JiscMail Logo
Email discussion lists for the UK Education and Research communities

Help for POETRYETC Archives


POETRYETC Archives

POETRYETC Archives


POETRYETC@JISCMAIL.AC.UK


View:

Message:

[

First

|

Previous

|

Next

|

Last

]

By Topic:

[

First

|

Previous

|

Next

|

Last

]

By Author:

[

First

|

Previous

|

Next

|

Last

]

Font:

Proportional Font

LISTSERV Archives

LISTSERV Archives

POETRYETC Home

POETRYETC Home

POETRYETC  2005

POETRYETC 2005

Options

Subscribe or Unsubscribe

Subscribe or Unsubscribe

Log In

Log In

Get Password

Get Password

Subject:

Re: Bulldozer

From:

Roger Collett <[log in to unmask]>

Reply-To:

Poetryetc provides a venue for a dialogue relating to poetry and poetics <[log in to unmask]>

Date:

Thu, 18 Aug 2005 08:43:48 +0100

Content-Type:

text/plain

Parts/Attachments:

Parts/Attachments

text/plain (98 lines)

More from the Web:

: : : : : BULLDOZE - verb. 1876. "American English, to intimidate by violence; of uncertain 
origin. The word 'bulldozer,' meaning one who intimidates by violence, appeared also in 1876, a 
machine for clearing or leveling in 1930. The etymology usually suggested is a compound of 
'bull' (the animal) and an altered form of 'dose,' i.e., a whipping to coerce voters was a dose 
suitable for a bull. The reference is a supposed practice during the Tilden campaign, especially 
among Blacks in the South." From "The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology" by Robert K. 
Barnhart (HarperCollins Publishers, New York, 1995).

: : : : The Seabees, who appeared "in 1942 as members of special construction battalions to 
handle Navy construction in combat zones." Seabees is a play on CB, Construction Battalion. They 
made the words "'air strip' and 'bulldozer' well known. "They constructed air strips (runways, 
simple landing fields) on many Pacific islands and used bulldozers to do the job quickly. 
'Bulldozer' had meant a Caterpillar tractor with a scraper or blade for clearing or leveling 
land since 1930, but most Americans never heard the word until the Seabees made the bulldozer a 
somewhat glamorous wartime item ('to bulldoze' had meant to intimidate since 1876, first being 
recorded in New Orleans to refer to Whites who 'bulldozed' Blacks to keep them from voting)." 
From "I Hear America Talking" by Stuart Berg Flexner (Von Nostrand Reinhold Co., New York, 
1976).



----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Roger Collett" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Thursday, August 18, 2005 8:38 AM
Subject: Bulldozer


> Found this on the web - no attribution of course:
>
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
>
> Q: What's the origin of the word "bulldozer"?
>
> -anonymous, from the Internet
>
>
>
>
>
> A: Nobody really knows, which makes "bulldozer" one of those fascinating words whose meaning 
> shifts depending on what people imagine its origin to be.
>
>            "Bulldozer" today most commonly refers to a kind of earthmoving tractor with a 
> blade attached to the front. It can also mean a kind of bully or steamrolling force-a 
> metaphorical meaning that, one would guess, came from the earthmover idea. In fact, the exact 
> reverse is true.
>
>            Bulldozer and bulldoze (the verb) are US slang that first turned up in the late 
> 1800s to mean something intimidating or bullying, either literally or metaphorically. In at 
> least some uses, large-caliber handguns were called "bulldozers."
>
>            The word first popped up in print in newspapers, where it was frequently used along 
> with a self-conscious explanation of its meaning. These etymologies generally claimed it came 
> from "bull-dose," a supposed slave plantation term for a whipping so severe it was a "dose" of 
> punishment that would harm even a bull.
>
>            This is fairly believable, especially presuming the influence of such terms as 
> "bullwhip." However, there are reasons to doubt it, especially since no one has found an 
> independent prior usage of "bull-dose." It is just as likely to be pop etymology that helped 
> cement the intimidating tone of the word.
>
>            It's significant that at the time, "bull" could be used as a prefix in slang to 
> denote something large. So a "bull-dose" could simply be a large dose of anything. But then, 
> it's also unclear how "dose" shifted into "doze"-if that's indeed what happened. Early 
> citations varying in their spellings, making it unclear which came first.
>
>            The overall sense of these early newspaper definitions is of someone trying to 
> definite and phonetically spell a slang term from the street. So I don't put a lot of stock in 
> either the meaning or the spelling, though they do agree on the word "dose" being the basis. 
> Still, a corruption of "bulldogs" or even some playful term like "bull does" (as in "how a 
> bull behaves") seem as likely to me.
>
>            It's worth noting that while somewhat synonymous with "bully," "bulldoze" has no 
> etymological relation to that word. But they certainly came to converge in meaning 
> nonetheless. In part, that seems to be because people mistakenly assume "bully" stems from the 
> word "bull," which it doesn't.
>
>            In that vein, it's interesting to note that at the same time "bulldozer" was slang 
> for a gun, so was "bulldog."
>
>            Anyhow, it was about 1930 that the earthmover industry picked up the pushy-sounding 
> "bulldozer" as a term for its tractor.
>
>            The metaphorical meaning of a bully or overwhelming force remains, of course. But 
> today, virtually everybody presumes it comes from the earthmover term. So there is almost 
> always now an implication of a pushing, thrusting, flattening force that was not present in 
> earlier meanings of "bulldoze."
>
> <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<
>
> Roger
> --
> This email has been verified as Virus free
> Virus Protection and more available at http://www.plus.net 

Top of Message | Previous Page | Permalink

JiscMail Tools


RSS Feeds and Sharing


Advanced Options


Archives

May 2024
April 2024
March 2024
February 2024
January 2024
December 2023
November 2023
October 2023
September 2023
August 2023
July 2023
June 2023
May 2023
April 2023
March 2023
February 2023
January 2023
December 2022
November 2022
October 2022
September 2022
August 2022
July 2022
June 2022
May 2022
April 2022
March 2022
February 2022
January 2022
December 2021
November 2021
October 2021
September 2021
August 2021
July 2021
June 2021
May 2021
April 2021
March 2021
February 2021
January 2021
December 2020
November 2020
October 2020
September 2020
August 2020
July 2020
June 2020
May 2020
April 2020
March 2020
February 2020
January 2020
December 2019
November 2019
October 2019
September 2019
August 2019
July 2019
June 2019
May 2019
April 2019
March 2019
February 2019
January 2019
December 2018
November 2018
October 2018
September 2018
August 2018
July 2018
June 2018
May 2018
April 2018
March 2018
February 2018
January 2018
December 2017
November 2017
October 2017
September 2017
August 2017
July 2017
June 2017
May 2017
April 2017
March 2017
February 2017
January 2017
December 2016
November 2016
October 2016
September 2016
August 2016
July 2016
June 2016
May 2016
April 2016
March 2016
February 2016
January 2016
December 2015
November 2015
October 2015
September 2015
August 2015
July 2015
June 2015
May 2015
April 2015
March 2015
February 2015
January 2015
December 2014
November 2014
October 2014
September 2014
August 2014
July 2014
June 2014
May 2014
April 2014
March 2014
February 2014
January 2014
December 2013
November 2013
October 2013
September 2013
August 2013
July 2013
June 2013
May 2013
April 2013
March 2013
February 2013
January 2013
December 2012
November 2012
October 2012
September 2012
August 2012
July 2012
June 2012
May 2012
April 2012
March 2012
February 2012
January 2012
December 2011
November 2011
October 2011
September 2011
August 2011
July 2011
June 2011
May 2011
April 2011
March 2011
February 2011
January 2011
December 2010
November 2010
October 2010
September 2010
August 2010
July 2010
June 2010
May 2010
April 2010
March 2010
February 2010
January 2010
December 2009
November 2009
October 2009
September 2009
August 2009
July 2009
June 2009
May 2009
April 2009
March 2009
February 2009
January 2009
December 2008
November 2008
October 2008
September 2008
August 2008
July 2008
June 2008
May 2008
April 2008
March 2008
February 2008
January 2008
December 2007
November 2007
October 2007
September 2007
August 2007
July 2007
June 2007
May 2007
April 2007
March 2007
February 2007
January 2007
December 2006
November 2006
October 2006
September 2006
August 2006
July 2006
June 2006
May 2006
April 2006
March 2006
February 2006
January 2006
2005
2004
2003
2002
2001
2000


JiscMail is a Jisc service.

View our service policies at https://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/policyandsecurity/ and Jisc's privacy policy at https://www.jisc.ac.uk/website/privacy-notice

For help and support help@jisc.ac.uk

Secured by F-Secure Anti-Virus CataList Email List Search Powered by the LISTSERV Email List Manager