32:00.000+00:00A potentially noteworthy word choice by displaced ...A potentially noteworthy word choice by displaced New Yorker Sarah Lyall in the NY Times <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/10/weekinreview/10lyall.html">Week in Review</a>: "a delight in the quality and originality of the insult — characterizes proceedings in the House of Commons, where debates are as quick and sharp as fencing moves, thrust-lunge-recover, so nimble that Congress seems <i>worthy</i> and dull by comparison." (My emphasis)<br /><br />The article has several other points of interest - such as this one: "Britons seem to have the advantage of accent: their exotic pronunciation can make even dubious observation sound like unimpeachable truth." What can we make of this dubious observation, which appears to have been made by a yankee?e-tathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02652790236422282223noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-76962286683468497642006-12-10T06:14:00.000+00:002006-12-10T06:14:00.000+00:00Maverick--there's a group blog reading of Pynchon'...Maverick--there's a group blog reading of Pynchon's Against the Day over at chumpsofchoice.blogspot.com starting on Monday, if anyone is interested.Mapeelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12149683683413237283noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-66981017356023847792006-12-10T00:25:00.000+00:002006-12-10T00:25:00.000+00:00I wasn't saying that on sale would go in that sent...I wasn't saying that <I>on sale</I> would go in that sentence, but that it's the AmE equivalent of <I>on special offer</I>. I.e., it was another of my tangents...lynneguisthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10171345732985610861noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-71451382779295227102006-12-09T22:29:00.000+00:002006-12-09T22:29:00.000+00:00'On offer' sounds right from a US perspective, alt...'On offer' sounds right from a US perspective, although it might be less common than, say, 'on show'. I would not expect to see 'on sale' in the context of that sentence. The items are not tendered for money....<br /><br />Mavericks. I've heard the unbranded cattle story several times - and found a nice version of it <a href="http://www.pilgrimjohnhowlandsociety.org/john_howland_texas_legacy.shtml">here</a>. I was formerly under the impression that it was a pervasive bit of American symbolism like the story of George Washington vs. cherry tree. Further exemplified by everyone from Robert Altman to Frank Zappa. <br /><br />My sense is that <i>rogue</i> carries similar connotations in both languages.e-tathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02652790236422282223noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-36622582543236416182006-12-09T19:29:00.000+00:002006-12-09T19:29:00.000+00:00Some years ago, when I was working (in the UK) for...Some years ago, when I was working (in the UK) for a US company, the International Sales Manager, who came over frequently from Philadelphia, used to regularly repeat the mantra "Pounds are dollars, dollars are pounds", particularly when somebody pointed out that he had forgotten which he was talking about. What this really meant was that we could sell the product in the UK for the same number of pounds as it was sold for dollars in the US, and that UK customers, accustomed to being overcharged, would not notice the difference. He was right.<br /><br />Equally irrelevantly, I once met a couple by the names of Mavis and Eric, whose house was called ...well, you can probably guess what their house was called.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-55010523589598124532006-12-09T18:50:00.000+00:002006-12-09T18:50:00.000+00:00Hm, I may need another AmE speaker to confirm that...Hm, I may need another AmE speaker to confirm that. As one can tell on this blog, I sometimes lose my intuitions for such things. Googling "ideas on offer", there are definite AmE examples, for example <a href="http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/entertainment/16046699.htm">here</a>.<br />But BrE examples come up first (and foremost? No time to troll through the whole batch.<br /><br />The phrase <b><I>on special offer</i></B> is more clearly (to me) BrE--being the equivalent of what AmE confusingly calls <I><b>on sale</I></B> (i.e. at a special, low price). <br /><br />For those of us who earn pounds and are going to the US for the holidays, the whole country seems like it's on a half-price <b>offer</b>/<b>sale</b>.lynneguisthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10171345732985610861noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-3302883938237325612006-12-09T17:35:00.000+00:002006-12-09T17:35:00.000+00:00When I was a kid I acquired the word maverick with...When I was a kid I acquired the word maverick with the special meaning of "a wild horse". I never knew it applied to other unbranded animals. (Speaking of the word "unbranded", marketing seems to be taking it over; as I wrote that sentence I wondered about possible ambiguity.)<br /><br />Merriam Webster suggests that the connection with Samuel Maverick comes from his habit of not branding his horses. Presumably, if you found an unbranded herd you couldn't tell if they were mavericks or Maverick's. In a way, by not branding his horses he laid claim to all wild horses as well.<br /><br />By the way, Lynne, shouldn't that have been "(BrE) <b>on offer</b>/(AmE) <b>available</b>" in the second last paragraph?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-32784111472554906982006-12-09T15:03:00.000+00:002006-12-09T15:03:00.000+00:00Lol, I don't think it is a "private" word -I think...Lol, I don't think it is a "private" word -I think part of the deal is to try and get others to use it as well...I'll be happy to report back to you all as soon as my new word crosses the Atlantic :o)No Display Namehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11628841937616331593noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-87480419859271467382006-12-09T14:50:00.000+00:002006-12-09T14:50:00.000+00:00My felicitations too to MQB on her verbal acquisit...My felicitations too to MQB on her verbal acquisition. Do let us see it after you’ve unwrapped it. Here at the labs we’re working on <b>wordjonesing</b>, the crafting of Welsh neologisms, and <b>eBymology</b>, the study of words created specifically for auction. We also still have a handful of brand-new £25 Algonquian subjunctives left which could just about be giftwrapped and shipped in time for Christmas. If I may suggest a 21st-century definition for <b>maverick</b>: <i>one who visits others’ blogs and posts eccentric comments, sometimes wildly off-topic</i>.Paul Danonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04816761952837296368noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-80889863242035576772006-12-09T13:10:00.000+00:002006-12-09T13:10:00.000+00:00Interesting - I suppose that, if I ever gave the m...Interesting - I suppose that, if I ever gave the matter any thought at all, I assumed that the term <B>maverick</B> was derived from <B>Brett Maverick</B>, but a glance at Chambers Dictionary tells me that it originates from <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samuel_Maverick">Samuel Maverick (1803-70)</a>.<br /><br />Chambers' first definition of <B>maverick</B> as a noun is <I>a stray animal without an owner's brand, esp a calf</I>; as a verb, it is defined as <I>to seize without legal claim</I>. The implication of these definitions would appear to be that <B>Samuel Maverick</B> used to seize unbranded stay animals without a legal claim to them (that is to say, <B>Maverick mavericked mavericks</B>) but I can find no evidence for such an allegation. <a href="http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/maverick">Wiktionary</a> merely says that <B>Samuel Maverick</B> allowed his own cattle to roam free on the range; although Chambers Dictionary names him in the etymology of <B>maverick</B>, Chambers Biographical Dictionary (1997) does not even have an entry for him.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-20092392163827752392006-12-09T08:28:00.000+00:002006-12-09T08:28:00.000+00:00Congratulations MQB! I'm interested to hear what ...Congratulations MQB! I'm interested to hear what she'll come up with too. Will you report back to us, or is it a private word?lynneguisthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10171345732985610861noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-60818683568464250262006-12-09T01:47:00.000+00:002006-12-09T01:47:00.000+00:00Hello,
I just wanted to say thank you for your pre...Hello,<br />I just wanted to say thank you for your previous post regarding the word sale. I happen to be the winning bidder, and I'm really looking forward to seeing what your student will come up with -I'm sure the friend to whom I plan to give the new word to for Christmas will be delighted! :o)No Display Namehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11628841937616331593noreply@blogger.com