It's the Retronymy, Stupid

[Ubiquitous]

In a 1992 "On Language" column, William Safire of the New York Times explained
the concept of a retronym:

The story is told of a modern mother laying a guilt trip on
her grown-up son: "You never call, you never write, you never
fax . . ."

If he sends her a fax in response, we have a name for what
she receives: fax mail. And if he leaves a message on her
answering machine, that is becoming known as voice mail. But
what of the stuff that comes in a paper envelope along with
the greeting cards, bills, catalogues, charity solicitations
and junk mail?

We can no longer call that plain mail. "Recently I received a
fax message," writes Gary Muldoon of Rochester, "with the
words 'land mail to follow.' Mail is now land mail." But that
locution, evoking the days of the Pony Express, won't fly; so
much domestic mail is sent by air that we no longer specify
airmail, and land mail would be a misnomer.

This question has also puzzled John W. Nason of Jericho,
L.I.: "Mail used to be what the postman (now letter carrier)
deposited in your mailbox. Now that there's voice mail and
E-mail, I wonder what all those bills and other stuff that
come through the U.S. Postal Service will be called in the
future. Real mail?"

Nope--real mail doesn't eat quiche.

Retronyms, Safire explained in 1992, are "two-word names" for "things that
have been overtaken by events." Among the examples he cited in that column:
acoustic guitar, analog watch, female nurse, day game and health food. In a
2007 column, he finally answered the question of what you call the stuff the
mailman delivers: snail mail.

What brings this to mind is an amusing Associated Press photo caption. The
picture shows a man and a woman carrying cardboard signs. His says
"Unemploymentality," the name of their new Web site; hers says "Will blog 4
food." The caption:

Tania Khadder (L), 29, and John Henion, 32, both unemployed
online journalists, hold signs announcing a new blog called
"unemploymentality.com" along Market Street in San Francisco,
December 9, 2008.

Not that long ago, all journalists worked for the old media--or, as they were
known then, the media. Then people started doing journalism online. But only
after online journalists started getting paid for their work did some of them
become redundant, and thus the phrase unemployed online journalist ceased to
be.

--
It is simply breathtaking to watch the glee and abandon with which
the liberal media and the Angry Left have been attempting to turn
our military victory in Iraq into a second Vietnam quagmire. Too bad
for them, it's failing.

[DonH]

"Ubiquitous" <web...@polaris.net> wrote in message
news:IsqdnQomzfwq2tfU...@giganews.com...

# Mail which arrives courtesy of local postman has long been known as "snail
mail", due to its relatively slow rate of delivery, as compared with
electronics.
If you order something on-line, then you may proceed with your "shopping
trolley" to the "checkout", where your credit card details are noted, and
cost, including "shipping" (even if goods now come by aeroplane).
As for "retronymy", there is now also Retroduction, ie. the mode of
reasoning whereby we rationalise our desires, or, in a court of law -
"Sentence first, verdict later!", as the Queen said to Alice. Conclusion
first, Premises next - in the classic Syllogism.
Victory in Iraq, and Afghanistan? When all foreign troops leave, see what
happens.
Meanwhile, the US goes bankrupt?