Re: [YAEUT] Lexical variation survey

Douglas Koller wrote:
>
>>11. cooking outside over a charcoal grill in the
>>summertime:
>
> I mentioned in my e-mail to Kelly that the "cookout"
> was a staple word of my childhood, but that it actually
> entailed eating outside as well. I haven't heard the
> expression in yeeeaars. Now you can get the BBQ
> taste off the propane grill and run back inside to air-
> conditioned comfort, which isn't exactly the same
> thing, is it? There was an intimacy or a vibe to the
> "cookout" which seems to have ossified with the term.
Reminds me of "camping."  When I was young, this meant
putting up a tent out in the woods and sleeping on the
ground in a sleeping bag. Now it seems to mean driving
the RV to a campground, hooking it up to the electric
and water, then sleeping in a bed in the RV along with
its private bathroom facilities.


>>21. a sweatshirt with front pockets and a hood:
>
> I've never felt a need for such a term, but if pressed,
> I'd probably have to go for something obvious like
> "hooded sweatshirt" or the clunky "sweatshirt with
> a hood".
That reminds me of the table and chairs in a kitchen.
Everyone seems to call these a "dinette set" or just
a "dinette." That just sounds weird to me. I've never
referred to them as anything but "a kitchen table and
chairs."

--Ph. D.

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