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OT: phat/vet/fat,

From:John Cowan <jcowan@...>
Date:Saturday, July 13, 2002, 18:30
Karapcik, Mike scripsit:

> Ebonics/urban slang is not my strong suit, but from what I know, > phat is an acronym for "Pretty Hot And Tempting".
This has IMHO all the marks of a bogus etymology, like "Fornication - Unlawful Carnal Knowledge". I suspect that "phat" is just a slight semantic shift from "fat", with a new spelling to mark it.
> "Man, she's phat!", "That there's some phat boo-tay!", or, > "He's got a phat package!".
Note that the last two are quite reasonable under the "fat" reading. Thin = pretty is a very modern idea indeed.
> Sounding like "fat" is probably a "contrived coincidence". I think > it's amusing that the Dutch translated it literally.
Au contraire. -- One art / There is John Cowan <jcowan@...> No less / No more http://www.reutershealth.com All things / To do http://www.ccil.org/~cowan With sparks / Galore -- Douglas Hofstadter